GirlDads Care's Initiative in Strengthening a Father and Daughter's Bond
By: Andrea Aruino
The relationship between father and daughter is a unique bond that has the power to help shape their sense of self and confidence. The foundation to a strong bond requires a commitment to spending time with her, an intangible that has become invaluable in such a fast-paced and busy world. With the constant demands of work, household responsibilities, finances, and more, it is easy for parents to get lost in the routine of their daily tasks. That is where GirlDads Care comes into play, reminding fathers specifically how impactful time spent with their daughters are in creating opportunities and memories.
On a mission to find a multitude of ways to spend time with his own daughter, Will Mosley founded GirlDads Care which is an entire community of dads who simply want to connect with their daughters. When reflecting on his relationship with his now two-year old daughter, he is in awe of the ways in which she seeks exploration and shows curiosity in the world around her. Activities that foster the growth of connection can look like daddy daughter dances or bring your dad to school day, but Will recognized the need for more opportunities.
“There has to be more that we can do with and for our daughters. I fell into this rabbit hole of talking to dads trying to find ways to curate opportunities to deepen their relationships. We started in sports, there are so many lessons like confidence and teamwork that you can teach your child, and since then we’ve partnered with so many different organizations who believe in our message,” Mosley said.
Mosley recognized the powerful tools that sports has to offer for the young mind which is why he seeks collaboration with organizations that acknowledge the value of father and daughter time while also creating spaces that cultivate development. So far Mosley and his team has already collaborated with WNBA’s Dallas Wings and looks to expand to the NBA as well, they’ve also held a 5k for breast cancer awareness, and much more. With a spark for basketball, Mosley found Unlimited Potential Basketball and knew it was the spot that would have no problem in accepting and upholding the values of GirlDads Care.
“I found out about UPB just by doing some research. I wanted to find organizations that we could work with and Coach Packie stood out to me. He’s done an outstanding job and you can see that through the players he’s worked with and helped achieve the highest level. It was a no brainer, on top of that, he’s a girl dad himself and all of that combined just makes it a great partnership,” Mosley said.
As Coach Packie is a girl dad himself who undoubtedly has an unwavering passion for basketball, he knows what it’s like to share his love for basketball with his daughters as a way to bond. The collaboration between GirlDads Care and UPB is just one way that Mosley has shown his commitment to expanding his message around the nation. In the daddy and daughter clinic, fathers and their daughters will have the opportunity to play side by side working on drills and simply having fun.
“One of our goals is to lead by example, so what better way can dads do that than to be side by side playing with their daughter? And it’s a mutual thing, we’ve seen girls encourage their fathers as well. At the end of the day the goal is to bond and have fun, it doesn’t matter if shots were missed or passes were off. What matters are the memories made and the community created,” Mosley said.
Aside from the promotion of father and daughter time, GirlDads Care prides itself on the pillar of diversity, community service, and father mentorship. There’s so much that comes with being a parent and many come from different backgrounds which is one of the reasons why mentorship for Mosley is a huge goal. He understands that some fathers need more guidance than others and it would be helpful to create an opportunity where fathers can discuss with each other what has worked in raising their daughter and what hasn’t. All of these experiences are just the foundation to building a great relationship, but fathers have to do the extra work in being consistent and showing up.
“Ultimately, we just want to encourage fathers to spend time with their daughters. Everything doesn’t have to be done right but understanding the time a father puts towards spending time with their daughter is an investment and it should be cherished deeply,” Mosley said.
GirlDads Care just wants to see fathers and daughters sharing moments together. The role of a father goes beyond just attending these events and is a role that requires being present and showing up through every challenge and triumph. Join UPB as we collaborate with GirlDads Care to share the love of basketball. The Daddy Daughter Clinic will be held on June 6 from 12-30pm-3:00pm. If you’re interested in being a part of this make sure to sign up, we hope to see you there!
