Our Approach
Building Better Humans with the Power of Sports
Youth sports should help children grow into healthy, confident, resilient adults. Too often, today’s system does the opposite and is in a severe structural crisis.
Participation is declining. Mental health challenges are rising. Cost barriers and inequitable access are pushing kids out of play, especially those from under-resourced communities.
At ShareWaves, we exist to fix that.
Our Core Belief
Movement is the medicine.
Access to play is a fundamental right.
And the system, not the children, is what needs fixing.
The modern youth sports system consistently rewards privilege instead of holistic development.
It prioritizes convenience, profit, and early specialization over health, belonging, and long-term well-being.
This is not a participation problem. It’s a systems problem.
Our Theory of Change
ShareWaves believes that when children have consistent access to quality movement experiences supported by caring adults and safe environments, they develop the physical, emotional, and social foundations needed to thrive.
Our work blends:
The healing power of sports and physical activity
Trauma-informed, developmentally aligned coaching
Family and community support
Systems-level coordination and advocacy
We intentionally focus on communities where poverty, childhood adversity, and limited access intersect to create the most significant barriers to play.
Our strategy is grounded in evidence and collaboration, and informed by frameworks such as Project Play and the Kansas City Physical Activity Plan, which show that sustainable change occurs when communities align on equity, collaboration, and shared responsibility.
Movement Is the Medicine.
Access to Play Is Not Optional.
Rather than operating as a standalone program provider, ShareWaves functions as an emerging integrative backbone connecting partners, strengthening infrastructure, and advancing solutions that can scale responsibly over time.
Decades of research confirm what families and communities already know: regular physical activity is foundational to physical health, mental well-being, emotional regulation, and social connection.
What Guides Our Model
For many children, especially those facing poverty, trauma, or limited family support, sport is not extracurricular. It is preventative care.
When kids lose access to safe, supportive movement, the consequences extend far beyond sports.
Our work operates at the intersection of access, experience, and systems.
We remove cost and structural barriers that prevent kids from participating in sports and physical activity.
We deliver high-quality, developmentally sound movement experiences that prioritize safety, belonging, and long-term well-being over short-term performance.
And we work upstream to repair the systems — policies, funding structures, incentives, and decision-making frameworks that shape who gets to play and who gets left out.
Build What Lasts
Lasting change means building systems, not just programs, that keep kids moving, supported, and included over time by aligning access, quality experiences, and policy so opportunity doesn’t disappear when a season or grant ends.
HOW SHAREWAVES IS REBUILDING THE SYSTEM
ShareWaves operates through four integrated pillars that restore what kids need most: movement, belonging, safety, and opportunity.
How We Measure Success
Our approach is intentionally preventative, community-centered, and systems-focused. In 2025, that translated into real, measurable progress.
These numbers represent families supported, barriers removed, and systems beginning to shift.
They are also why we’re confident in what comes next.
Our approach shows up on the ground through targeted access investments, high-quality movement experiences, and coordinated system-building work across Kansas City.
In 2025 alone, that meant thousands of kids gaining access to consistent physical activity, families receiving direct support to stay in the game, and partners aligning around a shared, child-centered vision for youth sports.
This work is designed to scale responsibly, strengthening communities rather than extracting from them.