With their eye on the girls’ sports market, Nike and the WNBA’s Seattle Storm have entered into a partnership along with the WNBA and NBA for Season Two of Game Growers, an empowering program for girls 13 years or older in seventh or eighth grade to share their ideas on how to encourage more girls to play sports.

“Nike believes that girls who move, move the world. And we know that 13 is a critical age to keep girls engaged in sport so they can reap the benefits of being active,” says Caitlin Morris, GM of Social & Community Impact at Nike. “This is the age when girls are likely to drop out of sport – a lack of supportive coaches or access to the right product to play with confidence are two of many reasons why. Inclusive, community-based programs like Game Growers connect girls to play and sport and provide them with the opportunity to shape the future of the game for other girls, too.”

“The Seattle Storm is committed to empowering women and girls both on and off the court,” adds Storm CEO and GM Alisha Valavanis. “Game Growers’ purpose of providing girls with encouragement and resources to stay in sports and gain leadership abilities matches the Storm’s goals of supporting girls in the greater Puget Sound region.”

“It’s important for girls to stay in sports because it helps them develop their self-confidence,” forward Alysha Clark said. “It gives them the opportunity to fuel their competitiveness in a healthy way and helps them with their problem solving & time management skills. I know for me, sports gave me the opportunity to find my assertiveness and taught me how to apply that in my everyday life. Sports taught me it’s ok to be confident and fierce while being female.”

By age 14, girls are dropping out of sport at twice the rate of boys. According to a 2018 study from the Women’s Sports Foundation, nearly 40 percent of girls don’t participate in sport, versus 25 percent of boys.