South Park Youth Gain Increased Sports Access

South Park resident Henry Linehan was watching his 9-year-old son, Slay, navigate a ball hockey court with his newly acquired stick as he reminisced about his own childhood memories past.

The West Haven, Connecticut transplant had played street hockey throughout his youth but never imagined his son doing it as well. That’s all changed with a new South Park Sport Court that officially opened last Saturday at the local community center and adjacent park playfield, about two blocks from Linehan’s home, allowing his son to take up a multitude of activities daily if he so chooses.

“He’s very active and we’ve talked about hockey and how much fun it was for me to play as a kid,” Linehan said. “But you need a bunch of kids, and you need equipment for that. And now, boom! Here we are. We had to wait for it, sure. We’ve waited a long time.”

Those attending the opening of the region’s third multisport court erected by the One Roof Foundation (ORF), the Kraken’s philanthropic arm, received a free ball hockey stick courtesy of the team so they could begin playing right away. The foundation also donated a separate batch of sticks to the local community center so they can be loaned out to those wishing to use the court.

As mentioned, it’s been quite a wait for neighborhood residents eager to see a retrofit of the community’s aging and somewhat neglected park area, which has been largely shut down the past decade. But now, after a $17.5 million overhaul and collaboration between the city and local community groups, it now contains a renovated community center and reimagined surrounding park space – including the sport court, as well as a soccer field and a dog park.

“It means hope, it means a lot of resilience,” said Paulina Lopez, executive director of the Duwamish River Community Coalition, which has created initiatives aimed at helping South Park neighborhood’s immigrant and refugee residents. “We have a lot of youth here, youth of color, that have not had an opportunity to learn what all the sports are and to benefit from these sports.

“And that is why this means hope for them and to be able to enjoy them like in any other neighborhood.”

The park unofficially reopened a few months ago, but Saturday’s launch marked the first time the adjacent community center would handle organized scheduling and activities on the sport court and elsewhere.

“We’ve been seeing many kids playing soccer and playing basketball and we want them to learn hockey,” Lopez said. “We want them to learn what this sport is because they’re not very familiar. So, we’re grateful to One Roof and to the Kraken.”

Lopez said One Roof and executive director Mari Horita has contributed to South Park on behalf of the Kraken in a variety of ways.

“Not just in sports,” she said. “We have very high asthma hospitalization rates, and we’ve been providing air filters to our classrooms, to families, to decrease those asthma episodes. The foundation has been very concerned about pollution in the neighborhood, so they’ve been trying to bring more greenery, more trees, more parks, either by themselves or by drawing attention to it. So, it’s been wonderful knowing the Kraken have been alongside us this whole time.”

One Roof Foundation has helped erect two prior sport court facilities at the Verlo Playfield in Tacoma last May and Bryn Mawr-Skyway three years ago. An additional court is scheduled to open Saturday on the Muckleshoot Indian reservation and another in Northgate this summer.

Kraken owner Samantha Holloway, on hand for Saturday’s ribbon cutting, told the crowd of South Park community activists, youth and assembled politicians – including Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson – that the sport court “is just one piece” of the reimagined park and a culmination of efforts by multiple parties.

The sport court portion of the park’s upgrades includes surrounding boards allowing for ball hockey to be played on the asphalt surface, as well as basketball and futsal – a variant of indoor soccer played outside. And for South Park, which has a lack of green spaces and the highest per capita youth of color of any Seattle neighborhood, the court will open opportunities previously unseen. One Roof Foundation hired muralist Brady Black who worked with youth from the Duwamish Valley Youth Corps last summer to bring this court to life visually. Together they created a guiding motto to create the mural: Inspiring action in the community through environmental justice. You'll see that vision reflected in the artwork: local flowers in bloom, a nod to growth and new beginnings; salmon in the rivers, honoring the fight for clean water and resilience; and a welcome in both English and Lushootseed, an acknowledgment that this community's roots run deep.

“It’s moments in community like this that remind me why the work the One Roof Foundation does matters so much,” Holloway said. “The community has waited a long time for the celebration, and I want to thank all of the groups and community members involved in this massive undertaking.”

She added: “This is a space where kids will grow up, friendships will form and the community will gather for years to come.”

South Park resident Linehan said he’s hoping his son will now take his new hockey stick, walk the two blocks and gather with others on the sport court whenever he has spare time.

“It’s exposure to a totally new sport,” he said, watching young Slay stickhandle a ball past some other children. “He’s a very athletic kid. He loves flag football and he does jiu jitsu. It would be amazing if he could keep playing ball hockey if he likes it. And looking at him now, it seems like he does.”