In honor of National Girls and Women in Sports Day Feb. 4, SJU Athletics hosted a woman student-athlete panel Feb. 7 at Hagan Arena, following the women’s basketball’s annual Play 4 Kay game against the University of Dayton.
The panel featured four current woman student-athletes at St. Joe’s: women’s basketball junior guard Aleah Snead, women’s field hockey senior back Milou Kluyt, women’s rowing senior Evie Holder and cheerleading sophomore Julia Hoffman. All four athletes answered questions surrounding the significance of being a woman athlete.
From athletes to coaches to parents in the audience, Kluyt said there is no goal that is too high and encouraged the audience to work toward their goals.
Even when Kluyt is personally not having a good game, the Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year is able to push herself and her teammates in each game with a strong mentality of “your effort, your mindset, and your voice.”
“It took me some games to get used to that,” Kluyt said. “Once you know that you’re more than this player, you’re a leader on the team, like a captain, you have to help people to bring their best out of themselves and push themselves.”
Another question for the athletes was what they consider an important aspect of being a woman in sports. With the WNBA gaining popularity, especially in Philadelphia, which was a stop on the Unrivaled League tour, Snead said exposure plays an important role.
“Show the country and everyone else that kids really love this sport,” Snead said.
Alongside other developments in women’s sports, cheerleading continues to be part of more conversations. The NCAA officially declared stunt as a NCAA championship sport Jan. 16.
Attending the panel was former Hawks cheerleader and current head coach Kimberly Jackson ’15. Jackson said being a part of conversation in athletics is what helped the team gain access to resources that all the other Division I teams on campus have.
The second semester of Jackson’s senior year was the first time the cheerleading team had team lifting sessions and an athletic trainer.
“Being a part of that push is important, and being a voice for that push is important,” Jackson said.
Even though traditional cheerleading is not considered an official NCAA sport like stunt, Hoffman said cheerleaders are still “fighting for that to happen.”
The importance of recognition was emphasized by Holder, whose fight has been having to work harder in order to be seen. Earning rowing national titles at U23 level, Holder agreed that acknowledgment is vital to being a woman in sports.
“Bring the status quo and go against the odds to prove that anyone can do it,” Holder said.
Holder, a two-time captain, reminded younger women athletes it’s never too early or too late to begin playing sports. She began rowing in third grade, took a break and resumed in eighth grade. Throughout this time, Holder was given advice from her mom reminding her she “can defy the odds and do whatever you want.”
Junior forward Cat Arentz attended the panel to support other female athletes and connect with other female athletes in the audience.
Arentz’s favorite part of the panel was seeing a younger woman athlete ask a question. Arentz believes having these discussions is great exposure for younger generations of athletes to feel more included and participate in sports.
“If we have girls who can talk highly about it, then we can have more people getting into it,” Arentz said.
