Why I’m thankful for women’s sports #Rally4Girls

Today is Blog for Women’s Sports Day – special thank-you to the National Women’s Law Center for putting this together.

As I sit down here and think about what women’s sports means to me, I don’t even know where to start. Women’s sports has become my dream, and now has become the reality of my life.

That's me on defense. High school game against our rival, Haddonfield

Here are just a few examples of how sport has changed my life as a woman:

• When I was little, I was introduced to sport through my brother, who I wanted to beat in everything. I’m thankful for him for doing that to me.
• In youth sports, I met friends who I still run into now. Countless AAU trips and camps provided incredible friends and growing experiences for me. I’m grateful to have been able to afford those opportunities.
• In high school, my mom saved every single newspaper article, mention and box score and saved it in a scrapbook that I now have. I’m thankful for those community reporters, the folks in my small town who still recognize me, and for my mom for making me feel like a star.
• In college, when I left my parents, I found a new family with my teammates, who became my best friends and my support network. I’m thankful for them.
• After college, I started to blog on a site called TheFinalSprint.com, writing for a young man named Adam Jacobs, who believed in me and the spirit of the online track and field community. Adam’s spirit lives on in me now. I’m thankful for him.
• My blogging led me to a job in digital PR. I worked for Edelman, and had a few incredible colleagues who told me to start blogging about something I’m passionate about. That’s when I learned about online communities and found my voice in women’s sports. I’m thankful for them.
• After I started blogging, I met a two people (via commenting on each other’s blog posts) who were just as passionate about women’s sports as me, their names: Jane Schonberger and Ann Gaffigan. The three of us got together and came up with an idea to form a go-to resource for women’s sports.
• After a few months, we built WomenTalkSports.com into a network, and now have over 150 dedicated contributors, are slowly formalizing our business model and beginning to work with media partners.
• For my full-time job, I work at Catalyst Public Relations, and have some incredible colleagues and supervisors who believe in me and the work that I can do. I’m particularly thankful for one colleague in particular, Don Povia, also the cofounder of BlogsWithBalls, gives me hope in fathers everywhere.
• I’m thankful for all of the stories that remain untold about women’s sports and female athletes around the world. Because a bright future for women will allow me to go capture these stories and shine a light on them so the rest of the world can see.
• Last, I’m thankful for the daughter that I’ll have one day. And the opportunities in sport that I’ll one day introduce her to. If I have a boy, rest assured that I’ll raise him as a man that supports women in sports.

Oh, and I’m thankful you took the time to read this. Now it’s your turn – why are you thankful for women’s sports?