Everybody has talent, but ability takes hard work

Michael Jordan

Meet our dedicated team

founders
Chris Bowles

Chris Bowles

Co-Founder / Ops Director / Finance

Sophia Bowles

Sophia Bowles

Co-Founder / Youth Ambassador 

Toni Bowles

Toni Bowles

Co-Founder / President

The rest of the squad
Mary Ann Rodriguez

Mary Ann Rodriguez

Secretary / Community Outreach

The Girl Who Started It All

Follow Sophia's Journey

Hop on over to Sophia’s Instagram to learn more about the girl who started it all. See what she’s been up to, get helpful resources for your own girls, and take a peek at the steps Sophia’s taken to get to where she is today in the big leagues.

About PlayBrightly

Supporting and Advancing girls in the game of basketball

From entry to elite level, PlayBrightly will be there to help your daughter throughout her basketball journey. We know the ins and outs of this field, and we have the resources you need to help your daughter succeed. Our focus is geared towards girls ages 8-14.

Portrait Of Female High School Basketball Team Celebrating On Court
The Story

Helping Your Girls Succeed

Since the age of four, our daughter Sophia has been playing basketball.  At first it was a natural progression from City recreation leagues to NJB leagues but we quickly discovered that her hunger for more put us, her parents, in a position to search endlessly for opportunities.  In addition to the fact that player development resources and AAU teams are far less available for young girls, we also experienced access to limited resources in the County we live in.  Naturally, we researched, asked a ton of questions and drove endlessly to seek more opportunities to challenge her and feed her hunger for more.   

We ended up making long-lasting relationships with gym owners, coaches and trainers in cities within a two-hour radius.  We began to understand the complex environment of girls’ basketball and often found ourselves responding to texts, emails and phone calls from parents who knew Sophia and had questions about the process.  We quickly became the cliff notes version of navigating the local circuit for girls 4th-8th grade.   

As a family, we made a commitment to share knowledge so that Sophia’s friends and the girls coming up behind and alongside her would have a clearer path for which to fulfill their basketball dreams.  This is how our nonprofit, Play Brightly Youth Charitable Foundation, began.

In the end, we want as many girls as possible to stay in the game because we know that drive, grit, discipline and determination are all qualities that will lead to a world with strong women in leadership roles. If we can bridge the gap with access to knowledge and resources for other families to support their young female hoopers, then we’ve accomplished our goal of helping her #PlayBrightly.

Donate to Our Cause

We create opportunities for underserved children to experience the life long benefits of youth sports.

Stay Connected

Most of the info you'll need to help your daughter is regularly dispersed through social media.