Jazmine Smith is the founder and CEO of Eyekonz, a non-profit organization which provides sporting opportunities for African American girls aged 5 to 15 in Philadelphia through participation in

field hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...

and

lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

. Smith was nominated as a White House “Changemaker” for her work with Eyekonz. She would attend the United State of Women Summit from June 14 to 15, 2016 at the White House. Raised in Radnor, Pennsylvania, Smith played both field hockey and lacrosse growing up. With regards to field hockey, Smith competed at both Radnor Middle School and Radnor High School. In high school, she played for Phyllis Kilgore., a nationally renowned field hockey coach. Afterwards, Smith gained an athletic scholarship for basketball and played club field hock for Kutztown University. Having also worked as a coach, Her lacrosse and field hockey programs for African-American and Latino girls include clinics, the chance to participate on club teams, while working towards establishing teams on public and charter schools throughout Philadelphia. One of her players, Margret Stewart (who was once homeless) was awarded the “Strong Kid of the Game” Award by the NBA’s

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

in November 2015.

Eyekonz

Smith’s efforts to establish these sporting programs exists is coordinated through an organization that she founded, known as Eyekonz. Among the organizations that Eyekonz has participated with includes U.S.A. Field Hockey Association, U.S. Lacrosse Association, and the United Women's Lacrosse League UWLX, a professional women’s lacrosse league dedicated to having a positive impact in the female sporting community, highlighted by players working in the community and participating in lacrosse clinics for youth players. Smith brought Philadelphia’s Strawberry Mansion High School girls’ lacrosse team to the inaugural UWLX weekend at Lehigh University, where the team also participated against other youth teams. Her field hockey work with Eyekonz shall also be the subject of a documentary by the USA Olympic Field Hockey Association.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Jazmine Living people American female field hockey players Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women