Meet our 2016-17 school year Coaches!

  1. Updates

Get to know our 2016-17 Playworks Michigan Coaches!

Playworks Michigan kicked off the start of our sixth school year in September. We have a fresh set of Americorp Coaches who are trained and geared up to serve their school communities with safe and healthy play every day! For the 2016-17 school year, we will be partnered with nine Coach, four TeamUp, and 15 Pro schools.

During their weeks of training, our coaches picked up our Playbook and started learning as many games as possible. Get to know some of their favorite games so far:

“I really enjoy facilitating relay races. It is fun to see the different age groups and their varying skill levels!”—Coach Eboni, Academy of Americas

“My go to’s are extreme ro-sham-bo or six-line soccer for outdoor, and floor ball for indoor recess.”—Coach Aja, Roberto Clemente Learning Academy

“I really love bridge ball as my go to game.”—Coach Chris, Beech Elementary

“Three-line basketballit’s a good go-to for indoor recess!”—Coach LaToya, Washington Parks Academy

“Switch and jump rope.”—Coach Patrice, Brewer Elementary

Wondering what made the coaches want to join our Playworks Team? Here are some of their responses:

“I would like to empower youth and try to play a role in brightening their futures. I plan to use this platform working with Playworks to build my skills and learn how to run a successful program!”—Coach Eboni, Academy of Americas

“I love working with kids and I wanted to give back. This year of service offers all of the above and I really enjoy it so far.”—Coach Aja, Roberto Clemente Learning Academy

“Finding an organization that fits all your goals and dreams to make the world a better place is what brought me to Playworks. The children of the world will one day take our place and what better way to bring out the best in them than by play because that’s what kids do!”—Coach Marina, McKenzie Elementary

“The desire to impact the lives of youth in the metro Detroit area, along with not wanting a boring 9-5 job is what brought me to Playworks.”—Coach Patrice, Brewer Elementary

We are excited to see what this year holds for each of our coaches and the incredible impact they are going to make at our partner schools. Stay tuned for more updates this spring.

If you are interested in scheduling a site visit to see our coaches in action at some of our partner schools, please contact Maria Carr, development manager, at maria.carr@playworks.org.

More Updates


January 10, 2023

Understanding the Complex Simplicities of Play ›

Play is a behavior that is natural and has existed for thousands of years and across species. It combines a set of made-up rules or norms and a willingness to explore. Researchers, scientists, and doctors have studied the effects of play on kids–and adults–and understand that this natural behavior has tremendous benefits. As the American…

three people with Playworks shirts
three people with Playworks shirts

July 28, 2022

A year of social and emotional learning ›

“You can’t do SEL, trauma, or equity work without each other,” Jennette Claassen, Head of Evaluation, Playworks. As Playworks continued to progress on our equity journey, we explored a critical question: what are the intersections between play, social and emotional learning, physical activity, and trauma? A working group focused on this question decided, among other…

August 24, 2021

Playworks Founder Jill Vialet Publishes ‘Why Play Works’ ›

Play brings out the best in every kid. Over the course of 25 years since Jill Vialet founded Playworks, she and her colleagues, as well as researchers and play experts, have demonstrated precisely how and why play works to help kids learn and grow in the most positive and healthy ways. Jill gathered stories from people…