With basketball star Caitlin Clark bursting onto the national stage, Chamber partner Elyssa Brock of Game On! Sports 4 Girls is fired up. "Watching girls become confident and try something new is the main thing," she says of running her sports camps, events, and training. "When I see a camper go from being afraid to pick up a ball to full-court dribbling, their beaming smile makes my day."
Elyssa understands sports are uniquely empowering. "Sports teach our girls to lead, be teammates, problem-solve, move their bodies, push themselves, try new things, make new friends, and have fun!"
"You don't have to be an athlete to benefit from sports," she believes, recalling her parents' early support. "I played with mostly boys, which fueled my determination. I wanted to show them that 'throwing like a girl'" was a positive," she laughs.
A native of New Hampshire ("tiny Francestown," she smiles), Elyssa emerged as a multi-sport high school and college athlete. She was captivated by Park City during a family ski trip as a teen. "Since then, I knew I would establish my roots here." After completing university in Vermont, she worked in professional sports while honing the business model for Game On! Sports 4 Girls. Today, she operates in Park City and Heber, with a Kaysville branch opening this summer. Her campers sample practically every sport. "In the mornings, soccer, basketball, lacrosse, softball, volleyball, and field hockey," she recounts. "Afternoons are for flag football, yoga, pickleball, tennis, martial arts, rugby, injury prevention, and goal setting."
"Some girls get frustrated or won't try because they think they have to be perfect," she says of how attitudes change. "But then they see others mess up, work hard, and improve." Others go from initial hesitation to go-for-broke engagement. "I get emails from parents saying, 'She's come out of her shell and discovered things I never knew she'd be interested in.'”
"Notes like that are why I do what I do!"