San Ramon Teen Founds Soccer Nonprofit

SAN RAMON, CA — A San Ramon student has founded a nonprofit to promote inclusivity and equity in sports.

Sia Bharadwaj, who attends Monte Vista High School, founded Kicks and Goals, which aims to “inspire the next generation of young female athletes from around the world to rise up, break down barriers, and create a brighter future for women's sports.”

Sia has played soccer since she was 8 years old, and quickly excelled. In 2019, at the age of 12, she was even invited by the Futbol Club Barcelona to attend a training camp in Spain. She hopes to play in college and professionally.

However, as she got older and began competing at higher levels, she noticed there was not as much diversity on her teams.

“It became clear to me that not all young girls had the same opportunities to pursue their dreams in soccer as I did. That's when I decided to take action,” Sia told Patch.

She opened Kicks and Goals, which aims to help spread all sorts of diversity - socioeconomic, gender, and ability - in sports. The organization is advocating for unbiased player evaluations, transparent selection processes, encouraging positive parent involvement, investing in coach education and training, establishing a comprehensive talent identification process, and promoting mixed-gender play.

Recently, the organization sponsored a soccer camp at AchieveKids School in Palo Alto, which specializes in children with special needs. The camp provided an opportunity for selected children to participate in a scrimmage.

Kicks and Goals recently signed an agreement with the Salt River Celtic Football Club in South Africa to increase the participation of underprivileged youth. Kicks and Goals is helping the club raise funds to obtain soccer gear and equipment to help establish the first girls’ team.

“Our ultimate goal is to see the girls’ soccer program at SRCFC flourish and grow, providing a safe and supportive environment for young women to develop their soccer skills and achieve their full potential,” the organization said in an online statement. “We are committed to working together to make this happen, and we invite all those who share our passion for youth soccer to join us in this important effort.”