UMass Athletes Empower Amherst Youth With Run Your City

Run Your City (RYC) is where the rubber meets the road for Rylee Shunney, kinesiology major and co-president of the UMass Amherst chapter. She learned from her time playing youth sports just how important athletics are to a child’s development. 

“I truly believe that the relationships I built with teammates and coaches, along with the experiences I had through youth sports, helped shape the person I am today,” said Shunney. 

Co-Presidents Rylee Shunney (L) and Ella Bosselman (R)

With RYC, Shunney has been able to pass along this experience to as much of the next generation as she can. The national nonprofit, which entrusts college athletes to empower local kids by coaching them in track and field, is free for participants in kindergarten through 8th grade. With one less barrier to entry, students have more opportunity to explore the sport and the value of teamwork to their fullest extent. 

Shunney and co-president Ella Bosselman, a fellow kinesiology major, helped form the interdisciplinary team running the UMass Amherst RYC chapter with a request to her teammates on the UMass Track & Field team, which yielded immediate interest from teammates. Now, they're making the most of this experience for their eager runners. 

“We have personalized our chapter by making UMass itself a central part of the experience. Our volunteers are UMass students and student-athletes, and we utilize UMass facilities to give the kids an opportunity to run on the same track and use the same equipment as our collegiate athletes," Shunney said. 

UMass is elevating Shunney's experience with RYC as much as it is the kids she coaches. She credits her kinesiology curriculum for stressing the importance of physical activity at every stage of life and teaching her about the many social and environmental determinants of health and the barriers that prevent people from being physically active. 

“UMass has also encouraged me to take initiative, be bold, and build connections with the people around me. Becoming a Co-President of Run Your City has really embodied those values for me. It has pushed me to take an idea, turn it into something tangible, and create something that can have a lasting impact on the community," Shunney said.