GoHeels Exclusive: Tar Heels Celebrate Girls And Women In Sports

By Pat James, GoHeels.com

The group of girls – Naomi, Mere and Frances – had attended the event before.

Still, when UNC celebrated the 32nd annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day (NGWSD) on Sunday at Fetzer Gym, each one arrived just as excited about spending the afternoon with Tar Heel student-athletes from nine women's sports teams.

"It gives you a chance to experience different types of sports that you haven't really gotten a chance to do before," said Naomi, one of about 900 attendees.

For about 90 minutes, members of the women's basketball, field hockey, track and field, lacrosse, soccer, softball, tennis, volleyball and rowing teams showed girls and boys various aspects of their sports at stations spread across two multipurpose gyms.

Children gradually shuffled between both. They also strayed toward some of the nearby booths, such as one where they could learn about the history of women in sports and another offering healthy snacks and drinks, thanks to sponsorship provided by Antawn Jamison All-Star Camp.

But perhaps the largest crowds formed around the rowing station, where children learned how to use the team's rowing machines, also known as ergometers.

"We have a lot of kids who come back three or four times," said Caitlin Beakes, a senior and team captain on the rowing team. "They really enjoy it, they have a blast and we always have a big line. So it's very fun."

The volleyball team also steadily drew children to its station, where a badminton net was set up and players demonstrated how to pass.

Like many UNC teams, the volleyball team regularly meets with children after games and signs autographs. But junior outside hitter Madison Laufenberg said the NGWSD event offers an even better environment for fostering relationships.

"You see little kids come (to games) and you take a lot of pictures," she said. "But you don't really get a chance to actually talk to the kids that often. So especially for me, when they're like, 'Oh, you're No. 14. You're my favorite,' it's super cool. And I know every single player on every single team loves stories like that just because it's nice to have fans."

The national theme for this year's NGWSD was "Play Fair, Play IX." It focused on celebrating the importance of fair play, building awareness about Title IX and working together toward its promise of equal opportunity in sports, per ngwsd.org.

UNC also adopted its own theme of "Play. Lead. Dream. Inspire." That final component is one some student-athletes have already been able to accomplish with their platforms.

"There was actually a family that came up and introduced themselves to a couple of us," Laufenberg said. "They said, 'We come to every home game. Thank you for being such a great inspiration to our little girl and our little boy.' That's always great to hear because even if people think that, they don't tell you that a whole lot."

Several student-athletes also bounced back and forth between the stations. At one point, Samantha Leshnak, a junior goalkeeper on the women's soccer team, grabbed a field hockey stick and started passing with one child.

"It's like we're closer as a women's group than we think, even though we never really get to, of course, practice with each other. …," said junior high jumper Nicole Greene. "It's kind of cool that we go to each other to see what drills we have for little kids."

After all, their experience matters most. And a good one, like those Naomi, Mere and Frances have had, might even bring them back again.

GoHeels Exclusive: Tar Heels Celebrate Girls And Women In Sports

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