National Girls and Women in Sports Day!

The 23^rd annual celebration of National Girls and Women in Sports Day went better than planned at Stevens Institute of Technology. This annual extravaganza is so special. Not only is it a day to recognize those female athletes who have already established themselves as outstanding people, but it is a day to celebrate the commitment they have made to their sport, their team, and their strive for being the best, healthiest women they can be. Additionally, this day is so unique in that it could potentially be the beginning of a long athletic career in a young girl’s lives. The significance this day might have had on them is indescribable.

Now, let me introduce myself. My name is Lauren Griggs. I am a sophomore biomedical engineer here at Stevens as well as a varsity field hockey athlete. I am active all over campus but every year this event has a special place in my heart. On February 4, 2009, I had the privilege of teaching all different sorts of people, young and old, men and women, boys and girls the art of field hockey. For some, it was their first time hearing about the sport. For others, it was a chance to hit a pretty hard ball with a stick.

The planning of the drills we would do with the various groups all was worth it when we saw the faces (smiles of course) of all of those who participated in the field hockey station. The lesson began by giving everyone a little background about field hockey as a sport and then went into the proper way of holding a stick. From there, everyone was quite avid to pass the ball to one another. This sight was a memorable one. Seeing the groups pass together in pairs and understand how important teamwork is was so rewarding. After that, the next drill was dribbling. One by one, the novice field hockey players dribbled around cones and learned how difficult it was to keep control of the ball. By the end though, I was saying to everyone “WOW! We have some expert field hockey players here!” The last drill that we did before it was time to rotate sports was a little “shooting.” Everyone stood on a line and tried to score on me as I was standing in goal as the “goalie.” Let me say though, I am by no means a goalie. At Stevens, I am an attacker – I’m the one who is a nuisance to the opposing goalie. My identical twin sister is actually a goalie and probably could have been a better goalie. I digressed. So, all of the athletes are standing on the line. After the count of three, all of them were going to try to pass the ball by me and score in the goalie. I can swallow my pride enough to say that almost every single pass went by me in the goal. If that is not enough evidence to show talented all of these athletes of the day was, I have no idea what is.

After the rotation of the groups who went to field hockey, soccer, tennis, volleyball, and wrestling was completed, the entire group united upstairs for some pizza, snacks, and drinks to get back their energy from the days activities. When they were done, some of the kids even got their faces painted with “Stevens” written across their face (one boy had me write “pepsi” on his cheek too – he definitely knew advertising). From there, everyone with their bright yellow Stevens Duck Country shirts on (those they received at the beginning of the event) went in to see the women’s basketball game. It was a great game and also senior day. Senior Dani Dudek showed her stuff on the court and all of the fans loved the intensity and aggressiveness of the game. During half time, there was a special basketball contest where the kids competed.

All in all, the day was eventful and informative. I hope the children learned as much from us (the athletes) as we learned from them while also having a good time celebrating National Girls and Women in Sports Day.