As Women’s History Month celebrates the undeniable contributions of women across various spheres, sports specifically stands as a testament to the resilience and skill that led to groundbreaking achievements of female athletes throughout history. Just in the short span of this month at Lambert, two school records were set by female track athletes, Sade Ezekiel and Kayla Jones. Point University extended college flag football offers to a whopping four Lambert players— Abby Grace Flynt, Parker Whipple, Grayson Moody, and Evie Foster. Additionally, Lambert’s girls’ soccer team secured a thrilling victory against longtime rival South Forsyth for the fourth year in a row.
Even with these accomplishments, society continues to undermine the work of female athletes.
“It makes me disappointed sometimes when we have games and we get less of a crowd than the men would,” said three-sport athlete Evie Foster.
Foster has excelled as a varsity track sprinter, soccer goalie, and flag football quarterback, and she hopes to play at the collegiate level. Being recognized as one of Lambert’s standout athletes, she feels the constant pressure to excel in all her endeavors.
This pressure can often unknowingly arise from female sports advocates, who sometimes hold female athletes to a higher standard than their male counterparts in an attempt to address inequality. This harmful notion caught the attention of Lambert’s cheerleader, Niyu Nalluri.
The sophomore cheers more for her own enjoyment rather than concrete achievements; she notes a stigma surrounding this kind of motivation for female athletes.
“Sometimes I feel like people see me [cheerleading] as like a joke… that it’s stupid,” said Nalluri. “But I believe that it’s helped me grow a lot as a person, with my self-confidence and who I am.”
Sports have long helped women with strength and self-esteem. Lambert junior Francesca Popescu learned discipline from years of school and club volleyball, which helped her overcome setbacks both on and off the court.
“It really taught me how to deal with different types of coaches and teammates, and especially how to respond to adversity and pressure as a woman in sports,” Popescu said.
Popescu has played volleyball since age eight, idolizing famous players such as Morgan Hentz. Committed to the University of California, Berkeley at the Division I level, she hopes to grow into another little girl’s role model.
“Seeing women in sports growing up really gives girls someone to look up to and helps them realize that they have a larger place in the world,” Popescu said.
It is important to recognize and appreciate all the hard-working female athletes at Lambert and around the world who continue to challenge norms and break barriers.
