Playing hard and living well: Youth sports and wellness expo to take place in Frisco

Sports are increasingly becoming a big part of the typical American childhood, yet almost 70 percent of children drop out of organized sports by age 13, according to information from the National Alliance for Youth Sports. An upcoming Frisco expo hopes to change this trend, however, and keep children and their parents in the game.

The Play Hard, Live Well! Youth Sports and Wellness Expo will take place on July 25 at Embassy Suites, located next to Dr Pepper Arena. The expo, which is expected to draw 10,000 attendees, is in its second year, although it's a part of the 12th annual National Basketball Championships hosted by PrimeTime Sports.

"The expo was a concept I developed a couple of years ago to tipoff the activities of our tournament," said David Stephens, CEO of event producer PrimeTime Sports. "Wednesday is the day of the expo; it's a day the teams do not play. So we created the expo to create an activity that we thought the young people would enjoy in addition to their competition over the four subsequent days."

Nancy Lieberman, an icon in women's sports, will serve as the featured speaker at the expo. Lieberman is perhaps best known as a former WNBA player as well as a former coach in the league. She's also been an ESPN analyst and served as the head coach of the Frisco-based Texas Legends for one season, becoming the first woman to coach in an NBA-affiliated league.

"Nancy has a great story to tell -- she shares her experience about the commitment and dedication it takes to have success at different levels of the sport," Stephens said. "She also has a really good understanding why participation in sports is a value not simply so you can play at the next level, but because of the life lessons one learns through competition, like hard work, dedication, sacrifice and team before self."

In addition to Lieberman, the event will also feature a presentation from AMP 1, a group of amputee athletes who play competitive stand-up basketball on prosthetics. Scott Odom, a member of the group who lost his leg due to cancer, will speak to expo attendees.

"For us to be given the opportunity to spread our message of overcoming adversity and never giving up on your dreams and goals means so much to [each of us]," Odom said in a statement. "[Being able to share] our message to a ton of basketball youths striving to be the best athletes they can makes it that much more special. We hope to inspire, motivate and leave a positive impression on all who are at the expo."

The expo will feature 50 vendors and various activities, from knockout basketball competitions to information presentations about fundraising for youth sports. Additional presentations will also provide information about maintaining a healthy lifestyle to expo attendees.

While the event will primarily have a basketball emphasis, information parents and children receive in the expo will transcend the boundaries of a single sport, Stephens said.

"Anyone that's a parent of a young athlete will get information that's easily transferrable across sports," he said. "Whether it's the stretching or the life lessons from Amp 1 -- all of that's easily transferrable. While it's a strong basketball theme, the information provided is by no means limited to basketball."

Another issue Stephens hopes the expo and tournament will combat is America's growing obesity problem. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 17 percent of all America children between the ages of 2 and 19 are obese.

"It was originally going to be just a sports expo, but we felt that because of that national dialogue that was going on that we needed to have both a sports and wellness expo," Stephens said. "I think everyone understands and is looking for answers to help our children remain active. This is one of the tools to better equip young people to start a healthy lifestyle they can hopefully maintain all their lives."

The Play Hard, Live Well! Youth Sports and Wellness Expo will take place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on July 25 at 7600 John Q. Hammons Drive. The expo is free of charge.

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