University of Tennessee Athletics
UT Celebrates Girls & Women in Sports
February 04, 2017 | General
By Kyle Williams
UTSports.com
Tennessee Athletics took part in the celebration of National Girls & Women in Sports Day Thursday with six Tennessee student athletes visiting a local elementary school to share the impact of athletics in their lives with potential future Vols.
Loran Grant (Rowing), Josie Jennings (Soccer), Kayleigh Moody (Volleyball), Emily Morrow (Soccer), Maya Neal (Soccer) and Gabbie Richardson (Rowing) all arrived at Beaumont Magnet Academy in Knoxville to greet third and fourth grade girls interested in sports. The event allowed the children to have an opportunity to share a one-on-one conversation with an athlete and included a panel Q&A session as well as a Title IX video presentation.
While the young girls were certainly excited to meet Tennessee student athletes they look up to, the influence the elementary students had on the UT representatives was perhaps just as memorable.
Richardson recalled her time spent with Kaylee, a young girl interested in basketball. "One of my favorite parts about being an athlete is getting the opportunity to come meet her, and work with girls like her," she said. "It was a really good experience."
Grant also enjoyed the chance to talk to girls whose love for sports is just being discovered, noting that their path to college athletics essentially begins in their youth. "A lot of little kids don't really know what is out there, so it's really cool to talk to them about what is possible and what they can get into, because it starts with what they get into now," she said.
Although the event was primarily for Beaumont girls to learn about topics like gender inequality in sports and the historical progress made by women in athletics, the elementary students made sure to include some fun of their own, introducing the athletes with flair over a microphone and making sure each question in the Q&A panel began with a "What's your favorite...?" question.
By the end of the day, Richardson said she knew what kind of impact events like these have in a young girl's life. "Knowing that today I went and talked to little girls and made their day just that much better, or maybe something I said made her (Kaylee) want to play basketball for the rest of her life, is an absolutely incredible opportunity."
The event was sponsored by Girls Inc., a non-profit organization in east Tennessee. This year marks the 31st anniversary of the annual National Girls & Women in Sports Day.
