‘Find Your Voice’ — AGHW Hosts Panelists in Celebration of National Girls and Women in Sports Day
By Ryan Clark and Hayden Gooding
CHS Contributors
In celebration of National Girls and Women in Sports Day, more than 30 viewers attended a virtual panel Wednesday from the Active Girls Healthy Women Program entitled, “From the playground to the playing field: Engaging girls and women in movement and sport.”
The four panel speakers shared successful strategies for creating positive and engaging experiences for girls and women in sports and physical activity. The four individuals work both in and outside of sports environments to highlight ways communities around the U.S. are supporting the active pursuits of girls and women.
The speakers included:
Ami Hampole, D.O., a physical medicine and rehabilitation doctor who focuses on sports and neuromusculoskeletal medicine. She is also a U.S. figure skating triple gold medalist, former 8-time Indian senior national figure skating champion, a World figure skating competitor and coach. As executive director of the Chicago Youth Foundation, Hampole works with a women-led team to provide Chicago youth with access to ice sports in a fun, safe and positive environment.
Peggy Stamps, founder and owner of The SquarePeg Group Inc., a New York City-based talent management company. The SquarePeg Group represents a select group of singers, dancers and actors. Her clients have appeared in more than 200 leading Broadway, Broadway tour, regional stage, cruise ship, and film and television productions.
Michelle Rayner, currently the women’s sporting director for the Lexington Sporting Club. In this role, she oversees the United Soccer League Women’s pathway from the Professional Team through the Youth Club.
Kim Shelton, chief executive officer of the Lexington Sporting Club. Shelton was a member of the 1992 inaugural women’s soccer team at the University of Kentucky. She was captain of the team for five years and served as the assistant coach while completing her M.B.A.
As part of the Sports Medicine Research Institute in the College of Health Sciences, the Active Girls Health Women Program is a group of researchers, clinicians and professionals who are working together to improve the health of girls and women through research, outreach and educational efforts.
Questions were posed like: What do you see as the biggest challenges for girls and women, and What would you tell your younger self about engaging in sports, movement and performance?
“I think we have very few role models compared to the men’s sporting world,” Hampole said. “I think what women could do better is, be more mentors than just role models. What we need to do is like really think about the generations after us and really try to be there for them and try to pay it forward. We’re so behind the men’s sporting world, so in order to improve, we need to really help the generations after us.”
“I would have probably told myself, ‘Don't be afraid to set high standards through clear expectations, but while also creating a sense of positivity and self-worth,’” Rayner said. “I did think I set standards when I went on my path, probably not knowing, jumping from country to country, being fortunate enough to do what I did, but setting high standards and believing in yourself — I think more than anything — and being positive through it all.”
“I would have told my young self — ‘You’re young and you don’t realize that with your body how much you need to take care of it emotionally and physically,’” Stamps said. “I would really encourage myself to always keep that mental health and that physical self balanced, but also the important part of getting your body time to recover.”
“Playing sports is an opportunity,” Shelton said. “It's a real safe place to lead, right? And to learn how to lead. I think as we do so as women on women’s sports teams, you’re not faced with the sitting in a boardroom and you’re the only woman at the table. So, you can you can get your voice.
“You can gain your voice through sport as you grow so that when you find yourself in that spot — and hopefully our young people will find themselves in that spot less and less — than we maybe all have,” she continued. “So, find your voice, you know, take that opportunity to learn to lead because it’s right in front of you. And that will pay dividends down the road.”