On Feb. 7, female athletes celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day, a day dedicated to acknowledging how far female sports have come and the women and girls who’ve helped them grow.
For girls and women at East, sports mean a lot more than just training and competing. Throughout the article, some of East’s female athletes and coaches share how they began playing sports, how they have seen them develop, and the opportunities their sports have provided them.
Coaches:
Three of East’s female coaches, Coach Jackie Charlett, Coach Lisa Cook and Coach Sarah Davies, have not only watched women’s sports develop from a coaching standpoint, but from a player’s view as well.
Coaching since the fall of 2011, Coach Charlett enters her thirteenth year coaching volleyball, basketball, and softball.
“Now, sports have multiple travel and club programs with multiple teams at every level. If you are wanting to play, it’s a lot easier to find a team,” Charlett said.
Charlett grew up around sports– playing soccer, tumbling, and later basketball, volleyball and track. In college she played rugby for three years for Illinois State University.
“I have seen new sports added for girls over the years that weren’t offered before, and it is awesome to see that our school has great turnout for most of the sports that we offer.” Charlett said.
Similarly, Coach Cook has coached many girls sports at East, she first began coaching as a volleyball coach from 2008 to 2012 at East, and has coached cross country for the past twelve years. Cook has also coached East’s girls track and field program for seventeen years, taking on every role from volunteer to assistant to head coach.
“Women’s sports have changed so much! Our track team had about 30 girls on it when I first started, and now we have over 130,” Cook said. “When I started, no one had broken 6 minutes in the 1600m, in races or workouts. Now we have 10-15 each season breaking 6 minutes in workouts week in and week out.”
Cook began running track in middle school and played volleyball from seventh grade to her junior year of highschool. She completed her first cross country season as a senior in highschool and was recruited as a walk-on at the University of Illinois for cross country and track.
“At the highest level, women are setting the tone. There seems to be mentoring at the top that has trickled down in so many places… I love watching the support for one another continue to grow… It’s so inspiring to watch, and I love the mentality that “there’s always room at the top,” Cook said.
The coaches describe how female sports have changed, explaining that when they were little, their moms typically had fewer athletic options and participated in sports through the Girls Athletic Association, or GAA.
“I have athletes with moms who were stud high school and college athletes, and it’s so fun to see how they think about sports and how their perspective was different than mine was growing up.” Cook said.
Coach Davies, who enters her fourteenth season coaching softball, has experience playing softball and basketball. Davies managed the women’s basketball team at Illinois State for all four years of college.
“With these professional sports and the creation and rise of social media, opportunities for women in sports have exponentially expanded,” Davies said. “There are more and more ways that girls can participate and connect with other athletes.”
East’s female coaches mention how coaching and playing sports has impacted their lives.
“I have learned how to prioritize and manage my time, and I’ve learned so much about myself and what makes me happy,” Cook said. “I have met the most incredible people through running and coaching–dating back to my high school teammates, college teammates, and post-college teammates I got to train and compete with.”
“I have been so inspired by some of the young women that I coached over the years. There have been some amazing athletes who have taught me so much, have humbled me, and have become my friends,” Davies said.
Coach Charlett describes how girls sports continue to become more competitive, and how East has seen a lot of success in recent years.
“I wish more people would come out and support and watch our girls teams… those girls deserve to be celebrated,” Charlett said.
Track:
Track and field stars, Morgan Dick and Hailey Soriaga, are both seniors committed to continue competing at division one colleges.
Morgan Dick, soccer player and veteran cross country runner, only recently started running track during her junior year of high school.
“Running has given me so many opportunities. I’m blessed to have the chance to run in college and I can’t wait,” Dick said. “Running has given me so many friends that I love.”
Hailey Soriaga began pole vaulting her freshman year of high school, combining her skills of horizontal jumping and history of gymnastics.
Soriaga explains that especially with her gymnastics background, she has seen a shift in body image and mental health.
“It was always an unspoken issue, which is hard for young athletes because they assume they are the only ones struggling, but now, women’s sports especially has been so open to talking about [body image and mental health] despite former stigmas,” Soriaga said.
Hailey had never heard of pole vaulting until she was asked to try it. After qualifying for state her sophomore year, she knew it was something she wanted to pursue collegiately.
“If I were to go back in time before my freshman year, I never ever would have even thought I would be able to vault in college,” Soriaga said. “ This sport has taught me patience, endless discipline, and the true meaning of being in love with what you do.”
Tennis:
Girls Tennis is one of the many women’s sports offered at East. Two juniors on the varsity tennis team Addison Parks and Krisha Majmundar shared changes and opportunities they’ve had from the sport.
Parks has been playing tennis for four years and during her time at East has seen changes with the program.
“I have seen the girls tennis program grow in size during my time at OE. It’s great to see more girls trying out each year,” Parks said.
Majmundar, who has been playing since her freshman year, echoed Parks’ thoughts and added that she has made new connections from her sport.
“I have seen an increased popularity in women’s sports nationally and within our school,” Majmundar said. “Tennis has allowed me to meet a few of my closest friends and I will always love that bond that is built between teammates.”
The growth of the Tennis program at East is one local example of trends in women’s sports across the whole country.
Football and Wrestling:
Women’s engagement in male dominated sports has also grown locally and nationally. Junior Payton Lustrup has been playing football at East for 2 years and joined the wrestling team this year.
Lustrup is excited to see the growth of women participating in sports over past years.
“For wrestling there were only 2 or 3 girls on the team last year and this year we had 6 or 7 so it makes me really happy that wrestling is growing amongst women and girls,” Lustrup said.
Being in extremely male dominated sports Lustrup was worried about what others thought about what she was doing but didn’t let it stop her, hoping to pave a path for women at East.
“The entire football experience has changed my life in so many ways. It taught me that what other people think about me really doesn’t matter, and no matter what I do, someone’s going to think negatively about it so I should really just do what I want,” Lustrup said. “My goal with joining them, among other reasons, is to be that inspiration for girls that are brave enough to do something that’s out of the norm.”
Lustrup is one of many girls doing what they love and inspiring others to pursue their dreams even if it isn’t the status quo.
Cheer:
Another female dominated sport at East is cheer, which has both sideline and competition. Cheerleaders Anaiyah Brown and Ella Johns both stated that they were inspired by Simone Biles because of her positive role for women’s sports.
“Simone Biles inspires me not only because she’s the most decorated female gymnast ever, but because she knows when she needs a break,” Brown said.
“I have been inspired by Simone Biles, she is such an example of strength and perseverance. While being one of, if not the best, athlete in her sport, she has shown that she is human and battled back from mental tumbling blocks,” Johns said.
Both girls view Simone Biles as a positive example because her discipline shows that girls should value themselves as athletes over their sport and recognize what is best for them.
Softball:
Senior, Finley Anderson, has played softball since she was six years old and shared her thoughts on the widening coverage of women’s sports.
“When I was younger I rarely saw women’s sports on TV and now I see them all the time,” Anderson said. “It’s so nice to see because I know I would have loved to see more women’s sports growing up but it’s very cool to know young girls have a lot of talented women to look up to.”
Women’s sports have started to become more televised giving women more recognition as well as providing young girls with more positive role models.
Volleyball:
Junior, Leah Frystak, has played for East for three years and has been playing volleyball since elementary school. Similarly to other athletes, she felt that there has been an increase in women’s sports recognition.
“I would say in the time I’ve been playing, the recognition in collegiate volleyball and other sports has drastically increased,” Frystak said. “Sports have had the biggest impact on my life due to the coaching friendships and bonds made throughout. Being a captain gave me a role of leadership and showed me a lot I was able to learn from.”
Frystak recognizes the growing popularity in women’s sports and the positive impact sports has had on her life as well as other athletes.
Soccer:
Senior Riley Gumm, took up soccer at the age of six, and has seen the sport grow drastically for women.
“I remember in 2015 I was watching the women’s national team win the world cup and the viewership for that championship was about 25 million,” Gumm said. “Then just a few years later in the following world cup in 2019 they won… with a viewership [of] 82 million.”
Gumm shared that growing up, she considered her mom to be a woman in sports who inspired her.
“I think there are so many incredible female athletes but I think if my mom hadn’t played college basketball and had me so passionate about sports at such an early age I wouldn’t have developed the love I have for sports,” Gumm said.
Each generation encourages more women to participate in sports. Female athletes everywhere allow girls to have someone to look up to and someone to encourage them to do what they love.
The female athletes and coaches interviewed represent an array of female sports. However, the female sports industry is ever changing– with popularity and intensity growing every day. Even East is still growing their women’s sports, adding new sports in the future and experiencing more girls trying out each year.
National Girls and Women in sports day is just one day to recognize how far women’s sports have come; but changes are happening everyday empowering more women to pursue athletics year round.
Jordan Fikis, Mae Robinson, and Mia Rivera are staff writers for Oswego East’s online news magazine The Howl.