The world is changing, and shouldn't you have a part in it?

Lets make the change for the BETTER, cos after all, if you want something done your way, YOU have to do it!

Make the first step to make your future a better one, starting with your community.

Explore YN's Causes page

Check out the Boards, see what your peers are doing.

What's your Call To Action? Take a step in the right direction and find out what's already going on where you live, and ideas to start new projects!

(Yours truly, frontside smith in back of a 99cents store)

I made a post earlier this week about the Dodgers and Angels advancing in the playoffs and the potential for kids to be more interested in playing baseball again.  Our esteemed Lead Blogger, Trina commented about some of the reasons kids don't play much baseball anymore such as equipment and facilities and it reminded me of a video I made for Play City about why the kids at my local skatepark.  Part of the reason kids aren't as attracted to mainstream sports such as baseball, basketball, football, soccer, etc. is because of their exposure to skateboarding, bmx, and snowboarding, just to name a few. 

Don't get me wrong, a lot of kids still play mainstream sports, but a lot are venturing out into "alternative" sports(a term I use loosely) like skateboarding. The guys that allowed me to interview them range in age from 15-22 years old and most of them come from the same general sports background.  They played on a team in a league or for school and quit all those things to skate.

Most of them started skating for different reasons but they continue to skate for pretty much the same reason.  There is a freedom to skateboarding, a feeling that they get that they can't attain in other sports.  The fact that they're playing by their own rules(if there are any) and that you can pretty much do whatever you want on a board and if it makes you happy, its all good. 

Some food for thought.

This past weekend, both my beloved Dodgers, and the other team(LA Angels) swept their divisional series respectively on the road in St. Louis(Dodgers clinched) and this morning in Boston(Angels clinched).  These playoff series victories are setting the stage for an unprecedented I-5 World Series if they can pull it out and take care of business in the second round of the playoffs(both are awaiting their next opponent).  With the city of Los Angeles wondering out loud, whether or not this can happen, it got me thinking about the sports scene in LA and the buzz that is generated with two winning teams in a major sport in the same city.

(Gina Ferazzi/LA Times)

(Robert Gauthier/LA Times)

Baseball is the only sport in which two Los Angeles teams are actually able to face off against eachother in a championship round because the Dodgers are in the National League and the Angels are in the American League(the World Series is the NL Champions vs. the AL Champions) and the prospects of this happening are very intriguing.  There are core baseball fans in the LA area and the divide between the allegiances to these two teams are apparent.  My facebook is crowded with daily status updates(I'm responsible for about two updates every hour) concerning the state of the Dodgers and Angels progress in the playoffs.  Everyone from die-hard fans to casual observers are already developing their arguments and voicing their opinions on which team is better or which team is better operated.

On one hand, the Dodgers have a storied tradition dating back to their days in Brooklyn, with players like Jackie Robinson(an LA native) breaking the color barrier and changing the game forever to their big move out west in 1958 where they established new roots in Los Angeles with such greats as Sandy Koufax, and Fernando Valenzuela.  This years Dodger team is continuing the tradition with some of the most exciting baseball we LA fans have had the privilege to witness.  The city is slowly coming around to take pride in their baseball again.

On the other hand, the Angels have always been in southern California and although they have always been in the shadow of the Dodgers, their fans are just as passionate and their legacy isn't exactly a bore either.  In fact, for most young baseball enthusiasts, the Angels have made probably more of a lasting impact with their dramatic 2002 World Series win, and their easily accessible family friendly stadium.  Some question the merit of the Angels being called the Los Angeles Angels when they are in fact located in Anaheim in Orange County, about 30 miles away from Dodger Stadium.  Whether or not their affiliation with LA is accepted, there are bundles of Angels fans in the greater Los Angeles area and that makes for great drama in this year's baseball postseason.

(Ricky Michel throwing a baseball on a sunshiney So Cal Day.)

All this enthusiasm is also positively impacting the youth of Los Angeles.  With football and basketball being the staple sports of the city, baseball is often the least watched and the least played by young athletes.  For one, the costs of equipment such as gloves, bats, balls, and helmets, and the lack of access to baseball diamonds(expensive to build and maintain) makes it harder for some kids to participate in America's past time.  With the two local LA teams surging this year and interest peaking, kids are starting to want to play baseball again.  MLB has been talking about the lack of homegrown talent(many scouts are venturing out to South and Central America as well as the Carribean) as well as big drop in Black major league players. Hopefully, this renewed interest in Los Angeles baseball can turn more kids on to such a fun and sentimentally regarded game. 

Go Dodgers!

Just Like You International Sports Exchange will be holding a Global Playground Event this Saturday at the San Fernando Valley Boys and Girls Club in Pacoima.  For those who might wonder what Just Like You is and what this event is all about, I managed to track down Co-Founder, Jerry Darko by phone in the middle of a busy work week:

Some tidbits about Jerry:

Born in Zimbabwe, grew up in Botswana.

Is an active member of YouthNoise Play City and the Co-Founder of Just Like You International Sports Exchange.

In order to start a non-profit like Just Like You, you need to have a vision, and our boy Jerry has a grand vision:

Just Like You's Mission Statement:

Promoting international awareness among youth through sport, laying the necessary foundation to create tomorrow's global citizens.

Jerry added to that:

"Getting kids to think about the world they live in starting at a young age.  Their role as human beings on this earth and the things they can do to change the world for better.  The one thing that all children have in common is play.  There is not just one way to do it, and when you can put yourself in another person's shoes(or bare feet) you can get a better understanding of people and cultures outside of your own."

Sounds pretty visionary to me.

Just Like You launched in August of 2008 and began as an idea among a group of about seven people deemed "Team Awesome."

"We were doing a Nike Play City Training Camp when I threw out the idea of a Sports Exchange where I would teach kids some of the games that I grew up playing in Botswana and everyone got super excited about it," exclaimed Jerry.

A month after launching Just Like You, the team came up with a curriculum that was instituted at about 5 elementary schools in South Los Angeles and the Valley as well as two Boys and Girls Clubs.

The after school program covers one region (anywhere from Africa, to Australia) for about four weeks.  During those four weeks, students will learn about the language, the culture, and the different way kids play in those regions.

"We've collected games from over 25 countries and have developed a curriculum for about six regions.  Chinese, African, Indian, Middle Eastern Countries like Iran, Australian, Japanese, Hawaiian, and Native American games have been played just to name a few," Jerry explains.

But it doesn't end there.  This year, Just Like You is going even bigger by developing summer programs for when kids are out of school, as well as expanding out of Los Angeles and into Orange and San Bernadino counties.  The curriculum has also extended beyond play.

They have developed a Young Diplomats Program, in which students take on the role of being representatives of their country and essentially become part of a Youth United Nations.  They've also taken it one step further by not just keeping it in the schools.  By having Global Playground Events (the 1st one is this Saturday), they're bringing that message out of the classroom and into the community.

"Not only do we want students to learn about the different places and people in the world, we want them to go out there and take action," says Jerry.  "Just Like You goes beyond just sports, with Diversity Training and Team Building starting at an early age. Something that you can take from school and apply to your life after school whether it be for work or any other activism projects you might venture into."

The results are apparent after only a year of this program's existence, Jerry beams:

"We've definitely made an impact in terms of health and nutrition.  Just Like You shows kids that they can make even more use of their playground space...With the monotony of handball and four square, I've checked in with some of the schools and see that the kids are having just as much fun playing the Chinese playground game they just learned.  We're promoting healthy activities, encouraging students to go outside, there's so many ways to play."
 
It is also leaving a lasting impression on the students that participate:

"I was talking to one of the parents about our event this week on the phone and when their child recognized that I was on the phone, they said 'Hello' to me in Setswana.  I was blown away!" Jerry laughed.

"These kids are learning basic phrases like Hello, How are you?, I Love You, in five or six different languages and thats even further evidence that they're getting something out of this program."

Just Like You is truly promoting International Awareness, something that kids aren't necessarily exposed to right off the bat during their grade school years.  The event this Saturday will be covering a lot of that and Jerry filled me in on what we can expect:

- Recreating a space that represents the world we live in.

- Each kid in attendance will be given a passport that will allow them to travel to different regions in that space collecting stamps and playing a sport from each region.

- There will be live music, including a Mariachi Band.

- Evian Water has sponsored the event and will be providing the refreshments to keep everyone hydrated.

- There will be health-conscious snacks and fruits available.

- Local Public Officials will be speaking at the event.

- You can meet the collaborators behind Just Like You and interact with them.

So for everyone in the Los Angeles/So Cal area, please drop by and be part of Just Like You Int'l Sports Exchange's First Global Playground Event:

Saturday, September 12, 2009

10am-2pm

Boys and Girls Club of San Fernando Valley
11251 Glenoaks Blvd
Pacoima, CA

Don't be afraid to use GoogleMaps!

You can also find out about Jerry's partner in crime behind this event, Anne Marie Herwig.

Hope to see all of you soon!

What do Snoop Dogg, Larry King, Yoda, Motley Crue, Brett Michaels, and the LA Dodgers all have in common?  This is either the weirdest new celebrity reality tv series ('real world' meets 'rock of love') or this is the Dodgers trying really hard to get our attention.  

Along with every other Angeleno, I couldn't avoid noticing the huge "Dodgertown" billboard campaign raging across LA.  (Literally, they're like 50 ft long, every four blocks.  Oh ya, did I mention they're on backs of buses, too?)

No, "Dodgertown" is not a new reality tv show.  According to the LA Times, the billboards are behind the city's decision to give Dodger stadium and surrounding area a zipcode: 90090.
(Ummm, definately NOT where Snoop Dogg lives.)
Dodger Stadium has become the FIRST stadium in history to be given a zipcode.  Hm.

It seems a little ironic that the first stadium to get its own community would be the Dodgers, infamous for building on a site that required complete eradication of the previous community of Chavez-Ravine.  (If you aren't familiar with the Battle of Chavez Ravine, you should read about it or watch the Doc on this ugly part of LA history - racism, red scare, city politics, rich vs poor, the works.)

What does "Dodgertown" mean for future LA history?  Possibly nothing.  Possibly something.  I can't help but wonder, what if all our cities/counties where re-named according to the sports team that could afford to petition the city for their own zipcode???  
"Welcome to Yankeeland", "I live in RaidersVille"; or worse, if parks with sell-out corporate sponsor names followed the lead, it could be: "Now Enterting MinuteMaidTown" (Houston Astros), or "Mail to: AT&TCity" (SF Giants) .  Now it's beginning to sound like a scene from "Idiocracy."  Booyah.

But seriously, what would it mean for a city to be renamed in honor of their sports team?  Awhile back, I remembered reading some Noam Chomsky ideas on organized sports, and they're a little, er, dark: “Sports plays a societal role in engendering jingoist and chauvinist attitudes. They're designed to organize a community to be committed to their gladiators.”

(Jingoism and Chauvinism both refer to extreme patriotism marked by aggressive foreign policy or blind belief in national superiority and glory.  Ya, I looked it up.)

So, Chomksy doesn't go to football games at MIT, I get it.  But as I sat, disgusted in LA traffic (must remember to avoid driving car at all costs) I couldn't help but think dark, Chomskian thoughts about this new "Dodgertown" concept.

Sports can foster international understanding and compassion, and can have a life altering positive effect on many people; there are countless examples, mine included.  Take a look at programs like Just Like You that show how more than anything, playing sports can bring kids together across different cities, even countries.

But then there is that dark side of sports:  the historic violence, hooliganism, and riots also associated with sports fan rivalries -- things that have induced hatred, caused destruction, and even taken lives.  You know how it is when you walk across the section for the other team, and they throw unsettling taunts and insults at you?  Those are regular, well-faring people, who would let you go in front of them at the supermarket if you met them otherwise.  But a very violent opposition arises when we get inside a stadium with our opposing sports jerseys on.   

So my question is, where does Sport go bad? 

I'm not sure. 
I have a feeling [just a feeling] there's something to be said about the Sports Industry relying on the obsession of fans so they can sell never-ending supplies of jerseys, bobble heads, flags, even customized credit cards - and somehow magnifying this obsession via marketing.  But I'd have to ask Chomksy about that.  [Chomksy, if you are reading, please answer.]

At any rate, I like watching baseball, knowing my players, and rooting for my team.  But as for the billboards...I'll cheer for the Dodgers, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to call my town  "Dodgertown."

The view from my kitchen window.