Whether you were cheering me on from the sidelines and avidly voting for me to participate in a National HS 3-PT Contest; whether you were aiding me in my transition as a player to becoming a coach and a trainer to the next generation of basketball players; or whether you were mentoring me throughout my undergrad and career journey in sports, I’m truly thankful for all the support I’ve received.
I want to share with y’all a little “Well what about the girls?” moment I had in High School that has stuck with me to this very day:
It was my sophomore year and my second year on the Girls Varsity Basketball team. Our team had a lot of accomplished upperclassmen who have been with the program for 4 years and were making their final run at a League Title. I wanted that Title more than anything throughout my HS career. Our talent that year was one of the best teams our school has seen. We were one of the top teams in our league, but there were never any special shout-outs or announcements. Now, I’m not saying that our team’s success should’ve been at the very top of all announcements, but I did believe the work we had put in and how close we were to bringing home a title, deserved some local love. It had felt like the boys were always put at the forefront of sports news, and the girls just came secondary. All I wanted was equal love and support.
I was frustrated with saying to myself “What about the girls”, and it made me think that talent wasn’t enough. I was frustrated that it made me think that because it wasn’t “boys basketball” news, that it wasn’t good enough. I want to make sure this next generation of girl athletes knows that they are enough and knows that their hard work and talent doesn’t go unnoticed.
Now, I truly loved my high school and so many great relationships with my Admin and Teachers who had shown me so much support and their support for their girls’ sports teams. I really want to get that across that I loved the relationships I made with those people, but I know there is still so much that can be worked on when supporting girls sports.
I truly admire that women in sports community I’ve found and how empowering they all are in supporting each other. To lift each other up, as opposed to bring them down, really goes a long way.
It’s been absolutely amazing to see all the love and support today on Girls and Women in Sports. It didn’t matter if you were an athlete or a professional – the bottom line is that there is a seat at the table for women in sports.
2020 was a substantial year for women, where “first woman to…” stories were trending across all leagues. It was, without-a-doubt, inspiring.