Sports play a valuable role in the development of young girls and
the advancement of women as leaders in society.
HER TIME TO PLAY is a national initiative that is dedicated to championing change on behalf of girls and women and providing them with ways to connect, collaborate, and actively engage with one another through the game of basketball.
We encourage you to celebrate Jr. NBA Week, Oct. 9-15, by sharing the following on social media using #HerTimeToPlay and #JrNBAWeek:
- How you empower girls in your life to be confident and use their voice
- Why you feel it’s important for girls and female mentors to participate in sports
- Who your female mentor is and why
- Who your favorite women athletes are
Learn more about Her Time To Play and joining our community below!
HER TIME TO PLAY is a national initiative that is dedicated to championing change on behalf of girls and women and providing them with ways to connect, collaborate, and actively engage with one another through the game of basketball.
JOIN OUR COMMUNITY
We appreciate your COMMITMENT to supporting girls in sports and your DEDICATION to teaching the game the right way.
Join the HER TIME TO PLAY COMMUNITY to connect with other girl-serving organizations, stay up to date on development opportunities, and help girls gain confidence, face challenges, and learn values both on and off the court through the Her Time To Play curriculum.
Benefits For Girl-Serving Organizations
- Access to the Her Time To Play Digital Toolkit:
- Toolkit includes digital copies of the Her Time To Play Administrator Curriculum for coaches and Participant Workbooks for girls (visit toolkit tab to see full list of resources)
- Access to national network of virtual Her Time To Play events and programming
- Newsletters and information on upcoming virtual events, affiliated programs, and available resources
To learn more about the registration process, please click here.
To see Frequently Asked Questions for Organizations, click here. Note: registration is only available in the United States.
- Toolkit
HER TIME TO LEARN
At the heart of Her Time To Play is our free curriculum, created in partnership with the Women’s Sports Foundation, which pairs on-court training with off-court life skills lessons to help:
- BUILD girls’ confidence
- EMPOWER them to face the challenges of adolescence
- TEACH values like teamwork
We know it’s so important for girls to SEE WHAT THEY CAN BE, so the curriculum highlights personal life experiences and stories shared by WNBA players from all 12 WNBA teams.
The curriculum and participant workbook are designed to help you engage your players in meaningful activity and conversation year-round – VIRTUALLY OR IN PERSON, when your local guidelines allow.
Once you register for the HER TIME TO PLAY COMMUNITY, you will receive access to the full Her Time To Play DIGITAL TOOLKIT, communication on how to best to facilitate the curriculum virtually, and receive materials for your coaches and girl participants.
HER TIME TO PLAY DIGITAL TOOLKIT
The Her Time To Play Digital Toolkit consists of:
- Administrator Curriculum (coach guide for 7-10 and 11-14-year-old players)
- 10U Participant Workbook (7-10-year-old players)
- 14U Participant Workbook (11-14-year-old players)
- Player Participation Certificate
- Individual Practice Plans (curriculum and workbook lessons broken up into smaller chapters for easy customization and distribution)
- Promotional Materials
- Her Time To Play logo and usage guidelines
Benefits of the Toolkit Resources
- The full curriculum is designed as a 12-week program but can be delivered as stand-alone practice plans to fit your programming as you see fit
- The oncourt components are perfect for volunteer coaches learning how to teach the game, and have been designed so that players and coaches can learn and teach the game in a natural progression
- Each oncourt lesson will identify specific skills that players should learn and gain comfort in before advancing to new skills and drills in the next lesson
- For seasoned coaches who have mastered teaching the fundamentals, leverage the curriculum by integrating the critical life skills lessons into your existing team practices to foster team building and overall player wellness and development
- The workbook is designed to encourage interactive discussions and personal reflections with each girl by helping them learn how to handle adversity on and off the court and empowering them to face the challenges of adolescence
PROGRAM MATERIALS
After you complete the Her Time To Play registration and speak to a representative, you will be able to begin the player and coach registration process to receive physical materials for your program.
- Player Items Include: Headband, Phone Grip, & Bag Tag
- Coach Items Include: Whistle/Lanyard, Phone Grip, & Bag Tag
- Organization Items Include: Banner, Basketballs, & link to Digital Toolkit
Note: Her Time To Play is a free initiative. All materials provided to the participants have been covered by the NBA.
- Practice Plans
PRACTICE PLANS
The Her Time To Play curriculum and participant workbooks will be provided digitally as individual practice plans in the Her Time To Play digital toolkit. These practice plans will allow for ease of use and flexibility in a virtual setting, so you may customize the content to best fit within your programming.
See below for a sample of the curriculum and workbook content for your reference.
In order to receive access to the full digital toolkit, you must register to join the Her Time To Play community.
- Her Time To Coach
HER TIME TO COACH
Female coaches in girls’ sports have a SIGNIFICANT IMPACT on girls’ participation that goes beyond the court.
Girls more readily identify with and see female coaches as MENTORS and ROLE MODELS, which can help combat gender stereotypes, boost confidence, and provide a sense of belonging. However, according to research done by the Women’s Sports Foundation, female coaches are highly underrepresented (35% or lower) on sports viewed as more masculine (e.g., basketball) in which girls face greater barriers for continued participation.
Her Time To Play aims to increase opportunities for women in coaching and athletic leadership across the youth sports landscape. We strongly encourage that you recruit at least one new female (18 and over), not a prior coach, to serve as a mentor in your girls basketball program.
If you are a coach or volunteer who would like to participate in Her Time to Play, please contact your local youth basketball or community organization to register formally. Registered organizations can then communicate with coaches to register under that organization’s program.
HER TIME TO PARENT
Parents also have a strong influence in supporting youth sports participation. To learn more what you can do to help your daughter stay active and participate in sports, review the Parent Guide.
If you would like your daughter to participate in Her Time to Play, please contact your local youth basketball or community organization to register formally. Registered organizations can then communicate with a parent or legal guardian to register your daughter(s) under that organization’s program.
- AT&T Partnership
AT&T PARTNERSHIP
AT&T, the MARQUEE SPONSOR OF THE WNBA and an inaugural member of the league’s Changemakers program, is committed to supporting the next generation of champions and raising the visibility of women’s sports through Her Time To Play.
In partnership with the WNBA, AT&T has hosted Her Time to Play clinics and panel sessions for girls ages 7-14 around the country. These clinics pair on-court training with off-court discussions exploring the challenges that girls and women face in sports and in life.
Throughout the 2020 WNBA Season, the WNBA and AT&T hosted five virtual community conversations led by WNBA players, coaches, and league office executives. Each session included fun ice breaker questions, discussions about the value girls can gain from playing sports, and mindfulness and fitness sessions.
- Events
COACHING GIRLS DEVELOPMENT SERIES
Her Time To Play, We Coach and Nike hosted two 90-minute interactive coaching development sessions throughout March focused on how to confidently engage girls in sport. Participants learned innovative techniques and best practices on how to coach girls through a variety of presentations, interactive small group discussions and networking and resource sharing opportunities. Those who participated in the full series will receive a free code to complete their USA Basketball coach license. This training was open to coaches of all levels and genders who work with girls.
To participate in future development opportunities like this, join the Her Time To Play community above!
HER TIME TO SHINE SUMMIT
Her Time To Play and The Power of Girls hosted a free, four-day virtual summit called Her Time To Shine for girls ages 11-16. The summit included a series of panels, facilitated discussions, and interactive workshops featuring guest speakers and influencers to help girls improve their confidence, leadership abilities, and more. More than 350 girls from around the world joined us!
Overviews on each sessions can be found here. Visit here to view recordings from the general sessions.
SCAVENGER HUNT
It’s Your Time to Play!
Looking for fun and different ways to get active at home? We put together a HER TIME TO PLAY SCAVENGER HUNT.
There are two rounds (Round 1 & Round 2) with six tasks each – for the first round all you need is YOURSELF, and for the second round, we want you to grab a BASKETBALL or any other ROUND HOUSEHOLD ITEM.
