PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Nearly 100 young Black women and girls gathered at Simon Gratz High School on Wednesday to learn how participating in sports can help them navigate life.
The second annual Lady Bulldog Leadership and Athletics Conference gave students the opportunity to hear from high school athletes, professional athletes, and coaches. The girls also tried new sports.
Eighth-grader Naijhay Dejesus described herself as a competitive person. She said she really enjoyed hearing high school athletes talk about how they gained leadership skills through participation in sports.
“It's so that when they go to high school, they want to do exactly the same thing, regardless of the other dramas and stuff,” DeJesus said.
Maureen Quiles, girls flag football coach, said sports are an important way for student-athletes to process other things they may be going through.
“A lot of my female athletes are going through crazy personal struggles at home,” Quiles said. “We really see them using sport as a way to deal with personal challenges.”
Quiles worked with the nonprofit Black Women in Sport Foundation, which funded the event, to organize a day-long conference aimed at keeping Black women involved in sports.
“They need to see and hear from people who look like them and have similar backgrounds,” Quiles said.
High school senior Dakayla Golden, one of the student ambassadors, talked about how her track and field and cross country experiences helped her build confidence and friendships.
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“Sports can help you expand your social life and build bonds by meeting new people you didn't know existed,” Golden told a packed room of colleagues at a conference.
Golden said public speaking is a little out of her comfort zone, but she said she's happy to do it if it means inspiring girls a few years younger than her.
“I felt like I was a leader,” Golden said. “And I want to be a leader.”
In addition to helping facilitate conferences like the one held on Wednesday, the Black Women's Sports Foundation also supports after-school programs that give young students of color the chance to play unconventional sports like pickleball and lacrosse for the first time. We also host summer camps. It also helps connect young athletes with their mentors.
Visit the Black Women in Sport website to find out how to get involved.
