Junior Coach of the Month – Eliana

  1. Updates

Eliana was one of our strongest Junior Coaches from her first week on the playground. She immediately stood out to me as the first girl Junior Coach to ask to be assigned to soccer. It is a constant struggle to get girls on the field, yet she mastered it more quickly than her Playworks coach. Yard duties pointed out how great she was doing as she ran through the playground area inviting others to go play with her. I used her as an example of what to do to the other Junior Coaches who were nervous for their first few weeks working.

Therefore, I was shocked when I found out the numerous, stressful, family transitions she had gone through over the summer– the least of which was adjusting to a new city and school. An adult who new her previously came up to me to tell me that this, shy, introverted girl who barely spoke over the summer did a complete turnaround and was now such a well-known role-model at the school. She credited Playworks and the Junior Coach program with making the change–but as a coach, I can really only give the credit to Eliana for her amazing resilience and intuitive, friendly leadership at our recesses!

More Updates


January 12, 2023

Golden State Warriors Community Foundation & Salesforce partner with Playworks ›

We are grateful for our continued partnership with the Warriors Community Foundation and Salesforce during the 2022-2023 school year. With their support, Playworks Northern California has delivered safe and healthy play to over 41,200 elementary school children of promise this year! Check out this inspiring video showcasing our work together:      

A boy and girl holding basketballs on a playground.
A boy and girl holding basketballs on a playground.

November 16, 2022

2021-22 Annual Report ›

We are excited to share with you a look back at everything we accomplished in the 2021-2022 program year. It was a year focused on rebuilding after the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and we are proud to share that we served 41,200 students in the Northern California Region.  We are thankful for your continued…

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…