I remember exactly where I was when the phone rang. I was sitting in my office as a middle school counselor when Tom Farrey, newly minted as the Executive Director of Aspen Institute’s Project Play, reached out and asked if he could include our small program in the original Project Play Report as a model for sport sampling. I did my best to play it cool—paused for a second, as if I had to think about it—and then said, “Of course we wouldn’t mind.”
What I didn’t know then was that the other model programs included powerhouses like USA Hockey, Special Olympics, Pop Warner, and the Tony Hawk Foundation. And then… there was little old 2-4-1 Sports. At that time, we had just two locations. Both were short summer camps.
I remember meeting Kevin Martinez from ESPN around the same time. Back then, the idea that we’d ever have the support of an organization of ESPN’s magnitude felt almost laughable. I mean, SportsCenter itself is a daily celebration of multiple sports. I couldn’t help but feel that their ethos aligned perfectly with our own: Life’s 2 short 4 just 1 sport.
Fast forward to last week—the 11th Project Play Summit, this time in Berkeley, California. Kevin and his team, alongside Steph and Ayesha Curry’s Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation, announced a major new initiative called Take Back Sports. They’re infusing $5 million into the youth sports ecosystem and—just as importantly—they’re investing in storytelling, elevating youth sports organizations that model what healthy, holistic sport participation can look like.
And here’s the part that made me pause—again. This time in gratitude.
In the press release announcing the initiative, they featured us. ESPN lifted up 2-4-1 as a model organization for multi-sport participation. Just as Project Play had done over a decade ago. And even more humbling? They listed us as an organization they are already supporting.
There are moments, especially in this work, when I wonder: Are we having the impact we set out to have?
If you’ve followed my writing over the years, you’ve probably heard me say:
People severely overestimate what they can do in a year, but severely underestimate what they can do in a decade.
As I reflect on this past decade—on the steady climb from small “mom and pop” camp to an international nonprofit with a growing global footprint—I know now that we are exactly where we are meant to be. And yet, we’re only just getting started.
We still face headwinds, of course. But we also have the wind at our back—thanks to supporters like you, partners like ESPN, and the countless kids and families who remind us every day why this work matters.
We’ve evolved. We’ve grown. But our mission remains the same:
To provide all children the opportunity to grow physically and emotionally through the play-filled power of sport.
And in moments like this—sitting in a summit room in California, listening to national leaders celebrate multi-sport organizations like ours—I can’t help but think:
That middle school counselor from a decade ago…
He’d be proud.
About Steve Boyle
Steve Boyle is a connector, collaborator, and tireless advocate for making youth sports more playful, inclusive, and developmentally sound. As Executive Director of 2-4-1 CARE, Inc. and Co-Founder of 2-4-1 Sports, Steve has helped lead a growing movement to reshape the youth sports experience—one that puts the joy of play and the whole child at the center. Grounded in his background as a school counselor and coach, Steve co-created the award-winning TOP Self™ platform, which uses sport as a vehicle for social-emotional learning. Under his collaborative leadership, 2-4-1 has grown from a single program in West Hartford, Connecticut to a global nonprofit impacting communities across North America and Africa. Steve’s influence extends beyond his own organization. He served as Advisory Board Chair for the National Association of Physical Literacy and as Global Lead for Athletics and Physical Literacy at Whittle School & Studios, shaping programming in Washington, D.C. and Shenzhen. Whether working with local partners or global networks, Steve brings humility, heart, and a belief in the power of teamwork to everything he does.