Claire Barker is ready to lead.
The 12-year-old ringette player from Niagara Falls hopes to inspire others when she returns to the ice in the coming months, and she’s taken the first steps on that journey by participating in a three-day program this week at the Brock University participated.
The Lead Like a Girl initiative, which welcomed more than 50 young women between the ages of 11 and 13 to campus on August 9-11, aimed to help participants build confidence, develop leadership skills develop and find inspiration.
Organized by the university’s Center for Sport Capacity (CSC), the program was led by Brock’s women’s hockey coach, Margot Page, along with facilitators who are student athletes and athletic directors at the university. Each day, attendees participated in morning conversations with various women’s sports leaders before watching elite women in action as they attended the Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games events in the afternoon.
The Lead Like a Girl program took place August 9-11 on the Brock University campus.
For Barker, learning the ins and outs of sports leadership from women who have paved the way has been inspirational.
“They are role models,” she says. “To see women coaching women at the highest level sends such a powerful message that we are equals.”
Janice Dawson, Team Ontario Mission staffer and former head coach of Canada’s women’s goalball team, was among the speakers who attended on Wednesday, August 10 to share their experiences. The program, she said, will inspire the next generation of leaders in women’s sport.
“That kind of program wasn’t always available, and it’s great to bring girls together and educate them about the opportunities that are out there,” she said. “When you see people who have found success in the world of sport and hear their stories, you really believe that you can be a part of it too.”
CSC Director Julie Stevens said the opportunity to interact with the young women and share their own journey revitalized memories and lessons from their years of playing and coaching hockey, while fostering a strong sense of advocacy for girls through sport.
Janice Dawson, Team Ontario Mission staffer and former head coach of Canada’s women’s goalball team, spoke to participants in the Lead Like a Girl program on Wednesday, August 10.
“As a researcher, the relationship to work is sometimes a bit distant,” says the professor of sports management. “Being able to inspire these young women helps me to connect what I do as a scientist to my values as a person and reinforces my belief in connecting with people through research and bringing them into realizing opportunities.”
The lessons shared by Stevens, Dawson and the program’s other presenters are already beginning to resonate with Barker, who said she hopes to expand her athletic leadership role.
“I would really like to be a coach,” she said. “This program is helping me learn that early on and I will have the basics to take the coaching classes as soon as possible.”
As Barker reflected on her own future coaching ambitions, she said there was one particular lesson from this week that stood out and will stay with her on the ice and when she eventually assumes a leadership role behind the bench.
“They talked about how the most satisfying part of their role was seeing a player improve,” she said. “That’s something I’d love to help people with.”
To learn more about the Lead Like a Girl program, visit the Center for Sport Capacity website.
More than 50 young women between the ages of 11 and 13 participated in the Lead Like a Girl program, which aims to instill leadership skills in young girls through the power of sport.
Comments are closed.