"March Madness" All Year Round!

photo © 2005 j9sk9s | more info (via: Wylio)

March Madness – I call it 'March Moving Mountains!' After playing basketball every day for more than a third of my life, the sounds and feel of the game is in my ‘bones’.  And yes, I was recently in the gym, shooting around and contemplating getting in a pick up game with men three times my size.   

As the President of the Point Guard Club of the Americas, I was excited to see the touted freshman point guards from Louisville, Tennessee, and Baylor. When these women were seven years old they were given an extraordinary gift.  Their childhood was spent watching role models in the WNBA. They had ample opportunity to play and be coached as future ‘pro’ athletes thanks to Title IX, and they have the desire and heart to play through ‘no matter what’… including the size of their opponent! 

Whenever people ask about my size and being a point guard, I gently remind them - quickness, smarts and speed can come in any size.  That said, the physical size and power displayed by 10 women on a basketball court is an expression of strength and feminism like no other!   Where else but during a women’s basketball game do you see women taking up space with such spirit, force, and courage?  

Early in March, a collegiate ski jumping championship took place in the U.S. for the first time in 31 years, but this time, the competition included women. In February, the U.S. Senate, passed a resolution in honor of the 25th National Girls and Women in Sports Day. It states, among other proclamations on the importance of sport in girls’ and women’s lives, that “women’s athletics are one of the most effective avenues available for the women of the United States to develop self-discipline, initiative, confidence, and leadership skills.”  I would also add to this resolution - the confidence to display their power, voice, and strength in all settings.  

Stay up to date on the women of the NCAA, WNBA, boxing, hockey, rugby and every other sport you’re interested in by checking out Women Talk Sports and the Women’s Sports Foundation now and throughout the year.