Creating Room in the Huddle
From a girl on an all-boys football team to an educator empowering children worldwide through inclusive storytelling.
Why I Started Breaking the Huddle Education
There was no team for me to play on.
That is where this story actually starts.
I was a young girl who wanted to play football, and there was not a single girls’ team for me to join. So, with the support of my family, my friends, and my school community, I did the only thing left to do. I tried out for the 7th grade boys’ team…
And I became the quarterback.
I did not set out to make a statement. I just wanted to play the game I loved, and the people around me made it possible for me to do that without ever making me feel like I needed permission to take up that space.
That experience shaped the rest of my life more than I understood at the time. I went on to play basketball in college for four years, and from there I built a 17-year career in public education as a teacher and coach. I served as English Department Chair, Girls’ Coordinator, Assistant Athletic Director, and, in my final year, Athletic Director. I loved that work. I loved the kids in each school I served, the seasons we built together, and the small, daily proof that showing up for a young person changes what they believe is possible for themselves.
Then I lost my father, and something in me shifted.
I realized how much had changed, both in the world around me and in what I wanted to give to it. I was no longer willing to stop at teaching and coaching the kids in one school system at a time. I wanted to reach families and children far beyond those walls. I wanted to find a way to carry my father’s goodness and kindness forward in a form that could keep growing long after I was the only one carrying it.
That is how Breaking the Huddle Education was born.
I write and illustrate children’s books, and I create the curriculum that goes with every single one. That second part matters more to me than people often realize at first. Seventeen years in a classroom taught me that resources are everywhere, but it is rare to find those with a “whole child” focus. I wanted to build something different—stories that center kids who have had to fight for opportunities other kids are simply handed, paired with real social-emotional learning and content built around the standards children are actually expected to meet.
The heart of every book is the same idea: a child’s true superpower is believing in themselves. I want every kid who opens one of these books to see a piece of themselves on the page, and to walk away a little more certain of who they already are.
Recently, that mission grew in a new direction. I began a full cultural transformation of my stories, starting with a complete shift from English to Spanish—not just a translation, but a true reimagining of the story for a new audience. It will not stop there. I plan to keep building toward other languages and cultures because the belief at the center of this work does not belong to one country or one language. It belongs to every child who has ever needed someone to tell them they already have what it takes.
Breaking the Huddle Education is only a few months old. I have new ideas nearly every day, and the path ahead keeps opening up faster than I expected. But the “why” behind it has not changed since the day I first stepped onto that field as the only girl on the team. I want every child, everywhere, to know that their story belongs in the huddle too.
Kim Chaffin
Founder, Breaking the Huddle Education
