By Liam Reilly
@liampreilly852
For young athletes, it’s common to look up to older generations for advice and mentorship. Girls in the areas surrounding Springfield got their chance to do so on Sunday when Springfield College hosted its 39th annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day in the Fieldhouse.
Girls in grades kindergarten through sixth participated in various clinics hosted by some of the college’s women’s athletic teams. The teams at the event included field hockey, soccer, softball, track and field, tennis and volleyball.
Each pack of the Pride had their own stations that the girls took part in. The young athletes learned how to dive with softball, set passes with volleyball and score a goal with field hockey.
The event kicked off with a group warm-up led by senior pole vaulter Ella Smith. Before the warmup, Smith opened the day with words on the importance of women and girls in sports.
“It really means a lot to me to be able to increase that involvement with girls in sports and inspire them to stay in the game,” Smith said.
Alongside pole vaulting for the track and field team, Smith has coached gymnastics for the last eight years. Her time as a coach and member of the Student Athlete Leadership Team (SALT) has taught Smith the importance of advocacy in sport.
“It’s more than just playing, but also worrying about your team and the other teams that make the sport happen,” Smith said. “SALT has really led me to consider the bigger issues around sport, and part of that is increasing women and girls involvement and narrowing that gap.”
National Girls and Women in Sports Day has been organized by Athletics since its inception, with Michelle Lee Scecina taking charge for the last seven years. Lee Scecina graduated from Springfield in 1997 and returned to campus in 2018 as the Assistant Athletic Director for Student-Athlete Enhancement. Recently, in 2020, she was promoted to the Associate Athletic Director for Compliance and Student-Athlete Well-Being.
Lee Scecina was handed the keys to the event in 2018 and has added her own tweaks. The formula for NGWSD centers around student-athletes teaching their sport at their own stations and the girls visiting each station for 20 minutes to learn about each different sport. Lee Scecina has been proud of how the student-athletes connect with the younger generation.
“They do such a great job, I’ve had parents come over and say ‘wow your student athletes are so good with the kids and they really care,’” Lee Scecina said. “It goes to show how great of a job our coaches do and also their [student-athletes] education. They’re learning how to work with people and the humanics philosophy. Walking around you can just see that all of our student athletes are connected and locked in with the kids.”
NGWSD takes place every February to honor female athletes, their accomplishments and the influence they’ve had on sports. The event aims to inspire girls and women to be active and use tools gained from sports participation to become leaders.
“It’s important that girls learn sports at a young age and they see role models who are leaders in their community and on their campus,” Lee Scecina said. “They can learn so many skills from sports and I think being part of something like this at a young age really connects them with that possibility.”
Trying out a new activity, especially a sport, can be intimidating at first. However, Smith encourages younger athletes to take the risk and not be afraid to try.
“Don’t be afraid to try new things and to not be the best at them on the first day, it just matters how many days you show up and try to be the best,” Smith said.