PlaySmart Academy 2026

ONE-WEEK SUMMER EXPERIENCE!

Rye NY

PlaySmart Academy is a one-of-a-kind summer experience for underserved youth in our local community featuring sports, physical fitness, life skills development, and enrichment. It’s a one week program for middle school students (rising 6th to 8th graders) who have a desire to improve themselves not just on the court or field, but more importantly in life. PlaySmart uses sports as a vehicle to teach life skills that youth can take back to the classroom, the community, and to their families.

Features

  • Sports and fitness
  • Guest speakers
  • Lunch and snacks provided
  • T-shirts and other cool stuff
  • Transportation provided
  • Instruction and guidance from trained staff and volunteers

Registration

  • Located in Rye NY

  • Space is limited to 60 participants.
  • Need based program
  • No cost to participate
  • Application completed by parent/guardian and child

Speaker Series

The speaker series is one of the many special components of PlaySmart. Each day campers have the opportunity to hear from either current or former athletes, or those who work in sports related professions. Speakers share their experiences with sports and impart how those lessons they learned on the field have impacted their accomplishments off the field in their personal and professional lives. These talks have served as a source of great inspiration for the campers as they incorporate the pillar of the day into the talk.

Speakers talk for about 20 minutes and then open the forum to the campers giving them the unique opportunity to ask questions and form an open discussion about the athletes’ experiences.

Past Speakers:

  • Michael Levine, Co-Head CAA Sports
  • Allan Houston, Retired NBA All-star

  • Emily Keenan, Former Olympic Soccer player

  • Theresa Weatherspoon, Retired WNBA player

  • Trier Bryant, College Volleyball player

  • Chris Vasami, Retired Professional Baseball player
  • Luis Lopez, Retired Professional Baseball Player
  • Kamiko Williams, WNBA Player
  • Noga Ruttenberg, Iron Man Participant

“Participation in sports has significant positive impacts on children. It helps their physical and mental development, improves their self-esteem, and helps them grow into productive members of their communities. We are honored to help them succeed on and off the field!”

Get Involved

Whether you want to enroll a child, volunteer your time, or support our mission through a donation, there’s a place for you in the PlaySmart community.