They come in all shapes and sizes. Some stand tall on pedestals while others walk on solid ground. Some go down in history while others rise up as legends. They're heroes and mentors, leaders and role models. Their images are taped to bedroom walls and locker room doors. They walk the earth disguised as parents, teachers, coaches and athletes. They are the chosen ones -- the ones who can make a difference in a girls life at a time when making a difference matters.
But if you look at those pedestals and walls, there are few women present. This is especially true in athletics, where since the passage of Title IX, the percentage of women coaches has decreased, not increased. At a time when girls strive to define themselves as women, it is still difficult to find a female athlete or coach that can be a source of validation for a girl bursting with athletic passion. Without that support the athletic carpet is abruptly pulled right out from under her as she reaches adolescence.
Because of the lack of athletic female role models in the past, the majority of past and present female athletes found their mentors in brothers, fathers, and male coaches. Rebecca Lobo, a member of the U.S. Women's National Basketball Team and considered to be the most popular women's basketball player in the history of the sport was encouraged to play basketball by her older brother. Pick-up games in the backyard lit a passion for the sport that fired her to the top. Julie Foudy, co-captain of the U.S. Women's National team also credits her brothers to her early infatuation with a soccer ball. They used me for the goal she likes to joke, but I challenged them by never standing still.
For years, Billie Jean King dreamed of being a baseball player. Her older brother played professional baseball, and though hitting the ball over the fence wasn't an option for her, hitting it over the net was. Her brother gave her all the support she needed to follow her athletic career as he did his. For 1984 Olympic speedskater, Lydia Stephans, playing with the boys was a necessity. My older brother used to bring me along to the neighborhood baseball games. They needed the extra player. I used to pitch to him for hours at a time while he was in-training to make Little League. One day I got up to bat and hit the ball so hard it broke the window across the street. I thought my dad was going to be angry but he was so proud of my swing.
Supportive fathers, like brothers, have encouraged the athletic success of their daughters. Lisa Fernandez, softball standout and the Women's Sports Foundation's 1994 Team Sportswoman of the Year speaks with the respect an athlete has for an admired coach when she speaks of her father. I learned to love the game from my dad. He was a baseball player in Cuba and taught me how to play when I was very young. Tennis prodigy, Venus Williams, made her professional debut on the women's circuit last October at the early age of 14. Her father introduced her to the game when she was just four years old, playing together on the public courts in Compton, Calif.
Though these women have been successful with male role models, research shows that the closer a role model is to an individual's profile, the more that individual can realize their own potential to be like them. These and other female athletes who did not have female role models available to them are now in a position to mentor, nurture, and support the girls and young women who are the next generation following in their footsteps. Female athletes have a huge responsibility to go back into their communities to be positive role models, counter-acting the large number of negative role models surrounding the girls at a vulnerable age. World champion status is not necessary to be successful at this calling. Studies show that girls relate to everyday women teachers, coaches and athletes. The local high school quarter-miler or the volunteer community soccer coach can make a difference.
An example of how female athletes are seeing themselves as role models is vividly displayed in Madeleine Blais' story of a year in the life of a high school basketball team. In These Girls, Hope is a Miracle, captures the effect that the spirit of girls sports can have on a hometown community and the lives of those around them.
Girls are searching for someone to say, "It's okay to be who you are." Through the Reebok/Women's Sports Foundation's Girls Sports Leadership Summits, Reebok female athletes are visiting 15 school districts nationwide to share their passion and excitement for sports with high school audiences. The Reebok/Women's Sports Foundation's Girls Sports Leadership Summits are an opportunity for girls and boys to address the issues relevant to girls participating in sports: peer pressure, self-esteem, leadership, teamwork, and equal opportunity. Most importantly, it's a chance for a female athlete to stand up before them and say, "Its okay to be strong, confident, athletic and female."
At the Summits in Chicago and Miami, Lisa Fernandez told high school athletes, "Believe me, what you learn from sports will make a difference in your life. These girls are looking desperately for someone to believe and something to make a difference. It is time that the present generation of women step up to the pedestal and show those in their footsteps the way to the field or court. Sports can make a difference. Lets show them the way."
Foundation Trustee, Sharon Barbano, is a Consultant to Reebok International Ltd. and is President of The Women's Sports Marketing Group.