How to Help Girls Develop Through Sports and Role Models

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By Sam Piha

There is an exploding interest in girls’ sports, as our understanding of the benefits grow. Through girls’ sports afterschool programs can promote leadership, engagement and personal empowerment.

“We know that sport is empowering, particularly for girls, and challenge gender norms. Sport participation offers girls an opportunity to build their self-esteem, courage and self-efficacy. It is a place where they can take up leadership positions and through sport programs girls' belief in their own ability increases. This translates into everyday life – it encourages them to take initiative, raise their voices and attempt things they never assumed were possible.

When community members see girls achieve in sport, they often recognize their potential to achieve in other domains.  Lastly, sport is a powerful tool and platform to strengthen social ties, networks, engage the community and promote positive messages. In short, wins on the field translate into wins off the field – One Win Leads to Another.” [1]

 

TIPS FOR DEVELOPING LEADERSHIP

According to Women Win, “Girls’ leadership can and should be an important part of program design. Developing the leadership abilities and opportunities within a program for the adolescent girl participants creates a pool of potential coaches, facilitators and female leaders for your sport programs. This, in turn, increases the potential for these girls to grow as leaders in their communities.

One of the most powerful ways to build leadership qualities in girls is to put girls in leadership roles. When girls are expected to lead others, they find power within themselves they might not know existed. This can come in the form of formal positions or informal relationships between girls. Creative program leaders and coaches find subtle ways to facilitate this process and support all forms of leadership.

• Be patient. Leadership is a skill that is developed over time. Ask girls what they are good at and how they want to build their skills and confidence. Encourage them to lead their own development.
• Allow girls to elect their own leaders.
• Highlight examples of good leadership.
• Let girls train others in sport-specific, practical and life skills.
• Show girls you value their opinions.
• Explicitly talk about and encourage discussions about leadership values to girls regularly.
• Lead by example as a coach or program leader.
• Support positive role modelling.
• Allow girls to choose if they want to fill leadership roles.
• Encourage girls to go out in community and be recognized.
• Reward acts of leadership with outward praise and formal honors.
• Reward exceptional performance with leadership roles.
• Give all girls opportunities to lead during practice, not just older, talented, non-disabled or more natural leaders.
• Constantly encourage goal setting and evaluation.
• Target inhibitors of leadership and address them, such as lack of confidence, peer pressure or poor mentoring.
• Seek to help every girl develop to her highest personal potential, as opposed to constantly criticizing or comparing girls to one another.
• Recognize quiet leadership in girls, those who are not outspoken or loud, but rather, those who will always run the extra lap with the slowest girl on the team.
• Create standards of what it takes to be a leader from both girls with and without disabilities

Personal empowerment and control are closely linked. Program partners report that when a girl feels like she has control over her body, her future and her environment, she begins to feel strong and powerful. It is important to give participants in your program some degree of control over the design of the program, especially when the intent of the program is to increase girls’ self-esteem. Girls are more likely to fully engage in activities that they help design.” [2]

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PROGRAM DESIGN: HOW TO ENGAGE GIRLS IN SPORTS 

• “Allow girls to choose paint colors and make decorations for the space where their sessions are held.
• Ask girls to vote on how they would like to be grouped for competitions, for example, by age, by region or by skill level.
• Give girls the choice of uniform colors and team names.
• Consult with girls and their families about time and duration of practices and training sessions
• Ask girls to create rules of conduct for sessions and penalties for breach of conduct.
• Pick a group of girls to interview and evaluate potential coaches.
• Ask girls which sport they would like to play.
• Ask girls which life skills topics they would like to discuss.” [3]

THE IMPORTANCE OF ROLE MODELS FOR GIRLS 

According to Women Win, “Girls are exposed to both positive and negative role models every day: a strong mother who stands up against domestic abuse or a female celebrity that uses her sex appeal to be popular. All of these people affect how a girl views her own potential. These are the people who girls use as references for whom they will become and whose behavior they will emulate.

Local examples provide more easily imaginable visions of success. A key component to presenting girls with role models is to make sure the success experienced by the role models is attainable and replicable in their minds. Research has shown that when individuals feel that the role model in front of them has attained a status unreachable to them, their presence can actually be demoralizing. If possible, find role models who exemplify an area in which girls have an interest and where they need help in personal development. Find a person who can share their personal experience with personal growth in that area. Men can certainly serve as positive role models; however, there is an inherent value in same-gender role modelling.” [4]

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Role Models: Some Tips

“A girl needs to see confidence, leadership and accomplishment in other women in order to envision herself with those qualities. A program designed to empower girls must provide powerful, positive role models. As program directors, it is helpful to expose girls to a diverse set of role models as consistently as possible. Strong role models can be women who are older, skilled athletes, coaches, community leaders, successful business people, celebrities, politicians, religious leaders, confident peers or any strong woman whose presence will resonate with the girls. Although there is power to showing girls women who are international heroines, there is also a power to exposing them to local people.” [5] -  Women Win

Women Win offers these tips to promote women role models: 

• “Organize events where role models speak to girls about their experiences.
• Try to pair up individual girls with older mentors with the intention of creating long-lasting relationships.
• Take girls to see athletic events with older participants. Arrange a meet-and-greet afterwards to allow girls to interact with players.
• Set up guest coaching sessions with successful coaches from your region.
• Ensure that all those in positions of power within the organization are serving as positive role models for participants.
• Seek role models outside of the sport arena. Invite a successful businesswoman or female politician to come to the program and speak to the girls.
• Consider inviting men or women with a disability to come speak, as they often have a powerful impact on girls with and without disabilities.
• Discuss the concept of “negative role modelling” with girls, i.e., simply because a person is successful does not mean that they are worthy of being a role model. Challenge girls to evaluate virtues, values and expectations related to these role models.” [6]

RESOURCES TO LEARN MORE

In addition to the resources that are cited in the end notes (below), we also recommend a few additional resources.

• Women’s Sports Foundation- Designing a Quality Girls’ Sports Program
• Women Win- Engaging Girls in Sport
• Women Win- Guides

END NOTES

[1] Women Win, Empowering Girls Through Sport

[2] Women Win, Developing Girls’ Leadership

[3] Women Win, Girl-Led Design

[4] Women Win, The Power of Role Models

[5] IBID.

[6] IBID. 

Let Youth Lead

Source: FAB Youth Philly

By Guest Blogger, Rebecca Fabiano, Founder & President, FAB Youth Philly
(This was originally published on the FAB Youth Philly Blog for Youth Workers.)

Rebecca Fabiano

We know that Out-of-School Time programs are in a unique position to support young people in their demands for safer schools, equity and justice. For many of us, a social justice lens is at the core of our work with children and teens. Helping them develop their voice and providing opportunity for them to develop leadership skills is key to our approach in support of their moral, social, emotional and cognitive developmental needs. 

Whether it is through a project-based learning (PBL) approach, through service learning, in support of their social & emotional learning (SEL) or through college and career preparation with an emphasis on 21st Century Skills like communication, problem solving and team work. It's one of the things we do best. As youth are finding their voice and establishing their demands, we must continue to offer safe spaces for them. 

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This includes spaces where participants are looking out for each other and empower them to look for signs of depression, anxiety and trauma. Do you have a process whereby youth can get help when they think something is 'wrong' and a peer might be depressed or acting differently? Does your program encourage and embrace mistakes? 

Do you look for teachable moments as opportunities for growth? Life is an iterative process and sometimes we learn the most when a caring adult or peer is there to help us reflect on our experiences. Include young people in the rules- making; and include them in the process for establishing and upholding the consequences. Do participants know it's OK to be 'different'? Safety also means being able to make mistakes or to be different without fear or ridicule. Is your space decorated with artifacts that represent the people you work with? Are you using language that is inclusive and culturally appropriate? Are there mechanisms in place for everyone to come together as a community? Some programs start and each day collectively, others come together for special occasions or other traditions. The more we can come together as a whole, the more we can take care of each other. Provide time for your staff to come together to get support and for training if they need it or ask for it. 

While there are many other things you already do to keep youth safe, remember: always be honest. Because we work with children and youth of all ages, do it in a way that meets them where they are at. You don't have to have all of the answers or be right. Go back to the suggestion about creating teachable moments; when we show youth that we are learning too, and often learning FROM them, it is empowering. If we have a different opinion than a colleague or our agency or a difference in politics, it's an opportunity to learn and connect. 

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Something to keep in mind during this time: Schools may have a harder time doing some of the things that we do so well; what ways can you partner with schools during these times? Can youth provide peer to peer support? Workshops or training? Can your staff mentor or work on a project alongside a school teacher? While the OST field plays an important role is supporting and empowering youth, we must also take seriously their demands and put pressure on the systems and policy makers to meet those demands. When we do, everyone can be more safe, and our world more equitable and just. Read this statement from the National Afterschool Association on their stance on the #PowerOfAfterschool and their commitment to supporting the filed.

MORE ABOUT...

Rebecca Fabiano is the president and founder of Fab Youth Philly. For nearly 25 years, she has worked in various capacities across nonprofit and youth-serving organizations, served on boards and helped to build solid youth programs that engage, encourage, and create spaces for positive development. 

Fab Youth Philly (FYP) has a unique, holistic model for youth development. Their three-pronged approach to youth development is aimed at creating relevant, engaging, and empowering learning opportunities at the individual, professional, and community level. First, they provide innovative, award-winning summer and afterschool programs for teens with a focus on workforce development programming. Second, they connect with youth development professionals working with or on behalf of youth through their Center for Youth Development Professionals (CYDP), which offers competency-based professional development and networking opportunities. Third, they consult with other youth-serving organizations to provide a range of consulting services, ranging from curriculum development to retreats and small

conferences. 

A Youth Leader Speaks Out on Kindness and the Youth Mental Health Crisis

Source: Simply Wholehearted

By Sam Piha

Meet Axel Perez. He has been a youth leader and activist since he was 15 years old. He is now 20 and Co-Founder/ President of Simply Wholehearted. Axel recently participated in a How Kids Learn Foundation webinar entitled “Promoting Kindness in Afterschool Programs” and will be featured in a future webinar on March 15, 2023 entitled, “Youth Led Efforts to Improve Mental Health.” 

We interviewed Axel Perez about his non-profit, kindness and youth mental health and below are his responses.

Q: Briefly, what is your story? How did you start? 
A: The idea of Simply Wholehearted was present way before it became the organization it is now. In my sophomore year of high school, at the age of fifteen, I started a podcast named “This Teenage Life,” where I discussed real-life issues teens experience as young adults. When I realized I wasn’t going to be a teen forever, I changed the route of my podcast, rebranded to “Simply Axel” and began talking about societal issues, like the separation of families at our borders. Running the podcast with this type of content, I didn’t feel as passionate as I wanted to be. At this point in my life, I had served my fourth year on Student Council (ASB) as Student Body President, Southern Regional Director for the California Association of Student Leaders. I found myself surrounded by leadership but lost when it came to my podcast, and that’s when it clicked! I should make leadership content. 

After realizing I was passionate about leadership and had the experience, knowledge, and resources around me, I began sharing my vision and working alongside outstanding individuals to create leadership development curricula and activities. This focus on leadership led us to “Simply Wholehearted”. Simply Wholehearted wouldn’t have come to life without the support of Magaly Barajas and the EduCare Foundation team.  

At this point, “Simply Wholehearted” became a leadership organization. Leadership groups in our community struggle to afford leadership development services that other privileged groups get to attend or receive benefits from, which is why I made it my goal to offer these services to historically excluded students. Since then, we have served over two thousand students for free through several workshops, private training, and leadership curriculum. Our podcast offers topics on leadership with a supplementary worksheet for students to tag along, and our program, Empower Wholehearted, provides a groundbreaking curriculum, interactive activities, and wholehearted connections that will leave teams empowered and expand their reach and impact.

Q: Can you describe your non-profit, Simply Wholehearted? 
A: Simply Wholehearted is a non-profit organization providing leadership opportunities to historically excluded students in low-income communities, creating game-changers who live, lead, and inspire. Our goal and mission are to provide equal access leadership with no borders because we believe that leadership shouldn’t be exclusive to specific communities. 

Simply Wholehearted was founded based on my experience with leadership in high school. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to get involved with several organizations, but my peers did not have the same opportunities. After realizing communities like mine were not receiving leadership development, curriculum, conferences, or leadership opportunities, I decided to change that factor and give back to my community in a way that would create a generational impact.  

Q: It seems we live in a time in which meanness is in vogue. Do you agree with this? And why do you think this is so? 
A: I agree that we are living in a time with high stakes regarding hate, meanness, and pain. I believe this is due to the political, racial, and gender divide that our country is facing. We have forgotten that we are all human and have emotions underneath our beliefs. During the beginning stages of COVID, we learned how to become compassionate and empathetic as we were all experiencing the same emotions. However, as COVID became prolonged and we began to go back to our everyday lives, we forgot how to be compassionate. We no longer made an importance to be kind and understanding towards others.

Q: What can we do in afterschool to prevent meanness?
A: Afterschool enrichment is vital to students. An essential factor that afterschool programs should focus on is ensuring their programs offer students a life-learning skill as a takeaway. Along with enrichment, teaching students skills like leadership, integrity, compassion, and gratitude will help improve not only the lives and characters of these students but the culture and climate of your campus and community.

Q: How do you define Kindness? 
A: To me, kindness is the act of being empathetic, caring, and loving towards those around you and with whom you interact. To be kind is to be human and to come from a place of understanding when coming across others, leaving everyone with a positive experience. 

Q: What can we do in afterschool to promote kindness? 
A: Afterschool programs can prompt kindness by creating campaigns with pass-it-on cards or random acts of kindness where you randomly show appreciation to staff and/or students by giving away items like popcorn, candy, snow cones, etc. The main idea is to accomplish an act of kindness that will randomly make someone’s day. We may not know what everyone is going through, but we can show gratitude and appreciation toward them. 

Q: How is kindness related to youth leadership? 
A: Kindness is a trait that leaders must practice. When you become a leader, you are no longer on the frontline producing the work. You are building the team that is producing the work. Kindness is one of the many traits that will earn you respect from your peers which will create a stronger bond and impact your organization in a more meaningful way. 

Source: Simply Wholehearted

Q: What mental health changes have you seen in youth due to COVID? 
A: Post-pandemic, we saw the youth struggle with several mental health issues. For youth, it is vital for them to interact with peers and society, as well as explore their surroundings and challenge their abilities. None of this was possible during the pandemic, and still, to this day, we find restrictions with the acknowledgment that COVID is still around. This is how the youth became impacted. 

Mental health challenges I continue to see in our youth due to COVID-19 are physical insecurities, anti-social tendencies, anxiety, depression, and many others. These challenges presented themselves as we were stuck at home with no social interaction and living our lives behind the screens of our devices. The lasting effects are some that we are still dealing with today and are challenged to overcome.  

Q: How can youth be involved in improving the mental health of their peers? How does this interact with youth leadership? 
A: Youth can get involved by becoming advocates of change and mental health. It is vital that youth speak up and destigmatize mental health, but most importantly, amongst their peers. Sharing their stories and what has helped improve their mental health is a great start, as well as creating school-wide campaigns to recognize mental health and share resources with the school community. Reaching out to school staff, district services, and community organizations and collaboratively bringing them all together to create an awareness event creates an opportunity for youth leadership, especially when it’s student-run and organized.

 

MORE ABOUT…

Axel Perez is the co-founder and president of Simply Wholehearted, an Expanded Learning Program Lead for EduCare Foundation and an educator from Lynwood, CA, who is dedicated to helping students receive equal opportunities in leadership. Axel, a former participant of EduCare programs, now advocates for the important impact afterschool makes on youth. Axel is an inspiring organizer, activist, and creative leader committed to make sure leadership has no borders.