The RePlay Team.
Macy Gilroy
Macy founded RePlay in 2020 as a sophomore in high school, inspired by a simple but powerful belief: that sport can be a global force for good. Now a junior at Scripps College studying Sociology and Organizational Studies, Macy combines her love of soccer, her experience as a two-year high school varsity captain, and her commitment to youth empowerment to guide RePlay’s growth.
Originally from Yarmouth, Maine, Macy has been fortunate to travel and experience different cultures, shaping her global perspective and reinforcing her dedication to building connections through sport. Macy is passionate about creating opportunities for youth athletes to lead with confidence, give back, and find joy in the game.
In addition to leading RePlay, Macy is involved in career development, community outreach, and elementary tutoring at Scripps College. In her downtime, Macy loves hitting the running trails, exploring new places, or turning the everyday into a small adventure.
Michael Gilroy (Gil)
Gil is an explorer, cross-cultural facilitator and entrepreneurial business leader. He has studied international business and relations in Virginia/Washington, D.C. He’s lived in Russia and attended school in Moscow and St. Petersburg. He’s designed and led cultural expeditions on the Trans-Siberian Railway and along the Silk Road through China, Russia, Mongolia, Central Asia, and the Middle East. He worked in Iran before returning to the United States to begin building Frontier – a destination where people gather to explore the world through food, film, music and art. He is also a founding board member of To The Top Foundation and Treehouse Institute.
Currently, Gil serves as the founder of Frontier Studios, a non-profit developing projects that connect people to the world by empowering them to be more curious and engaged global citizens. Alongside this work, Gil is a key partner in helping Macy bring RePlay’s vision to life. When he’s not busy, you’ll catch him tending to his bee hives or cheering on his favorite baseball team.
The RePlay Story.
RePlay was inspired by my love of soccer and my experience volunteering in South Africa with Fresh Start, an organization with a vision to empower children to create a better future for themselves and make a fresh start in life. My time spent with the children of Fresh Start impacted me in unforgettable ways. I was touched by their infectious smiles, curiosity for life, and happiness from the simplest moments. Participating in a multi-cultural post-apartheid collaboration, demonstrated the capacity people have to work together and develop mutual understanding.
This cross-cultural experience with Fresh Start along with a five month family trip around the world left me with a deeper perspective of global understanding and the impact giving can have on individuals and communities. I was moved by a desire to make a positive difference in the world, although at the time I didn’t know what that was.
A year after returning from my trip, and back into the routine of playing soccer, I discovered a significant amount of forgotten soccer gear that had been piling up for years in my closet. I felt an immediate interest in wanting to donate this gear to the children I met at Fresh Start. I figured I wasn’t the only player with extra gear lying around. In fact, there are three million youth soccer players in the U.S. alone - that’s a lot of potential soccer gear that could be donated. This sparked the idea to reach out to other soccer families within my community and gather gear that would otherwise go unused. I collected over one hundred items of soccer gear, which I then laundered and sorted to be donated to the children of Fresh Start. This was the beginning of RePlay.
Since launching, RePlay has donated thousands of pieces of soccer equipment to youth in South Africa, Mexico, and Maine-based immigrant communities. Now, we’re working to build a global community of youth athletes starting with the RePlay Ambassador Program: a way for youth athletes to lead their own upcycling gear program in their community.
The RePlay Ambassador Program will be the gateway into the full RePlay ecosystem — a journey that empowers youth athletes to leverage their love of sport into leadership, community action, and global citizenship.
My hope is that RePlay becomes a global movement of youth athletes using sport to connect, inspire, and lead change.
Let’s do something bigger than the game. Together.
- Macy Gilroy
