Her Soul Shot- For All Women in Sports

I am the girl who never believed in herself.

I am the girl who never believed she was enough.

I am the girl who constantly questioned her place in this world.

I sat, eating my rink fries after my game while he told me that girls hockey wasn't "real" hockey.

I went home from elementary school with skinned knees because the boys tripped me again (on purpose) while playing soccer with them at recess.

I drove an extra hour each way to practice and play the game I loved because my opportunities to play were limited.

I fought back tears when I got my first opportunity to write about the sport I love so much and a man asked why I was allowed to write about the sport he loved so much.

I grew aware that I’d have to force my way into the spaces I wanted to be because they weren't originally made for me. I started to see that I wasn't alone in my experiences. I became the woman I needed as a girl so no other girls and women feel they don’t belong in the game they love. I found the people who valued me, who made me feel like I belonged, and who fought for more alongside me. I went from being the little girl who felt completely alone to being surrounded by the strongest and most badass girls and women in the game. I decided I belonged.

And now, I’m telling you that you can too. Your place is where your heart and soul tells you it is. You don't have to make it to the top to have an impact, you just have to be yourself and allow your passions to set your soul on fire. By being you, you allow others to be themselves and that's what we need to see more of.

Through sports, I was able to find myself and my purpose. I was never an elite or professional athlete, not even close, but that didn’t mean my love and passion for the game was any less. The power of sport is not based on what level you play, your gender, your age, your skill level, or anything else.

I created her Soul Shot to show women how powerful they can be through sport and help them see the opportunities available to them, whether it’s in playing sports, working in sports, being a sports fan, running a business, motherhood, or anywhere else their journey takes them. Sport gives you so much more than a game; sport gives you a purpose, a community, and the ability to discover how very capable you are.

My dream is for fewer young girls to feel the way I did growing up and for more women to embrace who they are and unleash their power through sports. Let’s change the world, girl. Head to hersoulshot.com to discover stories from women in sports, get hyped up, and be the first to know when our new directory + community for women in sports launches!