Athletics hosts girls for day of inspiration, celebration

Forty-two girls, in kindergarten to sixth grade, attended Penn College’s annual Girls and Women in Sports Day Clinic on Feb. 8, where they not only received instruction from Penn College’s women’s athletes and coaches, but learned wider lessons about self-esteem and what it means to be a girl in sports.

Sixty student-athletes volunteered for the event, teaching lessons in basketball, soccer, softball, volleyball and tennis.

“Our clinic provides girls the opportunity to play multiple sports to help them discover strengths they didn’t know they had and to build confidence to last a lifetime,” said Britni E. Mohney, assistant director of athletics and head coach for women’s basketball. “We want to showcase the strength our student-athletes have by balancing academics and athletics, giving that powerful visibility to have the girls think ‘I can be that, too.’”
 

This year, athletics partnered with the Human Services & Restorative Justice Club and the college’s  UPMC athletic trainers to add two new elements that helped to provide a broader scope of what being a girl in sports looks like, Mohney explained.

The Human Services & Restorative Justice Club provided activities to build confidence and self-esteem through “Wildcat Affirmations.” Athletic trainer Meridith A. Boucher talked about her work providing front-line medical care and mental health support for student-athletes, showing the girls how they can be involved in sports on and off the playing field.

National Girls and Women in Sports Day, a project of the Women’s Sports Foundation, honors the achievements of women athletes, coaches and leaders, and the power of sports to unlock their limitless potential.

“National Girls and Women in Sports Day provides an opportunity to celebrate every female athlete for their devotion to excellence and unwavering competitive spirit,” Mohney said. “It’s a celebration of equal opportunity for women and girls to compete at the same level, showcasing their hard work, dedication and resilience to their respective sports. On this day our student-athletes at Penn College get to inspire the next generation of girls to achieve greatness and reach for bigger dreams.”