Building and bonding communities through sport

Sporting activities affect our lives in different ways. For participants, they are opportunities for fitness, competition and achievement. For spectators, they may represent leisure and entertainment. But sport also holds a unique ability to bring communities together and provide a platform for learning and action.

Associate Professor of Health and Human Performance Tiesha Martin discussed the power of sport for community outreach in a public presentation on Oct. 13. The event was part of the RAD Talks series, which gives faculty and staff opportunities to address issues of shared interest to the university and the community.

While Martin has had a lifelong love of sport, she first saw it as a way to connect and drive social change during her junior year of college. As a member of a disaster relief student organization, she visited Haiti to provide support services to an orphanage. While the project addressed many essential needs for the children, she said she was amazed at how "their faces lit up" when they saw the visitors had brought them sports equipment. "Although at first there was a language barrier, suddenly it seemed like that barrier didn't exist."

She embraced the concept further in her graduate studies. While working toward her Ph.D., she took part in efforts funded by the U.S. Department of State to organize youth soccer activities in South Africa and Kazakhstan. Alongside promoting healthy lifestyles, cultural familiarity and cooperation, the programs educated participants on issues such as sexual health, HIV prevention and female empowerment. "They would come for the soccer and stay for the education," she observed.

"Sport is more than recreation or competition," she added. "It can be a powerful tool for strengthening communities. But meaningful and lasting impact requires collaboration among schools, community organizations, universities, families and other stakeholders."

Martin is bringing that perspective not only to educate students but to benefit residents of the New River Valley. "I've found that people in this community really care," she said. "The question is, how do we harness our resources and bring people together to achieve good outcomes?"

She is helping guide the work of the Radford Youth Adult Partnership (RYAP), a community coalition that supports youth mental health and wellness. RYAP recently launched a "Bobcat Strong" wellness program, in which fourth-graders at Belle Heth Elementary use fitness trackers to monitor their health and physical activity. They also take part in guided learning sessions and receive a resource book to reinforce the importance of a healthy lifestyle.

"We're hoping to help youth build healthy sleep habits, become more physically active, and get into the habit of monitoring their wellness behaviors," she said.

Martin's passion for the transformative effect of sport extends far beyond her academic interest. Several attendees at the presentation were students who have been inspired by her work.

"My favorite experience," she said, "is being around people when they are able to connect with one another, and the barriers they often have between them go away. There are very few things these days that bring us all together. Sport is one example that can."