National Girls & Women in Sports Day 2024
I AM A WOMAN IN SPORTS.
February 7th, 2024 is National Girls and Women in Sports Day 2024. It is unfathomable how differently I feel this year on this day compared to last. Last year I felt nervous to post about this important day because I was struggling with the confidence to call myself a woman in sports. Battling with imposter syndrome and trying to embrace the fact that I am proud of the work that I do. Working to reassure myself that just because I don't have a full-time job yet in sports, it doesn't cancel out that title. I chose to put my worrying aside and upload not only a photo of myself in my team's hockey jersey to celebrate the day, but I also wrote a blog post for it just like this one.
At this time last year I had a following of about 700-ish people on Instagram. Since then I have had a lot of growth on my page, I'm incredibly proud of that. But the growth that I am most proud of cannot be seen in something as trivial as numbers and analytics. I don't feel nervous this time around, those anxious feelings have faded and are now outshined by joy and overwhelming gratefulness. I'm far too busy feeling emotional in the best way over the experiences I have had in the last 365 days. This title that I've chosen to identify myself with and continuously work at has been one of the best choices I've ever made. Being a woman in sports means a great deal to me, so let's talk about it.
“Acknowledge your fear, understand it, and then get comfortable existing in a space with it.”
A Family found in Hockey
This year for NGWSD I chose to really focus on the University of Cincinnati Men's Ice Hockey team. It may seem a bit backwards to say I'm celebrating a men's hockey team on a day that is for girls and women, but it's really about recognizing how they treat me, as a woman, in that space. Respect is the bare minimum, but what I've received goes far beyond that. The connections and relationships I have built through being on this team were not something I anticipated when they brought me on in November of 2022.
While I won't retell the entire story of how I joined the team, I will say that the family I've found in this organization is one of the most special things I've gained since starting my journey in sports in August of that year. It sounds cliche to say things like "it's more than just a game", but it truly is.
The only Woman in the room
While I am so lucky to have gotten to work with so many amazing women, more often than not I find myself standing in solitude, an outlier in these rooms. Both outside of UC hockey and within. Our team was lucky enough to have some female interns this season, as well as one of our long time staff members who does work behind the scenes. But my role is required to be more present at things like practices and away trips which makes me the only girl.
I could give a million examples of times I felt judged, uncomfortable, belittled, etc. at other places, but the feeling I value the most from my team is the feeling of safety.
While I understand it is my choice to pursue this career and be present in these places, there is a lot to be said about how drastically more comfortable I feel in a space that on paper sounds like a higher risk. Standing on a hockey bench, no helmet, packed in with a group of twenty-something college boys with literal blades on their feet, whom I watch play one of the most aggressive sports is the safest feeling place I know in my sports journey so far. Not to mention the rubber puck flying around at the speed of a car. Yet in comparison, the slower paced, "quiet", limited-contact sport was where I so often felt on edge. And one day I'll feel ready to explain the significance of that comparison and why it needed to be said, but for today I want to highlight my most positive experiences. Which is why I chose to represent UC Hockey.
My hockey team thanks me constantly for everything I do for them. However, choosing to celebrate them along with myself today is my way of saying thank you because I don't say it enough.
“Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you, spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life forever.”
TO MY TEAM
Thank you for all that you do for me. Thank you for always including me, making me feel safe, cheering me on, respecting me, going out of your way to help me, listening to me, and most importantly, for treating me like family. I would love to think that every girl in this industry has that type of support, but as someone who has not only experienced the lack-there-of in other places and heard stories from other girls, I know that's not the case. I recognize how lucky I am to have found a team that feels like home. A team that can make a run down rink one of my favorite places on Earth. A team that somehow turned a 2+ hour ride home from a game at 3AM after a loss into a core memory by playing Taylor Swift songs in the car for me and singing along. A team that taught me how to play a Vietnamese game called Dá Cầu that we played before every game/practice and then bought me my own as a keepsake gift in my favorite color. A team that so happily accepted and proudly wears friendship bracelets I made for them. Whose reactions were so genuine and sweet that it made us go viral on two different apps.
That is the kind of team I am lucky enough to have and that's the experience I wish not only every woman in this industry could have, but everyone in general. That level of support is overwhelming and unexpected. UC hockey is the hidden gem I found and then claimed as my own. I plan to hold onto it for as long as I can before I inevitably (and hopefully) move on to a new venture somewhere else one day. Even if one day my dream job comes along and I get the opportunity of a lifetime, leaving my team will be the hardest part. I am grateful I got to experience a full season with them and tried to take in every moment. Life can change so quickly, but for those wondering, for now my plan is to be back next season. That is the plan until further notice. But if something is to change in the next 6 months and I don't get to do it again, I can confidently say I am truly grateful for every minute I got to spend with them this season. Our season was filled with ups and downs, hard moments that tested our patience, and it ultimately brought us closer together. While it wasn't always fun or easy, I would not trade it for the world.
I appreciate you more than this long blog post can even fully explain. Hopefully I'll see ya soon.
All love, always. (And #1TEAM1MISSION)
Sincerely,
Emily
Special Thanks
Thank you to the boys who helped me capture these photos - Alex Perez, Nathan Sunderhaus, Aiden Hansen, Ryan Lannoye and Alex Brown.
