Girl Power!

When I was growing up, there were few opportunities for girls to participate in athletics. My first experience playing on a sports team was in my sophomore year in college when our dormitory decided to enter a team in flag football. Some guys agreed to coach a bunch of girls who never played football before, and I realized how fun it was to learn something new and to compete on a playing field. Later, I also played on intramural teams for basketball and softball. At that time, the University of Hawaii had put together a women’s volleyball team, and one of my best memories is taking second place in softball to that team; we were clearly overmatched by their pure athleticism, but it was pretty awesome to lose in the finals to them. When we got married, Randy and I lived in a condo with a tennis court, and I learned to play that sport-of-a-lifetime, and later I played old-ladies soccer and learned the game of golf. I love sports, and those experiences have taught me a lot about myself, about persevering even when it was difficult, and how difficult it can be to learn something new.

Title IX didn’t come about until 1972 when I was in college so as a young girl growing up in a plantation village community, we didn’t have opportunities to play on sports teams. It never occurred to me that it was “unfair” for my brothers to be able to play Little League while us sisters were relegated to watch and cheer for them. In high school, there were limited opportunities for girls  in sports, and I’d never played any of them competitively.

Today, I realize the many life lessons that participating in sports teaches us, and our girls are benefiting from having many choices and being exposed to inspiring role models. Our women’s national soccer team recently won the World Cup, going undefeated in the process. 15-year-old Coco Gauff beat several higher-ranked players including Venus Williams before falling to eventual champion and former #1, Simone Halep, at the recently-completed Wimbledon Tennis Tournament. And an Under 11 girls team from Hawaii were featured in Soccer Nation for their pure joy after winning the championship at a tournament in California. It was obviously a very exciting game, but I like what the coach shared: “Win or lose, we came to play soccer, continue to improve and spread our aloha spirit.”

It’s wonderful that young girls have role models as well as choices in what they want to play: team sports such as softball, soccer, basketball, volleyball, and hockey or individual sports like golf, ice skating, gymnastics, bowling, martial arts, and tennis. Participating in athletics teaches our girls so many life lessons such as teamwork, perseverance, and sportsmanship. I am thrilled that they are having opportunities that I never had when I was growing up.