Photo: Heather Mitts, a former US Women's National Team player and three-time Olympic Gold Medalist, helped NJ Youth Soccer make its initial announcement of the Growing the Girls Initiative at the 2021 NJYS Annual General Meeting. Her company, Train Like Legends, is part of the G3 programming.
G3 Focuses on Increasing Opportunities and Participation for Girls and Women in Youth Soccer
New Jersey Youth Soccer is proud to continue the evolution of its NJYS Growing the Girls Game (G3) Initiative. Originally launched in 2021, the G3 Initiative focuses on empowering females both on and off the field, and at all ages and stages of the soccer experience.
With an emphasis being placed on the girls’ youth game, the G3 Initiative endeavors to introduce more girls and women to opportunities in the game while also helping to grow female participation in administration, coaching, refereeing and playing. Further, NJ Youth Soccer is excited to announce the addition of Women and Girls in Soccer (WAGS) and Soccer Girl Problems as key supporters of the initiative as G3 programming is introduced for 2023.
“We celebrate NJYS for elevating females in the game by creating and implementing the Growing the Girls Game (G3) Initiative,” said Kerry Diederich, WAGS Executive Director. “We are honored to partner with NJYS in providing opportunities and support for women and girls through soccer.”
Full breakdown of opportunities being offered through the NJYS G3 Initiative:
1. NJYS Internship
2. Coaching Education & Referee Scholarships
- Grassroots Referee License sponsored by WAGS
- US Soccer Grassroots License sponsored by WAGS
- NJYS State Certificate supported by WAGS
- NJYS Y-Course
3. ODP Scholarship
4. Young Olympians Scholarship
5. 4v4 Festivals
6. Team Subscription to Techne Futbol
7. Annual Team Subscription to Train Like Legends
8. Workshop Series with Former Pro Soccer Player Jen Hoy
“NJ Youth Soccer, with full support from our Board of Directors, is thrilled to continue this commitment to Growing the Girls Game,” said Jess Yeager, NJYS President. “We are equally honored by the commitment demonstrated from all of our partners and supporters who are helping to make this initiative so much broader.”
In collaboration with its supportive partners, NJ Youth Soccer is presenting a variety of opportunities and experiences to female membership through the G3 Initiative. Among those offerings are player and coaching scholarships, soccer festivals and subscription access to player development app Techne Futbol, which was created by former U.S. Women’s National Team and New Jersey ODP player Yael Averbuch.
NJ Youth Soccer has also partnered with Train Like Legends, which was developed by former U.S. Women’s National Team player and three-time Olympic Gold Medalist, Heather Mitts, to Educate, Guide and Inspire young athletes to reach their full potential both on and off the field.
As partners of the G3 Initiative, SoccerGrlProbs is now offering 20% OFF to the NJYS community for all of their empowering apparel and educational products, eBooks and eCourses for female athletes. To take advantage, simply use the code NJYS20 at checkout on SoccerGrlProbs.com.
An additional highlight of the G3 Initiative is an upcoming workshop series with former professional soccer player, Jen Hoy. The Princeton graduate played in the National Women’s Soccer League for the Chicago Red Stars and Sky Blue FC (now Gotham FC), and she also competed internationally for the Newcastle Jets in Australia. Since hanging up her boots, Hoy has become a Certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach and Certified Integrative Health Practitioner. She also founded Her Power Academy, which helps student-athletes overcome performance anxiety, boost confidence and build powerful life skills in a fun and efficient way.
As part of the G3 Initiative, NJ Youth Soccer teamed up with Women and Girls in Soccer (WAGS) this past summer to offer a groundbreaking all-female course for the U.S. Soccer National C License. This course was sponsored by WAGS and offered candidates a full reimbursement of their course fees and travel expenses. This all-female course was made available in an effort to increase the number of high-level female coaches throughout the State of New Jersey and beyond.
To find out more information about New Jersey Youth Soccer or to contact us directly, please email [email protected]. Also make sure to follow us on social media: @NJYouthSoccer
About Growing the Girls Game (G3) Branding
The New Jersey Youth Soccer “Growing the Girls Game” Initiative (or better known as “G3") branding was designed in collaboration with ÉPICO Studios, the Official Creative Services Provider of NJ Youth Soccer. ÉPICO Studios, led by Principal and Creative Director Rich Levy, has provided creative and graphic design services to NJ Youth Soccer for more than five years. Levy was Major League Soccer’s first Creative Director. Since then, he has worked with the likes of top soccer brands such as U.S. Soccer’s SheBelieves Cup, Concacaf’s Nations League, Copa América Centenario, Red Bulls and Relevent Sports Group’s Women's ICC.