“Playing sports is one of the very few things that I love to do,” Jaelyn Lega says. “They teach you a lot about your wellbeing and your mental health.”

Jaelyn Lega’s love of basketball goes beyond just enjoying playing the game casually. Most of the kids warm up by shooting three-pointers or playing one-on-one with their friends. Not Jaelyn. She can be found off to the side, practicing form shots, working on her overall game.

“It means a lot to me actually helping all these kids participating in Free Play itself. Like I know I'm part of something…. I'm part of an actual movement. I'm helping kids.”

Kayden and Richard learnt about Free Play through Thorncliffe, and since signing Kayden up, Richard has seen Kayden develop through much-needed socialization with his teammates.  

"He is learning more about sports and how to work as a team, which I think he was lacking in previous years.”

Junior Coach Nargis Attaiee loves hockey.

Until just months ago, she had never held a stick.

“When I came here, I didn’t know what hockey was! When I started playing, I started having fun. It was really, really fun. That was something very, very different for me.”

Svitlana Ivanchenko came to Edmonton from Ukraine in 2005. 

“I was looking for a good life,” she says. “ And so I left looking for a better place to live.”

Svitlana played lots of sports in Ukraine, and she saw the benefits of sport as a young person. “It did teach me a lot of good things that I could use in the future,” she says.

However, opportunities to play closed off as sports programs began operating on a for-profit basis. Now in Canada, Nika jumped at the chance to sign her daughter Nika, a fourth grader at St. Francis of Assisi, up for Free Play for kids when her school let them know about the program.

Karlene Barnes was concerned that her son Nathaniel wasn’t getting the social interaction that he needed to grow. 

"I find that the neighbourhood here is not so friendly, so to speak,” Karlene explains. “There are kids, but everyone is so isolated, because of the winter as well.”

The Barnes family heard about Free Play for Kids through Nathaniel’s school, Balwin. Karlene was quick to sign him up, thinking it would give him a chance to socialize. One year later, the two of them have given rave reviews for the program.

Piece of mind is a priceless commodity for families. Parents knowing where their kids are at any given moment, even as the adults are out working or running errands can be a massive relief. 

Lizette Katua says as much when talking about Free Play for Kids. Her sons, fifth grader Dino and third grader Michael, learned about Free Play through their school, St. Francis of Assisi.

Raising children today requires money.

For some parents that means working long, thankless hours or taking on demanding trades jobs where a parent has to leave home for weeks on end.

Sometimes, it requires both.

As a lifelong Edmontonian, Margaret Whelen imagines the impact Free Play could have had on her life.

“It would have been amazing if we had something like this when we were kids.”

Lee Cowan personally knows the struggle of a blue collar boom and bust economy.

“About five years ago I had the typical Alberta story, bankruptcy and a family separation.”

As a newly single dad with a demanding career as an electrician in the oilfield, Lee had a difficult task: find time to raise his two boys and provide crucial after school care while simultaneously managing an unforgiving trades work schedule and career transition.

“Home for a week, gone for a bunch, I couldn't do that as a single dad.”

Edston is Talia’s sole legal guardian, taking her in after she lost her father.

Her father had been her sole legal guardian after Talia’s mother had passed away when she was only one and a half years old.

“She had nowhere else to go,” Edston says, “so I stepped up.”

“What Free Play's doing with it right now, I love it. Being with the kids and them looking up to you, I like that."

“I've made people happy. I’ve given more people access to a lot of new things which is a really cool thing to think about: That I’ve accomplished something in my life.”

Coming from the other side of the world with little familiarity of a new culture is no small feat, but it’s the reality for many kids in Free Play. And as far as coaches go, there are few better-equipped than Junior Coach Sadaf to keep them in good hands.

“When you’re playing with [the kids], and they like you,” Sadaf says, “It makes me happy to be here.”

Thabiso Vela has been involved with Free Play for Kids for the past five years, and she says it’s become even more people-focused since she first started reffing soccer games in grade seven.

Marina Simpson is a pensioner, and she’s her granddaughter Jade’s sole caretaker. Children’s sports programs in their neighbourhood were few and far between.

"[Jade is] seven, she's a hyper little girl. I thought it would be good for her to be out and about and also to have her friends participating in sports.”

Jasmine’s job meant that an after-school option for her two sons, Urijah and Isaiah was necessary. But the options available to her were prohibitively expensive. Free Play was there to lend a hand.

“It’s taught them a lot and has gotten them to experience a lot outside their comfort zone.”

“Daycare and Out of School care programs are expensive. Free Play has provided opportunity for us, even during the summertime with the all-day programs. They help [families] so they don’t have to worry about childcare.”

“We moved [here] for our children’s futures,” she says. “There is lots of struggling and issues [in Bangladesh]... There is a better future in Canada than in [Bangladesh].”

You could recognize, Jaylin is enjoying himself surrounded by his friends. So we asked the question: “Has Jaylin always been like this?”. Jackie explains, “we have a motto in our home: just maintain a positive attitude and keep on smiling”.