Husky Sport

Husky Sport is a program that connects UCONN students and student-athletes with North End Hartford youths through school-based, after school, and summer activities.  Husky Sport’s goal is to expose these youths to a variety of sports and physical activity in general.  While involved in sport and physical activity, participants are also assisted in developing healthier lifestyles and forming positive relationships with current UConn graduate and undergraduate students, current UCONN student-athletes, and former student-athletes, now graduate students, who serve as mentors.

Husky Sport's research component includes Dr. Jennifer Bruening and her graduate students examining the factors that limit physical activity of pre-adolescent girls of color in Hartford, including race, gender, access, economics and exposure. The service component involves a variety of activities that begin to address these factors including specific programming targeted at girls and introduction to nontraditional sports such as field hockey, lacrosse, and rowing.  2006-2007 also saw a new project examining the effects of Husky Sport on the college student mentors as part of a master’s thesis project.

Bruening's team organizes introductions to a variety of sports, physical activity, as well as life skills lessons on topics such as conflict resolution and body image. With the help of the Husky Nutrition program, participants receive a snack and lessons about healthy eating. In partnering with the City of Hartford Division of Health and Human Services, health education sessions are also part of the program.

During the 2006-2007 academic year, Husky Sport provided programming at the City of Hartford’s Kelvin D. Anderson Recreation Center a total of 99 afternoons.  Husky Sport also provided volunteers in Clark Elementary School’s physical education classes on 115 occasions and at the Hartford Catholic Worker House on 65 occasions.  The program also sponsored twelve field trips (e.g., UCONN athletic events, UCONN campus, Boston Marathon, bowling, roller skating, mini-golf, adventure camp)

Husky Sport and the Hartford youth it serves have benefited from relationships with the UCONN Storrs campus (Neag School of Education, Center for Health and Health Policy, Kinesiology Department, Nutritional Sciences Department, Community Outreach Office, and Division of Athletics), the City of Hartford Division of Health and Human Services, the US Department of Agriculture’s Food Stamp Nutrition Education Program, the UCONN Health Center (Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Women’s Health), and Northeastern University’s Center for the Study of Sport in Society.