Coach Kickoff Reunites DC SCORES Coaches Ahead of a New Season

On August 29, 2026, more than 100 coaches from across the District came together at C.W. Harris Elementary School to kick off a new DC SCORES fall season.

Held twice a year at the start of the fall and spring seasons, Coach Kickoff brings DC SCORES coaches together for training, community building, and organizational updates. It’s a chance for coaches to connect with each other, learn new approaches to delivering DC SCORES’ afterschool soccer, poetry, and service-learning program, and head into the season feeling prepared and supported.

After breakfast, coaches gathered in the cafeteria for the day’s opening session. Chief Program Officer, Tierra Stewart, set the tone and spoke candidly about the financial pressures the organization has faced — including the difficult decision to pause programming at 9 schools and reduce the Junior SCORES program at 20 additional schools this fall. She reaffirmed DC SCORES’ commitment to protecting the programming that remains, working to restore what was paused, and expressed gratitude for the coaches who continue to show up for poet-athletes across the District.

The morning session was followed by breakout sessions covering poetry, soccer, the Center for Healing and Justice through Sport (CHJS) curriculum, LGBTQ+ inclusive training, and liaison check-ins — giving coaches hands-on preparation across every pillar of the DC SCORES program.

DC SCORES coaches serve as the backbone of the program — many doubling as school-day teachers who show up for poet-athletes in the classroom and on the field. Coach Kickoff is where that commitment is renewed at the start of every season, and this year was no different.