Elaine Raakman, the former wife of a professional cyclist wanted to launch a program nationally and internationally that would govern sports and the way children and teens are treated. I had the pleasure of interviewing Elaine and I know we will all agree that her mission is an important one!
What is the name of your organization?
Justplay Sports Services Inc
When was it founded?
Justplay originated as a partnership between my husband (James) and myself in 2001, although it’s birth was in 2000.
Where are you located?
In Fonthill, Ontario – very close to Niagara Falls.
Why did you launch this organization?
I returned to university as a mature student in 1997, after a divorce from a professional cyclist. Due to my history and interest in sports I studied Sport Management. In 2000, the year before my graduation, we were given an assignment in a Program Development class to develop a program that might help to resolve the critical issue of official attrition. As I examined this issue it became clear to me that official attrition, however serious, was not the problem, but a consequence of a much bigger problem – the escalation of violence, harassment, and abuse in youth sports. Sport governing bodies around the world were scrambling to design and implement programs to reduce these problems and the related negative outcomes, spending scare resources without any evidence as to the effectiveness of their efforts. I spoke with researchers from around the world, and at the time, no one had any quantitative evidence regarding the sources (was it parents, coaches, players….) and variables (age, skill, game type, level of competition….) that contributed to these problems. So I decided to create a program that would empower administrators to make data-driven staffing and policy decisions necessary to respond, anticipate, or avoid problematic behavior from spectators, coaches and players. Now administrators can monitor the behavior of participant groups in team sport environments on a game-by-game basis, real time. This enables them to identify short and long-term trends that are developing, as well as, the ability to predict potentially high-risk game situations. (Prevention is the best cure)
Can you tell me a little about your background
I have a Bachelor of Sport Management from Brock University, wife of a professional cyclist for ten years, mother of two children who play community and school sports, currently married to a patent lawyer who is stubbornly competitive at all sports!
What are the goals of your organization?
To help youth sport administrators provide a sport environment that ensures sport benefits not only the individual, but community, both morally and physically.
What has been the response by the communities towards your program?
Overwhelming! Although we have been deliberately judicious about our development and commercialization (in effort to ensure the programs’ efficacy), choosing to pilot the program for three years and working with clients who are committed to change and development within their associations, the program is attracting international interest and support from grass-roots associations right up to government agencies.
Can you share with our readers some of the success the organization has obtained to date?
I was invited to the inaugural conference of the Vatican’s Church and Sport section was the highlight of our work to date. 50 individuals from around the world were invited to the two day seminar. 10 individuals were invited to speak about an area of expertise – I spoke about sport and violence. I was the only non-catholic invited, and one of four women. The dialogue and discussion over the two days was phenomenal. I am so impressed that the Church sees and understands both the positive and negative impact that sport has on our society, and is willing to examine what it is that they could/should be doing to influence that impact in a positive way. Bob Bigelow author of Just Let the Kids Play has said that ‘Justplay is going to revolutionize the way youth sports is delivered.” Over the past couple of years I have presented Justplay in Finland, Belgium, the U.S., and virtually in Australia. As our expertise continues to grow, we have been invited to develop and deliver workshops, and staff training sessions for sport camps, community administrators and all the sport participant groups. One very exciting development for us is our inclusion in Brooke de Lench’s new book, Home Team Advantage: the critical role of mothers in youth sport (Harper Collins) which only now is available for pre-ordering, but promises to be an excellent resource for those interested in youth sport.
What are the benefits of your program in schools - and community sports teams?
The Behavior Management Program – that aspect of Justplay Sports Services that I have been describing – becomes more useful the more broadly it is implemented because administrators from around the country, and the world, will be able to look at the variables and influences on their sport programs and compare notes. Are the trends and/or problems facing football in Virginia the same as those in Texas for example? One of the most important outcomes of the program is the ability to evaluate whether or not the strategies, policies, programs, tactics, implemented to affect positive change are in fact effective. Jack Roberts of the NFHS, once said, “Sportsmanship is the starting point, if not the essence of good citizenship. It is what we should be teaching in educational athletics more than anything else.” He is right, and Justplay is the program that can help us to ensure that is the case.
The other benefit is to the administrators themselves. It has been estimated that 70% of youth sport administrators in the U.S. are volunteers. These administrators, may, or may not, have the formal skills required to actually administrate their organizations. Due to the anecdotal nature of youth sports as we know it today, the identification and resolution of problems is extremely difficult. The Behavior Management Program empowers administrators and simplifies this process by providing objective evidence regarding all behavior related problems.
What are the future goals of www.wejustplay.com?
An internationally respected researcher and professor told me, at the first academic conference I ever presented at, that he thought Justplay was a public good. It’s applications are extremely broad and valuable. Justplay fills that gap between research and application. Our goal to have Justplay implemented and used by sport governing bodies around the world. But perhaps a more immediate goal is corporate sponsorship. Corporate sponsorship would help to deliver the program and the message: One team.One community.
To contact Elaine visit: www.wejustplay.com
Or email her publicist: Karen Ammond
kbcmedia@att.net
