Sports Girls Play

Girls youth sports news, tips and resources for raising a happy, healthy athlete

In Sports All Girls Are Winners – Rally for Girls Sports Day

Today the National Women’s Law Center is hosting Blog to Rally for Girls’ Sports Day as a way of celebrating the importance of girls in sports and the far-reaching benefits of athletics participation for girls nationwide.

For the past 26 years I have been an advocate for girls participating in sports and have (and continue to) been involved as a coach, parent and athlete. The primary reason I started Sports Girls Play was to provide a positive resource for other parents, coaches and athletes in a wide range of sports. Having coached literally hundreds (probably closer to a thousand) girls from ages 3 on up, I have seen the benefits of sports directly as these little girls have grown into successful young women. I have seen the benefits of sports in my own daughters’ lives and have chronicled quite a bit of it here.

Some of the articles that I have posted over the years that I think best represent the spirit of the Rally for Girls Sports Day include:

So, in support of Rally for Girls Sports Day, take a minute and answer the question, “What did you win by playing sports?”  in the comments below.

Favorite Quotes

While cleaning out my office today, I found one of my favorite quotes scrawled on a piece of paper:

“The will to win is important, but the will to prepare is vital.”
-Joe Paterno

It goes right along with one of my other all time favorite quotes:

“A Goal without a Plan is just a Wish”
-Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Enjoy your weekend!

Girls4Sport Honors Inspiring Women with “Ordinary Heroes” Contest

hero

Surf and swim apparel designer Girls4Sport will honor inspiring women with its “Ordinary Heroes” essay contest. Girls4Sport invites participants to nominate the women in their lives—mothers, daughters, sisters, and friends—who have accomplished extraordinary things or inspired others dream bigger and better.  The contest entry deadline is August 30, 2009.

“We all have people who’ve helped us laugh harder, run faster, live better, be stronger and just smile more,” says Kim Ruby, president of Girls4Sport.  “We want to pay tribute to the unsung heroes in women’s lives and give them the credit they deserve.”

Girls4Sport will select three hero stories as grand prize winners.  The grand prize winners and their heroes will each receive a $100 gift certificate for Girls4Sport’s online store, shop.girls4sport.com, plus an autographed copy of Dara Torres’ new book, Age is Just a Number: Achieve Your Dreams At Any Stage In Your Life.  Ten runners up will each receive a free t-shirt and grab bag from the online store.

Winners and their winning stories will appear on the Girls4Sport website in September 2009.  The deadline for nomination is August 30, 2009 at 5:00 p.m. PST.   All participants in the contest will receive a 35% off coupon code good towards any purchase at shop.girls4sport.com.  Participants may nominate as many heroes as they want.  To nominate a hero, visit: www.girls4sport.com/contest/.