Meet + Mentor Memphis
Female middle school students in Memphis, Tennessee will take part in a Play Like a Girl Meet + Mentor day camp powered by Academy Sports + Outdoors on Wednesday, July 7, 2021.
AutoZone Park, home to the Redbirds Baseball Club, will be transformed into a mentoring lab designed to encourage local girls in their STEM pursuits and create a diverse female STEM leadership pipeline.
Play Like a Girl staff, Academy employees and volunteers will accompany 20 middle school students through STEM-related and confidence-building activities centered around the mathematics--data, statistics and analytics--behind the game of baseball (and softball). Activities include:
- Panel Discussion and Q&A featuring accomplished women in baseball, softball and STEM
- STEM Mentoring Moment, an opportunity for students to meet and have a hands-on working session with women leaders in the architectural design of stadiums and sports facilities
- Confidence-building Activity Inspired by Play Like a Girl’s Curriculum, through which girls can learn SMART goal-setting from Play Like a Girl’s CEO Dr. Kimberly Clay
- Softball Clinic with players and coaches to run drills and play ball--maybe even some soccer, too!
Play Like a Girl Meet + Mentor events are ongoing celebrations to shine a light on empowering women role models in an effort to inspire more girls to reach their full potential in sport and STEM.
Participating students will be featured in a three-part YouTube series showcased across Academy's social channels this summer.
The next event will take place in the Houston/Katy, Texas area on July 13, 2021.
US-Mexico-Nicaragua International Sports Programming Initiative
The US-Mexico-Nicaragua International Sports Programming Initiative, organized by WorldChicago and the Women Win Foundation, is a US Department of State-sponsored exchange program that aims to promote sports as a tool for development, particularly in women's empowerment, gender equality, and youth leadership.
The program is currently looking to enroll aspiring and non-elite coaches and administrators of Girls Sports (aged 20 and over) from the United States in a virtual exchange, scheduled to run from November 6 to December 18, 2020, and a tentative in-person exchange in Chicago, scheduled to occur in May 2021.
American participants will benefit from the following perks:
- FREE access to a series of expert-led workshops on coaching and sport administration for social change from November 6 - December 18, 2020.
- Double-Goal Coaching Certification from the Positive Coaching Alliance at ZERO cost.
- Meaningful cultural and professional exchanges with athletic professionals from Mexico and Nicaragua.
- Recognition as program alumni of the US Department of State and exclusive access to alumni support resources.
If you are interested in promoting equal opportunity in sports and expanding your professional network in Latin America, apply today at: https://bit.ly/3hrhBwl.
Questions? Contact Brian Peckrill at [email protected] or Thi Nguyen at [email protected].
Harper: Designing Her Own Future
“Potential Realized: A Mission with Impact” puts the spotlight on five amazing middle school students whose shared love of STEM and sports transcends their differences. These young women — all Play Like a Girl program participants — are true embodiments of our determination to create a world where girls believe in endless possibilities.
Meet all of our “Potential Realized” honorees here.
Name, Age
Harper, 11
School
Dupont Hadley
Hometown
Hermitage
Favorite Sport
Softball
Favorite STEM Subject
Engineering
Words you live by
[bctt tweet="She believed she could, so she did." username="iplaylikeagirl"]
How is she potential, realized?
When Harper is asked who her hero is, she names her elementary school art teacher. She has always known that she loves art, and had a passion for design and creativity. However, she never realized that she could turn that passion into a career at the intersection of STEM.
When Harper’s dad found out about a Play Like a Girl ice skating event on Facebook, he signed her up. She quickly became interested in the other programs offered. According to Harper, “I was curious about it [Play Like a Girl] and I liked doing it because I got to learn more about STEM, and it would help me in school and help me better understand things covered in school.”
Harper’s experience at Play Like a Girl programs has pushed her to excel in the classroom. She excels specifically in math and science, as well as in art class, where she has earned an strong reputation.
She sees her confidence as stemming from exposure to “women in a variety of jobs and now knowing I could choose my own future job.” Today, Harper envisions a plethora of career opportunities of which she was unaware before joining Play Like a Girl.
Harper has long dreamed of an art career in art. However, she had no idea how that might look until Play Like a Girl. Highlights of her experience include opportunities to engage with a wide range of women in the workplace on our Corporate Field Trips and through other mentoring programs that have allowed her to see where she might one day find her place in the world. But today, she sees that somewhere at the cross section of engineering and design.
She has been able to see the connections between what she learns in art class about creativity and expression and the technology we use in our everyday lives. Because of inspiration she has drawn from our programs, Harper has even started joining her dad at his plumbing job. She gets “to go into the house and see how [plumbing] looks and is built” and “may want to do something like that.”
Exposure to real world jobs and women (and men) who are leaders across a wide range of STEM careers has given Harper an idea of how her passions and interests can intersect in a way that allows her to construct and build new things. This gives her the motivation to keep working hard in the classroom.
Harper loves Play Like a Girl because she's been able to find a strong community that allows her to maintain relationships with former classmates as well as get a clearer vision of the limitless opportunities available to her.
She credits her Play Like a Girl community and the bold vision for girls for her newfound confidence and willingness to step out of her "box" in social situations, as well as in the classroom and on the softball field. “Play Like a Girl has changed the way I am when I meet a new person I don’t know. I'm more confident and outgoing now.”
Whether helping her peers in math class, playing a game of softball with her team, or just exploring and meeting like-minded girls through other Play Like a Girl events, this community has changed a lot for Harper. She has found her voice which she now uses to elevate others. Harper is truly potential, realized.
Meet all of our Potential Realized honorees. And share their profiles on Twitter with the hashtag #PotentialRealized.
Follow #PotentialRealized on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
PLAY LIKE A GIRL STEM+ SOFTBALL CLINIC
Presented by National Pro Fastpitch
For girls ages 9-14. Following the 1pm Lipscomb vs. North Alabama softball game (free tickets included with clinic registration).
This clinic will focus on position-specific techniques related to fastpitch softball. Pro players JADE RHODES (Cleveland Comets), BRENNA MOSS (Chicago Bandits) & JESSIE SCROGGINS (Chicago Bandits) will work on form, mechanics, speed and ball control.
Each participant should bring their own softball glove. Cleats are optional but recommended for all participants. Healthy snacks and a Play Like a Girl t-shirt will be provided. Hands-on STEM+ Challenge and photo opportunities to follow clinic. Volunteer Coaches welcome (registration required).
Sunday, April 14, 4 p.m.- 6pm. | Location: Lipscomb University.
$15 Registration ends April 13.
Nashville Sounds For The Win
The Nashville Sounds baseball club selected Play Like a Girl as its “Charity of the Game” partner at last night's home game against the Oklahoma City Dodgers. Sounds fans and Play Like a Girl supporters were able to bid on custom game-worn “A League of Their Own” jerseys through an online, mobile and in-ballpark auction.
The pale pink jerseys, featuring the Sounds wordmark and iconic guitar, were worn to benefit Play Like a Girl, raising $2,200 to support our work locally. Auction winners that were present for the game were invited to the field to meet the player wearing the winning jersey and to get their jersey autographed.
In addition to the jersey auction, Sounds players hosted a softball skills clinic the morning of the May 26 game for girls between the ages of 12-14 to learn from Scrap Yard Dawgs outfielder A.J. Andrews. Andrews is the first woman and professional softball player to ever receive the Rawlings Gold Glove Award.
The day was amazing. Our girls were inspired. And we can now get more girls off the sidelines and into the game, thanks to A.J. and the many MEN responsible for this amazing win.