Coach Kickoff Marks Beginning of DC SCORES Spring Season

On March 1, 2025, more than 150 coaches from across the DC SCORES program came together for spring season training and community building. 

Coach Kickoff is held twice a year at the beginning of the fall and spring seasons of DC SCORES’ afterschool soccer, poetry, and service-learning program. The events train coaches on new program standards and learning approaches, share organizational updates, and provide an inclusive space where coaches can meet and learn from each other. 

After breakfast and teambuilding activities, DC SCORES Executive Director Katrina Owens opened the event with a “State of DC SCORES Address.” The presentation reassured coaches of DC SCORES’ commitment to the safety and inclusion of all young people and provided an update on DC SCORES’ financial status during a tumultuous time for nonprofit funding in the U.S.

Last month, DC SCORES secured a substantial investment in its middle school soccer league, which Owens said had put the nonprofit on a firm financial footing this year.

Owens reiterated DC SCORES’ commitment to empowering families across the District, highlighting its 30 years of positive community impact and its future vision, titled Poet-Athlete City, to reach every Title 1 middle and elementary school in D.C. by 2030. 

Owens’ remarks were reinforced by a training session led by Chief Program Officer Tierra Stewart that explored how to incorporate best practices in social-emotional learning for positive youth development in the DC SCORES program. 

Coaches reflected on how oppression, including systemic racism, classism, and misogyny, can affect how young people show up in the classroom and DC SCORES’ afterschool sessions. Coaches identified sleep deprivation, hunger, and emotional distress as just some of the manifestations of young people’s struggles with these systemic inequities. Through group work, coaches developed tools to support poet-athletes’ emotional wellbeing and strengthen DC SCORES’ community support networks that empower young people across the city.

Coach Kickoff’s afternoon sessions were dedicated to the practical aspects of delivering DC SCORES’ program. Coaches got a jumpstart on team administration during a working lunch, with DC SCORES programs team staff on hand to answer questions about poet-athlete registration, progress tracking, and coach compensation. 

Coaches then split into groups for participatory sessions, led by DC SCORES program experts, to demonstrate how to deliver effective soccer and service learning practices

“After attending Coach Kickoff, we’re ecstatic for the spring season!” said Shay Blanchard, a DC SCORES coach at Barnard Elementary School. “We are planning to build a stronger and more supportive community for all of our poet-athletes using the strategies and resources DC SCORES provided us.”

“Coach Kickoff is always one of my favorite DC SCORES events of the season,” said Tatiana Figueroa Ramírez, DC SCORES Senior Program Director of Poetry and Community Arts, who spearheaded Coach Kickoff this year. “The atmosphere in the room is always so engaged and supportive and I always leave feeling energized by coaches’ ideas and commitment to our program. I can’t wait to see the incredible things they achieve with their teams this year and how they will empower our poet-athletes to grow through DC SCORES.”