Boston is a sports town. Your kids probably have Red Sox or Patriots gear kicking around their closet, whether or not they are a super fan. Maybe they have posters on their walls of some of the sports megastars. My daughters are too young to have favorite athletes, but when I think about who I’d like them to look up to, it’s people like Serena Williams, Chloe Kim, and Simone Biles. In short, female athletes. And exposing them to female athletes takes a little bit more work, since men’s sports still dominate in terms of financial support and television coverage. Here are some steps I’m taking to make sure my kids see the value of women’s sports.
Support local teams
For free and easy outings, we’ll join the cheering section at our local high school to support the girls’ field hockey, soccer, and track teams. Next week, we’re packing up a picnic and heading to the local t-ball field to cheer on an older cousin in her co-ed T-ball games. When the kids are older, we’ll head into Boston to watch the Renegades (football), the Pride (ice hockey), and local college teams.
Turn on the television
Prime time coverage of women’s sports is increasing, meaning it’s getting easier (although still not easy) to watch sports on tv. The women’s college softball playoffs aired on ESPN+ and ESPNU this summer. The USA women’s gymnastics championship aired on NBC channels in August. Sports like tennis and golf have televised tournaments all year round.
Find other coverage
Several months ago I started following The Gist on Instagram. The Gist is a women-founded sports media brand which also has a great newsletter and podcast covering women’s and men’s sports. TOGETHXR, founded by all-stars like Chloe Kim and Alex Morgan, is a media venture to raise the profile of females in sport. On Her Turf is run by NBC and highlights women’s sports. When female athletes do make the headlines in mainstream media, like the US Women’s National Soccer team’s equal pay fight or when the Olympics roll around, I make sure we talk about those thing at home.
Participate
What better way to be a fan than to join in? My older daughter is participating in a co-ed toddler soccer program for the first time. My kids also see a lot of female instructors when I do Peloton workouts at home. We’re also finding ways for my kids to watch when I participate in local road races and triathlons. They’ll get to see their mom and lots of other types of people participating in sports.
