NBA, WNBA Launch Program to Allow Girls to Play Basketball Longer

The WNBA is determined to stop girls from dropping out of sports.

Lack of access, social stigma, and lack of role models are all reasons as to why twice as many girls than boys drop out of sports before the age of 14. Now, the WNBA and the NBA are partnering up to change this stat. The “Her Time to Play”campaign was launched this week with the aim of keeping girls in sports longer.

“In the age range of 7 to 14, when girls are facing many of the challenges, we’ve seen decline in participation,” David Krichavsky, NBA vice president of youth basketball development, told ESPN. “We’ve also seen that there aren’t as many opportunities for women to serve in coaching and mentorship roles for girls. So, we’ve launched a program this year as part of our Jr. NBA Week.”

The new program will provide a free basketball curriculum and life skills lessons designed for young women. ESPN also announced that this program will help train and license 500 new female coaches and mentors through the USA Basketball program.