Corona Coaster

“But you know, happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.” Dumbledore.

The past few months have been dark to say the least. But, I am determined to find the light. 

We know the darkness that is occurring… people are dying of a virus in a global pandemic. Our numbers in the US are at their highest for confirmed COVID cases. The injustices of our country are at the forefront, showcasing a battle over humanity that is masked as a political uproar. I could go on and on, but I’ll spare you the negative realities of today. 

I graduated from Cal in 2004 and our university motto is Fiat Lux. In latin that means, “Let there be Light”. It was my experience there to not only let there be light, but to be the light, find the light and let the light shine bright. I attribute this to my collegiate soccer experience. It was the first time I was around powerful women who all had the same collective goal. To succeed. To do. To be better. 

Fast forward 16 years and I find myself in the middle of a pandemic asked to give a presentation for America Scores on the Female Mindset. A former teammate at Cal, Tracy Hamm, gave them my name. This was the light for me, and I had to try to turn it on. It was what I deemed, the bright spot for me in this trying time of COVID. I put a lot of effort into it and practiced. And what do you know, the light turned on. I got a positive response and even ranked in the top three presentations of the summit. 

Yet now that the light was on and shining a bit on me, I was faced with how to brighten it and decide what I wanted to illuminate. It quickly came to me that during this unprecedented time, virtual connection was key. So my amazing team of women worked their butts off and we cranked out a moduled curriculum for teams and clubs to use with their female athletes that help teach them how to be mentally strong. Because isn’t that what we want for our children in times of adversity? To be able to have the mental capacity to know that they will get through hard times? That they can do hard things? Isn’t it times like this we hope they’ll have tools for?

As we’ve been working on this curriculum the COVID coaster has had it’s ups and downs. People are fatigued, clubs are worried for their seasons. Young female athletes are struggling to motivate, find connection, keep anxiety levels low and not slip into depression.  And so we thought, we need to turn up the brightness on this light even more.

We have recently shuffled our modules to cater our fall team/club curriculum for the current COVID crisis.. The modules offered will focus on key elements to help young female athletes with motivation, confidence and self care. We are also in the process of designing an opportunity for individual players to benefit from role model mentors in an online way. More on that very soon. 

So even though this horrible time in our country and in the world is happening, I continue to try to find the light, be the light and make the light shine brighter.  Our youth is watching us right now. They see how we are handling ourselves on this COVID coaster. At Female Footballers, we are just getting started. You better put on your sunglasses, it’s about to get even brighter.