On Jan. 31, State High hosted a Women in Sports event in the North Gym to promote interest, awareness and positivity around girls athletics. Many different girls sports teams came together to create activities and connect with younger students. There were many stations and booths, including face painting, poster making, and introductions to sports like soccer, field hockey, and basketball.
The Women’s Sports Foundation, established in 1974, wants to help females reach their full potential and show all of their abilities in sports and in life.
State High noticed a lack of interest among girls in joining sports and wanted to take action.
“I remember that recently there haven’t been as many girls interested in sports, and they wanted to show and introduce people more, and see where the programs can go when you’re older and get people to try them and have fun doing it,” sophomore basketball player Ally Swauger said.
“I think they just wanted to show younger kids like how big of a deal it is that we have young female athletes and inspire them to kind of continue with sports and go that route, and it’s just it’s a nice opportunity for them to like try different things and feel comfortable,” junior Audrey Musser, who is part of the field hockey team, said.
At the field hockey station, run by juniors Musser, Emme Antunez, and Cora Bierly, they used materials like cones, balls, and sticks to teach basic skills to young girls who wanted to try the sport. The goal was to make people feel comfortable and welcomed, so more students might consider joining field hockey in the future.
“We had a bunch of sticks, like little sticks of all sizes. I brought my stick, and we had cones, balls, goals, and then the kids would come over, we’d pass with them, we’d teach them pulls and shots, and it was a really good opportunity to engage with the younger kids and represent something bigger than yourself, and it was a lot of fun,” Musser said.
Another station, run by members of the basketball team, focused on poster-making.
“We made encouraging posters that we hung up at our game, but they didn’t have to be about basketball, like you could write whatever you want on them or draw whatever you wanted,” Swauger said.
At another booth, the soccer players were teaching young girls how to dribble, shoot, and practice basic skills using cones and small Pugg goals.
“We just had Puggs set up and cones, and you would help the girls dribble around and like, shoot if they wanted to,” sophomore Abbie Lutz, who is involved in basketball and soccer, said.
The event was very successful and even led to one of the girls who stopped by the field hockey table going out and buying equipment to continue her journey in sports.
“Ms. Morrison told me she went and bought [her daughter] a stick after and was like, ‘I want to do this,’” Musser said.
The environment was positive and left many girls with smiles on their faces as they got to learn about new sports, explore possible interests, and imagine what their future in athletics could look like.
“It was just a happy environment. It was fun to see all the kids having fun,” Lutz said.
Overall, the National Girls and Women in Sports Day event was a meaningful and successful opportunity hosted by State High to inspire the next generation of female athletes.
