Our Story

In our humble opinions, the early ‘90s proved to be a great phase in American history.  The ever-popular mushroom perm of the ‘80s fell out of fashion, flannel shirts became vogue, Michael Jordan electrified crowds with his tongue-wagging dunks, and the Nintendo Gameboy made family vacations more enjoyable for everyone. And during that great era, Sport 4 Peace emerged.

Sport 4 Peace began as a dream, a dream to positively impact the world through sports.  If you couldn’t tell by our name, we really love sports.  Our own personal backgrounds and experiences are in sports – that is what we do.  Sport is a universal language spoken in every corner of the globe, no matter the politics, religion, geography, dialect, or culture.  Entire communities stop everything to watch the World Cup or the Olympics, and even the most remote village in the jungle will have a ball and a net.

For us, it all started in the People’s Republic of China – in the rural, outer provinces we offered camps and clinics for schools and universities.  And what sport would people want Americans to come coach in the early ‘90s?  Basketball of course!  Not only was it a chance for young people to learn to dribble like an NBA star and for coaches to practice running game-winning plays, but the greatest outcome was the friendships and cultural understanding that developed when our American volunteers and our Chinese partners worked together in community.

After our activities and projects in the outer provinces in China, requests began trickling in from all over the world.  Could we introduce women’s fast-pitch softball in Iran?  Could we send an American basketball team to North Korea for friendly competition and cultural exchange?  What about a Peace Camp using baseball for Israeli and Palestinian youth?  With everything from marathons in Morocco to women’s soccer in Saudi Arabia to Ultimate Frisbee in Malaysia, we have been flooded with requests for camps, coaches, clinics, training, workshops and consultations. 

But it’s not about us or what we, “the experts,” can “do for them.” It’s about how we can all stand together, working towards a common goal to empower entire communities, to grow together in mutual understanding and camaraderie.

Sport, for us, is clearly more than just sport; it is a tool, a vehicle, a method for promoting health, friendship, love, and peace.  And let’s face it -- peace and love are exactly what is needed in our broken world.