A Letter to My Daughter

Dear Elliana,

I have a confession to make. As your mama, I know I am supposed to expose you to a lot of activities and let you choose your passion. Or at least that’s what the books and blogs tell me to do. But I really hope you end up loving sports. Why?

On the selfish side of things, I want to go to games, cheer you on from the sidelines and be “that parent” – the one with the orange slices who volunteers to coach. I want to take a ton of pictures (like I don’t do that already!), celebrate your successes and comfort you when you lose. Plus, I can’t resist a bunch of little kids swarming around a soccer ball – it’s too cute.

More importantly, I want you to get all the benefits from sports that I received growing up:

• Self-confidence: By 6^th grade I was the tallest girl in the school, and the third tallest person (including the boys) by 8^th grade. At 5 foot 9 inches, I was one lanky middle-schooler. And while that may seem cool to an almost two-year-old, it was not so cool in middle school – not when you are trying to fit in, make friends and just be like everyone else. In sports my long frame became an asset, and I learned to embrace who I was. I could shoot a basketball over the heads of snotty boys, run faster than the preppy girls and turn teammates into lifelong friends (Hi, LB!).
• Leadership: In high school, when everyone caught up to my height and the natural advantage was less, I just kept practicing and improving. After all, it wasn’t just about me anymore; I committed to be part of the field hockey team for four years, eventually becoming co-captain.
• Character and resilience: Winning is fun, but losing taught me perseverance. I accepted defeat with dignity and immediately refocused for the next game.

Fortunately, you’ll have lots of opportunities to experience sports in and out of school – in large part due to pioneering women’s sports figures who championed Title IX. Before, Title IX schools could discriminate against women in a number of ways, including on the playing field. That’s not right, and your mama is going to fight to continue to keep the law strong.

So, Happy National Girls and Women in Sports Day. I’ll see you tonight and perhaps we can practice kicking and throwing a ball. Maybe we’ll even let dad join in.

Love,

Melanie “Mama”