“Dear Girls with Game” – Lauren Rude

When you sit in the dugout, surrounded by your teammates, waiting to run out onto the field for the first pitch of the game – what’s running through your mind? Some people are thinking of all the recent advice they might have received from their coach, and others might be visualizing making that game-saving play. Well, before every game I had growing up, I had one coach who volunteered a player to stand in the middle of a huddle and lead a chant. It was just a short chant designed to pump us up and put into perspective the type of teammate we were meant to be on the field and for each other.  We would repeat in unison as the leader chanted each sentence:

As you get older, you are going to face challenges both on and off the field. There will be people who tell you that you are not good enough. There will be people who try to place limitations on you. It is in those moments that I challenge you.

I challenge you to be the voice that pushes back. I challenge you to lead and be an example of strength for your teammates. I challenge you to create opportunities for the next generation of females. I challenge you to be the force for good when people are trying to bring you down.  I challenge you to prove to anyone who doubts you that you can defy the odds. Finally, I challenge you to set a new standard for all those little girls who will look up to you one day. It’s time to step up, just like so many females before you have, and push female sports forward!