Tim Adams is the founder of Free Play for Kids which started out as Free Footie in 2007, when he met a group of kids that broke his heart into a million pieces. 

Tim Adams was at an inner-city school filled with struggling kids, doing a story for his former job as a reporter with CBC Edmonton. After turning the mic off, he asked about volunteering. He had played a lot of soccer and thought he could give the sport back to some of the kids who wouldn’t otherwise have the chance to play. 

That instance grew into what we know today as www.freeplayforkids.com

The lives that kids lead in our diverse community can get dark. Not everyone has the coach that has changed their life or the mentor that leads by example or the opportunities that make things work out. Not everyone has a safe space at home or their basic needs covered or the skills that some of us take for granted like making breakfast or even being able to afford breakfast.

Tim works very hard putting in the reps, to make amazing things happen for kids and young leaders. He recognizes the privilege he has and the experiences he’s had that other kids haven’t even been able to imagine before Free Play For Kids. 

He also knows first hand just how life changing having access to sport and coaches who make you feel seen can be on someone’s life. 

Not only has Tim provided an opportunity to play, he’s grown the program to provide opportunities for leadership, and created a safe space for kids to be their authentic selves. 

His team of coaches comes from diverse backgrounds and skills and identities. You can see it in how they lead, and how happy the kids are to be around them. 

They’ve found ways to transport the kids so that it’s no longer a barrier. They’ve formed partnerships with businesses to bring food to kids when gathering wasn’t an option. They’ve worked hard to be there for kids when kids need them most in these unprecedented times. 

There is no perfect journey to an undertaking as massive as Free Play, but Tim shares a piece of it all on this episode and how sometimes we have to leave a financially secure space where we don’t feel supported and take a risk on ourselves. 

Sometimes you have to simply bet on yourself. Just do it. 

Over the years, Tim has been recognized as a Top 40 Under 40 (2011) by Edify magazine, he was on of two civilians to receive the 2013 Alberta Justice and Solicitor General Crime Prevention Award, and he was most recently a Northern Lights recipient in 2020. 

That’s just the tip of the iceberg. To get to know more about him, he’s most active on Twitter.

To get to know your host, Chris Liddle, you can follow him @christianliddle, or follow the show @thelifestylechase or head to www.invigoratetraining.com

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