Hannah Spreckley – Special to the Southern News
NEW HAVEN, Conn — With their water bottles filled to the brim and their sneakers tied tight, many young girls will filter into the Moore Field House for Southern’s annual Girls and Women in Sports Day event. It is a team effort that benefits upward of 200 young girls on an annual basis, according to Associate Director of Athletics, Mike Kobylanski.
“I think it’s a very rewarding event,” said Kobylanski. “It’s rewarding to help coordinate it behind the scenes. It’s rewarding to see our student athletes have that interaction with the youngsters and vice versa. It’s definitely mutually beneficial.”
On Saturday, Feb. 1 at 9:15 a.m. the Athletic Department administration, Office of Alumni Relations, coaches and student-athletes will come together to host Southern’s annual Girls and Women in Sports Day event which is sponsored by the Connecticut Army National Guard. The day involves registration, a warm up, a cool down, an autograph session, a pizza lunch and not forgetting the most important part of the day: the youngsters participating in the different activities set up by the student-athletes.
This year the event will lead into a Southern women’s basketball game beginning at 1:30 p.m. against Assumption College. Kobylanski encourages the young girls to stay and watch the game to get a real feeling of what it is like to play a sport at the collegiate level.
“It gives the student-athletes the opportunity to help girls from all walks of life,” said head coach of the women’s basketball team, Meghan Brown. “The team has fun and they enjoy it, but they have the right mind set to get ready for the game.”
The women student-athletes will set up different activities relative to their sport. Groups of 20 young girls will rotate around each station, spending around 10 minutes at each trying out different games and competitions the athletes have organized for them.
The head coach of the women’s lacrosse team, Maureen Spellman will run the warm up and cool down with her team helping out with demonstrations.
“It’s a good opportunity to have the community come to us,” said Spellman. “We spend a lot of time doing community service so it will be good for the youngsters to see what college is like.”
Spellman gives her team an idea of some sessions but, the lacrosse captains take charge in putting together stations that the girls can participate in and have fun with.
According to Kobylanski, the exposure to a college campus and the ability to see firsthand what the girls have the potential to become, with regards to how the student-athletes become coaches, mentors and role models within that particular setting will be a great experience for the youngsters.
“It can be an eye opening experience for them, in a positive way,” said Kobylanski.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the NCAA provided data showing that between 2004 and 2010, the proportion of female student athletes increased. During this time, there was approximately a 14 percentage point increase in Division I, a 21 percentage point increase in Division II and a 14 percentage point increase in Division III.
Track and Field athlete, Elizabeth Bashir said they plan relays to encourage teamwork and teach the girls how to use a turbo javelin and small, lighter shot puts against a wall. She said she wishes she had the same opportunity at a young age and that it is important for all females to be exposed to sports.
“Being a role model is one of the greatest feelings,” said Bashir. “I hope I can be a motivator and great representation of a strong female in sports.”
