Girl Power by Leah Pellegrino

GIRL POWER SPRING ISSUE 2018

Empowering & motivating young female athletes

GIRL POWER

Hey girl, thanks for joining! Here at Girl Power, we are on a mission to keep all you badass girls involved in sports. How do we do that? Research shows that girls who have a role model to look up to and go to for guidance and support are over fifty percent more likely to stay involved in their sport. We like those odds so we came up with our sweet mentorship program. Girls between the ages of 9â&#x20AC;&#x201C;13 will be mentees and girls between the ages of 14â&#x20AC;&#x201C;18 will be mentors. Our goal is to help you find someone you can go to for anything from practice help, advice on life and be an all around best friend. Lets build each other up girls. See you on the field!

70%

of girls said there are not enough female role models in sports today so we decided to take action... In today’s world, adolescent girls are bombarded with a constant influx of images of external beauty, which can cause them to question themselves and how they should look, but what they need are the strong, confident, healthy female athlete role models. Peer pressure is difficult for girls of all ages but female athletes can help offset that by encouraging girls to participate in sports and maintain a healthy active lifestyle. It has been shown that high school female athletes have more positive body images than non-athletes. Female athletes make good role models for adolescent girls by promoting physical activity and involvement in sports, confidence, a strong work ethic, and emphasizing the importance of education. It is clear this summer while watching the Women’s World Cup or Wimbledon that the women competing are healthy and fit. They are extremely active and eat healthy to keep their bodies at a top performance level. These women show young girls a healthy body type and that strength and muscle is attractive, as opposed to the many unhealthy body types being showcased on billboards and in magazines.

Confidence is very important to instill in young girls and it is a quality many female athletes exemplify both in and outside of their sport. Sports build leadership and teach girls how to work together as a team. Both professional athletes and Olympians demonstrate how important it is to believe in themselves and their team in order to achieve greatness, which every young girl should do. These female athletes are also strong role models because they show girls everywhere that it is work ethic and not good looks that will help them succeed. By practicing and spending time honing their craft, they can truly be all that they dream of no matter what their gender, race, or background. In order for many girls to compete in the sport they love, they must first make the grades, whether that is to stay on the team in middle school and high school or to gain an acceptance to college, grades matter. Sports can be a means for many to go to college but they must also demonstrate a strong work ethic and good grades in order to be considered. While some sports do not require

SPRING 2018

Best friends Gabi (16) and Kori (17) who met through the Girl Power program.

a college degree to be recruited, more and more young athletes are opting to finish their college career and some even return to further their education in order to be successful after their time in sports. Female athletes, such as the recent United States Women’s National Team who just took home the Women’s World Cup trophy, or Serena Williams who just won her 6th Wimbledon title, provide strong influences and show girls the benefits of being active. It is important for young girls to see the incredible achievements of these athletes and know that they too can accomplish such great feats both in their sport and later in their careers and personal lives.

GIRL POWER

How Much Less Are Female Soccer Players Paid? Pay Per Player Per Exhibition Game

Yearly pay for 20 games Lose all

Win all

$263,320

$100,000 $99,000

$8,166

$72,00

(Bonus per win)

$5,000 $1,350

(Bonus per win)

$3,600

MEN 4

WOMEN

MEN

WOMEN

MEN

WOMEN

SPRING 2018

members of the U.S.

Of course, there are other forms or payment. One of those is each team’s per diem. While it is The women

Women’s National Soccer Team filed a complaint this

receive $50 per day for travel expenses to games in

week alleging wage discrimination based on gender,

the United States and $60 per day for games in other

citing a gross disparity in how much the women are

countries. In both cases, the men receive 25% more.

paid by the US Soccer Federation compared to the men’s national team.

Members of the women’s team received a $75,000 bonus for winning the 2015 Women’s World Cup. If the

While it will take the Equal Employment Opportunity

men were to ever win a World Cup, their bonus under

Commission to decide whether the women should be compensated more, a closer look at the differences in pay between the men and women reveals a disparity that is jarring.

the current structure would be more than four times larger at nearly $400,000. Thanks to the Women’s World Cup, the women’s

Part of the issue is that the women’s and men’s teams are paid in different ways. While the women’s players

team generated more revenue than the men in 2015. However, based on the US Soccer Federation’s own projections, the women are expected to generated

have a base salary ($72,000) that is supplemented

more money than the men in both 2016 and 2017.

by bonuses for winning games ($1,350 per win), the men receive a per-game bonus ($5,000 per game)

At the end of the day, it is hard to look at these

and receive a bonus for each win ($3,166 per win),

numbers (a lot more money for the men), how much

according to the New York Times.

work is being done (equal), and the success of each program (a lot more for the women) and think that

Both teams are required to play 20 international

the amount the women are being paid is fair.

friendlies each year (exhibitions against other

Because it is not.

countries). Here is how the players are compensated depending on how many games they win. Even if the women go 20-0, the men will still make nearly twice as much just by going 10-10.

Clint Dempsey $8,000,000 per year

Clinton Drew Dempsey (born March 9, 1983) is an American professional soccer player and forward for Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer. He has also played for the New England Revolution, Fulham, and Tottenham Hotspur

Soccer player Alex Morgan has starred for the U.S. national teams that won Olympic gold and the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Alex Morgan $450,000 per year

Statistics were gathered by Business Insider and The New York Times.

GIRL POWER

the story of

Bella Picard

Undaunted by grim prognosis, college softball star vows to return to the field.

SPRING 2018

Bella Picard, 20 years old, who suffers from a nerve injury in her spine.

Even after a grim diagnosis, Bella keeps her spirit high but hoping to return to the field one day.

Bella learning how to walk and use the right side of her body once again.

On April 18, Bella Picard, a sophomore on

collision with the knee of Fordham’s

and determination that had earned her the

the St. Joseph’s softball team, walked to the

shortstop Allie Bradian. In an instant, Picard

highest batting average in the nation (.902)

plate at Fordham University. The moments that

was knocked unconscious, and for a few

as a junior at Blackstone Valley Tech High

followed were a blur.

harrowing moments, silence enveloped

School in Upton, Mass., and subsequently,

Fordham’s Bahoshy Field in the Bronx.

a scholarship to St. Joseph’s, the soccer player-turned-softball star got to work

The single to right field in the first inning. The sign to hit and run. The batters swing and miss.

Amazingly, Picard got up after a few moments

immediately, and set out to prove her doctors,

The hesitation off of first base. The collision

of unconsciousness and began running

and any other doubters, wrong.

with Fordham’s shortstop. The darkness that

sprints behind the visitors’ dugout to prove

ensued.

to Adams that she could remain in the game.

Like a circus acrobat, Picard tirelessly

“She didn’t want to come out,” Adams says.

practiced her balance in an effort to regain her once steady footing. She rehabbed daily

“I can’t even remember my at-bat that got me on first base,” says Picard, St. Joseph’s speedy

At the hospital, Picard’s situation proved

with physical therapists, working with a

centerfielder. “I asked later, how did this happen

much more dire than she had originally

motor program that electrocuted her muscles

to me?”

anticipated. Doctors discovered that she had

and used a robot to teach her to walk again.

fractured her fifth cervical vertebra and had Picard was in the midst of a fine sophomore

heavy swelling in her spine.

Though she still struggles to move her right side consistently, Picard’s strides toward

season, one in which she was hitting .353 through 31 games, with 10 stolen bases in the

The news thereafter did not improve. Three

recovery have been tremendous. Her most

No. 2 spot in the batting order for the Hawks.

days after her gutsy slide, on the morning

drastic improvements have been with her

of April 21, Picard awoke in New York

formerly immobilized right arm, which she

In less than two seasons playing college

Presbyterian Hospital without the ability to

can now bend and lift high above her head.

softball, Picard was already regarded as one

move the entire right side of her body, and

of the Atlantic 10’s top up-and-comers. She

soon learned that her fractured vertebra was

Even more miraculously, in early September

was the type of player coaches loved, opposing

millimeters away from nicking her spine and

Picard took steps on her own for the first

pitchers feared and fans came to watch. One

paralyzing her completely. “It didn’t even feel

time since her injury. “I just don’t stop

who could wreak havoc with her feet, an animal

real,” Picard says. “I never even sit down, so

moving,” says Picard, who is taking time off

of sorts between the white lines. “She wasn’t

I thought, ‘Is this going to be my life? Am I

from school and redshirting this season to

afraid to go as hard as she could on every play,”

really going to have to live in a wheelchair?’”

preserve a year of NCAA eligibility. “I feel like I have to stay busy all the time because

St. Joseph’s coach Terri Adams says. “Whether we were winning by 10 or losing by 10, you could

After a successful surgery, doctors told a

as soon as I stop, it’ll be harder to get going

never tell what the score was by the way Bella

petrified Picard that it would be two to three

again. And I’m determined to keep getting

played the game.”

years, at best, before she would be able to

better.”

walk again, and that she had likely played Picard’s greatest athletic gifts became her

her final inning of softball. “Every doctor told

“The game of softball has taught me about

ultimate curse on April 18 when she dashed

me that it was such a freak accident,” Picard

life more than anything else,” Picard says.

toward second base with teammate Nicole

says. “The speed that I had to be running at,

“There is a 70 percent failure rate in the

Palase at the plate. With a 2-1 count and the hit

the speed that Allie had to be running at, and

sport, so I know what it’s like to fall and have

and run on for the visiting Hawks, Palase swung

the force that we had to create to break my

to get back up and try again.

through the pitch and missed, causing Picard to

vertebra like that is the equivalent of the force

hesitate for a split second.

involved in a car accident.”

Picard’s moment of panic left her one step

The ever-driven Picard was unwilling to

behind the catcher’s throw, resulting in an

accept her prognosis. With the diligence

aggressive head-first slide and a violent

PLAY LIKE A GIRL

Empowering & motivating young female athletes Join the Mentorship Program today at www.grlpwr.com

@grlpwr

GIRL POWER

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SPRING 2018

“Courage, sacrifice, determination, commitment, toughness, heart, talent, guts. That’s what little girls are made of; the heck with sugar and spice.” — Bethany Hamilton

Bethany Meilani Hamilton-Dirks (born February 8, 1990)

in the 2004 autobiography Soul Surfer: A True Story of

is an American professional surfer who survived a 2003

Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board. In

shark attack in which her left arm was bitten off but

April 2011, the feature film Soul Surfer was released.

who ultimately returned to—and was victorious in— professional surfing. She wrote about her experience

EMILY LAWRENSON GIRL POWER

HOMETOWN: Washingtown Township, NJ

BIRTHDATE: June 1, 1996

SPORT: Softball

STATUS: Mentor

Emily Lawrenson is our Mentor of

constantly gives back to her

As the main pitcher for

As a pitcher, she threw 160.1

At the plate, she was the top

the Year for 2018. She is currently

community by volunteering

Washington High School’s Varsity

innings, compiled a 1.61 earned

hitter and led the team in

17 years old and has been a

at her local animal shelter

softball team, she had her best

run average and had 18 complete

batting average (.333), slugging

member of Girl Power since she

on the weekends. When not

season this past year. She was

games with 6 shutouts. Added 95

percentage (.455), hits (63), RBI

was 12. Emily shows what it

participating in the Girl Power

one of the three girls who played

strikeouts and finished third in

(27), runs scored (21), total bases

means to have girl power on and

camps, she can often be found

in all 53 games, was named

opponent batting average (.217).

(86) and home runs (4). Emily

off the field. When not practicing

on the other side coaching her

to the 2017 DII Conference

She threw the fourth no-hitter in

was fourth in the CACC in hits

or staying busy with school

younger peers.

Commissiioner Association

program history.

and seventh in total bases. She

work, she is an active member

All-East Region First Team and

recorded her 100th hit of her

of the mentorship program and

was named to the All-CACC First

career in the CACC Tournament

Team as the main pitcher.

championship game.

Q&A

My pre-game ritual is... My team and I have a chant we say at the beginning of every game but individually I always take a few seconds before I go on the field to clear my mind of anything else that maybe going on besides the game. I want to have a clear mind when I take the mound. My pre-game music is... OK so everyone makes fun of me but its country music! Most people like rap or hip hop because it pumps them up but country calms down any nerves I may have so its my go to. My favorite food is... Sushi. Any kind, all kinds. Doesn’t matter to me at all I love it. In my bag... In my softball bag I have the obvious stuff like my cleats, bats, gloves and all that stuff. I always carry an extra water bottle in there along with some granola bars. Plus hair ties and chapstick, you never know when you might need them! Favorite game... My favorite game is definitely when I got my 100th career hit. It’s crazy it happened so early in my career and I was super nervous the whole game. I struck out earlier in the game on an easy fast ball because I got excited and swung to early. My teammates were awesome though and helped me keep my head in the game to get me my 100th hit. Biggest motivator... My mom. She has done so much so I can be where I am today. I can’t imagine how annoying it must be to drive me to all my games and practices and everything else in my life but she never complains or anything. Plus she was the one that pushed me to join all these extra teams because she saw the ability in me before anyone else.

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Emily Lawrenson Mentor of the Year 2018

ALY CLARK GIRL POWER

HOMETOWN: Springfield, PA

BIRTHDATE: September 7, 2008

SPORT: Lacrosse

STATUS: Mentee

Aly Clark is our Mentee of the Year

the only sports crazy girl in her

As a defender, she played in 18

thumb leaving her out of the rest

for 2018. She is currently 9 years

family, she is the 3rd youngest

matches and started in 16. She

of season. However, she went to

old and this is her first year being a

out of four girls. Her older

contributed 21 ground balls and

physical therapy and practiced

member of Girl Power. Even though

sisters Mady and Caitlyn both

only caused 5 turnovers and 1

every damn to gain full mobility

she may be young, Aly already

also are members of Girl Power

draw control. She contributed to

in her thumb and made her

shows what it means to have girl

and play lacrosse, basketball and

a season-high four ground balls

comeback 2 weeks earlier than

power! While most girls at a young

field hockey. Her younger sister

and two caused turnovers against

expected. Keep on rocking Aly!

age want to dance or play princess,

Brynn is sure to be following in

Haverford, a rival of Springfield.

Aly was also outside, getting dirty

her older sisters footsteps.

Aly has just recently come back

while playing sports. She is not

from a injury she received during a playoff game last season. She broke the growth plate in her

Q&A My pre-game ritual is... Me and my sisters have a handshake we all do before we play. My pre-game music is... Anything by Harry Styles! Or One Direction, I miss them. My first concert was actually a One Direction concert. My favorite food is... Pizza. I love white pizza with green peppers and onions. Whenever we win a game my coach has us over her house and we have a pizza party its great! In my bag... I bring my sneakers and cleats with me, my lacrosse stick and goggles. I have a lucky pair of pink shoelaces that I keep in my bag so I can put them on before a game. Some people donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t believe in that stuff but I do.

Favorite game... My favorite game was when my club lacrosse team played my sisters team in the playoffs! It was kind of hard because we are close and both wanted to win but my team ended up winning and we were the champions for that year. My sister was upset that she lost but was really happy for me which meant a lot. Hopefully she can win and feel that same joy next year. Biggest motivator... My biggest motivators are my two older sisters, Mady and Caitlyn. They are great lacrosse players and I want to be as good as they are one day. Mady is currently looking for high schools that she can play lacrosse for and its so cool to see how excited she is. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nice to have sisters who play the same sport because you always have someone to practice with!

SPRING 2018

Aly Clark Mentee of the Year 2018

Thanks for being one of the 300 girls enrolled in Girl Power! Girl Power is a national mentorship program that was created by CEO, Leah Pellegrino, in 2005. We started up in Philadelphia and eventually have grown to have campuses in 8 major cities all over the United States. These campuses offer camps and events to our girls in order for them to perfect their athletic skills.

Our quarterly publication features our mentor and mentee of the year, articles about hot topics going on in the athletic world and motivational stories from female athletes.

Our mentorship program is open to anyone from the ages of 9—18 located anywhere in the United States. It is our girl to build up bonds, instead of tear them apart with competition. Lets all be the best athletes we can be.