It Takes a Village to Raise an Athlete

You know what they say: it takes a village to raise a child. It’s especially true when it comes to raising young athletes. Whether you’re a coach, teacher, parent, friend or family member, these are some things I personally believe we should keep in mind as a society when raising a young, female athlete.

1. Push-ups on your knees are not called "girl push-ups." If she can’t do an original push-up, tell her to do a knee push-up. Never call it a “girl push-up.”
2. Don’t tell her she runs like a girl. If you told that to Mia Hamm she would say, “Maybe if you ran a little faster, you could too.”
3. Instead of telling her she’s strong for a girl, just tell her she’s strong.
4. Tell her about professional female athletes. Read news stories to her. Share YouTube clips with her. Figure out which of the athletes she looks up to and nurture that interest. She attends school where everyone's hockey cards only have male players on them and most people's favourite professional athlete is a man. Make sure she knows women grow up to be athletes too and that they are just as good to have as role models as male athletes.
5. Let’s say you see a little female hockey player who’s too talented for her age. If this were a boy, most would say, jokingly or not, “He’s going to the NHL someday.” So, do the same for her: “She’s going to the NWHL.”
6. Make sure she knows that if she can run faster than the boys, throw a dodgeball harder than them and beat them all at soccer during recess, then she should. If you see her holding back, confront it immediately. Athleticism is not manly . . . it’s GIRL POWER. ​
7. Always remain conscious of the fact that she's an athlete trying to have fun and succeed in a male-dominated department of life. Whatever the situation may be, just make sure she always knows sports are for girls too.

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