When Johan Koss was seven, he got his first pair of ice skates as a gift for Christmas. Right after receiving them, he ran straight over to the local rink to try them out. Just four years later, those skates had transformed into more than just a gift for Johann; they had become his passion. As Koss says “I was eleven when I set myself the goal to become the world’s best speed skater.” At the time, it was the thrill of victory that he was seeking, the satisfaction of knowing he’d become a champion. It was only later that Koss would come to realize that just as exciting as the victories he would one day win would be everything the victories would allow him to achieve.
Remarkably, Koss’ seemingly impossible childhood goal to become the world’s best speed skater slowly became a reality. He practiced tirelessly and eventually his hard work paid off. In 1990, he won the World Allround Championships in Austria, and by 1992, he had qualified for the Winter Olympics.
As an Olympian and a world champion, Koss understood that he needed to do more than just win races; he needed to explore the idea of using his status to give back. In 1991 he became an ambassador for an organization called Save the Children and then worked as an Olympic ambassador for a group called Olympic Aid that supported citizens of war-torn countries. In 1993, through Olympic Aid, he was invited to travel to Africa for the first time to see some of the on-the-ground projects that his fundraising and advocacy was helping to support. His travels brought him face to face with those who were most directly impacted by poverty and other hardship in the Third World. One day during his trip, he met with a group of boys that were about 11 or 12 years old. He was shocked to find that they were so poor that they couldn’t even afford a soccer ball to play with; instead they were using one of the boy’s shirts as a ball. Koss couldn’t believe it. “I promised after the Olympics I’d come back with some balls for them”, he said. Later on this same trip, Koss traveled through a village and met another group of kids, around 7 and 8 years old. When he met them they were admiring a set of posters. The posters were images of martyrs who had died in local warfare and had since become heroes. Koss remembers being struck by a particular thought at that exact moment. “If we can create sports heroes instead of war heroes” he remembers thinking to himself “how much could that positively impact their lives?”
Koss returned from the trip empowered and continued helping Olympic Aid. In 1994, he won two gold medals at the Winter Olympics and his ability to help Olympic Aid grew even larger because of the broader global platform the medals gave him. He began using his influence to influence others. “I challenged the Norwegian people to give a couple dollars for each gold medal we won- and the Norwegian people kind of followed- in the end we raised 18 million dollars” he said. That year, Koss was chosen as the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year, an affirmation that the world was taking notice of his work.
As Olympic Aid kept growing, Koss remembers a specific feeling surfacing within him. “We were raising money and giving it to established organizations, but I was trying to convince them to do more sport and play programs” Koss recalls. He found it disheartening that so little of the money raised was being allocated to sport, especially since it was sport that had brought him to where he was.
For Koss, sport was more than just a passion, it was a human right. “You can create an exceptional learning environment through sport” Koss says. “You can use sport to impact education, conflict prevention, and disease prevention”. As Koss describes it, sport and play can be used “as an exceptional cost-effective tool to create societal change”.
With this passion, he slowly led the transformation of Olympic Aid into Right to Play, a humanitarian organization dedicated to improving the lives of children in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the world by using the power of sport.
The organization now runs sport programs in countries all over the world. Each week more than 700 000 children take part in regular sport and play activities run by 15 000 Right to Play coaches, teachers, and leaders. Whether it’s a boy in Mozambique learning to play soccer, or a girl in Botswana running around for the first time in weeks, kids all across the globe are becoming inspired and empowered by the power of Right to Play. All of this is being driven by the vision of Koss, who believes more than anyone else in the importance of providing sport to children in all corners of the world.
Koss sees the impact of his organization’s work in many ways. He sees it in the numbers. For example, in Burundi, with Right to Play programming incorporated into the school system, the graduation rate in primary school has risen from 52% to 96% in the past three to four years. And it’s not only graduation rates that have risen; in many communities benefitting from Right to Play programming, health has improved as well.
Yet, beyond the statistics, Koss sees the impact of Right to Play reflected in the individuals that it serves. On one trip to Sierra Leone Koss recalls meeting a group of girls that were around 16 or 17. “They were child soldiers, they were just released from rebel groups, they had their own babies. These were girls who had lost so much. Because of their babies, they couldn’t be integrated, couldn’t laugh, and couldn’t be part of their communities” Koss says. When Right to Play showed up to their community, these girls were broken in many ways. But when Koss arrived, he witnessed Right to Play’s programming that had these girls playing ultimate Frisbee. The girls loved it. For the first time in ages, they felt free. The Ultimate Frisbee game slowly turned into regular tournaments for the girls. Koss remembers the letter he later received from one of those girls that said: “We are now integrated and everybody accepts us. We’re back at school and we’re learning how to take care of our own daughters.” These girls, like many others, have been transformed by sport.
For Koss, Right to Play is more than just an organization. It’s the embodiment of the ideas he stands committed to of the importance of sport. For him, sports aren’t a privilege or a luxury; they are a way to a better future. Koss admits that building his organization was a challenge and that there were people along the way that doubted him. But today, he can’t help but smile at where it has led him. “Who would have thought you would bring basketball and volleyball to Pakistan and you’d have girls stepping up as leaders in their community?” he reflects. He smiles, knowing his program is achieving remarkable things like this on a daily basis. And as an organization, it’s only getting bigger. Right to Play has a goal to have one million children participating in its programming by the end of next year; one million children who will gain the right to play because of Johann Koss’ vision.
Remarkably, Koss’ seemingly impossible childhood goal to become the world’s best speed skater slowly became a reality. He practiced tirelessly and eventually his hard work paid off. In 1990, he won the World Allround Championships in Austria, and by 1992, he had qualified for the Winter Olympics.
As an Olympian and a world champion, Koss understood that he needed to do more than just win races; he needed to explore the idea of using his status to give back. In 1991 he became an ambassador for an organization called Save the Children and then worked as an Olympic ambassador for a group called Olympic Aid that supported citizens of war-torn countries. In 1993, through Olympic Aid, he was invited to travel to Africa for the first time to see some of the on-the-ground projects that his fundraising and advocacy was helping to support. His travels brought him face to face with those who were most directly impacted by poverty and other hardship in the Third World. One day during his trip, he met with a group of boys that were about 11 or 12 years old. He was shocked to find that they were so poor that they couldn’t even afford a soccer ball to play with; instead they were using one of the boy’s shirts as a ball. Koss couldn’t believe it. “I promised after the Olympics I’d come back with some balls for them”, he said. Later on this same trip, Koss traveled through a village and met another group of kids, around 7 and 8 years old. When he met them they were admiring a set of posters. The posters were images of martyrs who had died in local warfare and had since become heroes. Koss remembers being struck by a particular thought at that exact moment. “If we can create sports heroes instead of war heroes” he remembers thinking to himself “how much could that positively impact their lives?”
Koss returned from the trip empowered and continued helping Olympic Aid. In 1994, he won two gold medals at the Winter Olympics and his ability to help Olympic Aid grew even larger because of the broader global platform the medals gave him. He began using his influence to influence others. “I challenged the Norwegian people to give a couple dollars for each gold medal we won- and the Norwegian people kind of followed- in the end we raised 18 million dollars” he said. That year, Koss was chosen as the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year, an affirmation that the world was taking notice of his work.
As Olympic Aid kept growing, Koss remembers a specific feeling surfacing within him. “We were raising money and giving it to established organizations, but I was trying to convince them to do more sport and play programs” Koss recalls. He found it disheartening that so little of the money raised was being allocated to sport, especially since it was sport that had brought him to where he was.
For Koss, sport was more than just a passion, it was a human right. “You can create an exceptional learning environment through sport” Koss says. “You can use sport to impact education, conflict prevention, and disease prevention”. As Koss describes it, sport and play can be used “as an exceptional cost-effective tool to create societal change”.
With this passion, he slowly led the transformation of Olympic Aid into Right to Play, a humanitarian organization dedicated to improving the lives of children in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the world by using the power of sport.
The organization now runs sport programs in countries all over the world. Each week more than 700 000 children take part in regular sport and play activities run by 15 000 Right to Play coaches, teachers, and leaders. Whether it’s a boy in Mozambique learning to play soccer, or a girl in Botswana running around for the first time in weeks, kids all across the globe are becoming inspired and empowered by the power of Right to Play. All of this is being driven by the vision of Koss, who believes more than anyone else in the importance of providing sport to children in all corners of the world.
Koss sees the impact of his organization’s work in many ways. He sees it in the numbers. For example, in Burundi, with Right to Play programming incorporated into the school system, the graduation rate in primary school has risen from 52% to 96% in the past three to four years. And it’s not only graduation rates that have risen; in many communities benefitting from Right to Play programming, health has improved as well.
Yet, beyond the statistics, Koss sees the impact of Right to Play reflected in the individuals that it serves. On one trip to Sierra Leone Koss recalls meeting a group of girls that were around 16 or 17. “They were child soldiers, they were just released from rebel groups, they had their own babies. These were girls who had lost so much. Because of their babies, they couldn’t be integrated, couldn’t laugh, and couldn’t be part of their communities” Koss says. When Right to Play showed up to their community, these girls were broken in many ways. But when Koss arrived, he witnessed Right to Play’s programming that had these girls playing ultimate Frisbee. The girls loved it. For the first time in ages, they felt free. The Ultimate Frisbee game slowly turned into regular tournaments for the girls. Koss remembers the letter he later received from one of those girls that said: “We are now integrated and everybody accepts us. We’re back at school and we’re learning how to take care of our own daughters.” These girls, like many others, have been transformed by sport.
For Koss, Right to Play is more than just an organization. It’s the embodiment of the ideas he stands committed to of the importance of sport. For him, sports aren’t a privilege or a luxury; they are a way to a better future. Koss admits that building his organization was a challenge and that there were people along the way that doubted him. But today, he can’t help but smile at where it has led him. “Who would have thought you would bring basketball and volleyball to Pakistan and you’d have girls stepping up as leaders in their community?” he reflects. He smiles, knowing his program is achieving remarkable things like this on a daily basis. And as an organization, it’s only getting bigger. Right to Play has a goal to have one million children participating in its programming by the end of next year; one million children who will gain the right to play because of Johann Koss’ vision.