All smiles and cheers at National Girls and Women in Sports Day at Lafayette 

By Maddie Pedone ’26 

Lafayette celebrated National Girls and Women in Sports Day by hosting a Jan. 31 youth clinic for girls in grades 3-7. National Girls and Women in Sports Day is a nationwide initiative that connects female collegiate athletes with young girls to introduce and share the excitement of participating in sports. 

“I think it’s a day that is dedicated to connecting all levels of athletics and showing the youth where you can end up, kind of inciting joy in sports,” says Amelia Duncan ’26, a defender on the women’s lacrosse team. “For the younger kids, it’s really important to see higher achieving women in sports, but for us it’s a good day to reflect on where we came from and see the dream kind of come full circle.”

The women’s lacrosse team has hosted this event for girls in the Easton area for four years. This year, women’s fencing, softball, volleyball, soccer, track and field, and field hockey teams also participated. The day includes a two-hour clinic where participants rotate through seven stations, gaining knowledge and hands-on practice with every sport. Afterward, everyone enjoys a pizza lunch and watches the women’s basketball game together. 

Katie McConnell, head coach for the women’s lacrosse team, says it’s a good event as participants get exposure to many sports they may not otherwise experience.  

“It’s awesome when you are in the middle and you’re watching everybody play their sport, and see these girls [be] just enamored by these student-athletes,” McConnell says of the event. “My personal favorite is fencing. I never really was exposed to fencing till I was older, and I think it’s just awesome that these girls are getting exposed to it at such a young age.”  

The younger participants were eager not only to test out fencing with their own foam swords, but they also were enthusiastic to try all the sports. 

Ten-year-old Callie was excited she had the opportunity to try everything. “My favorite part about today is probably just being able to do every single [sport] and not just have to do one the whole time,” Callie says. 

Twelve-year-old Lucy was also delighted she had the chance to try each sport, but her favorite was lacrosse. “I play lacrosse, so I think that was the best,” Lucy says. 

Throughout the clinic, both the participants and student-athletes had smiles on their faces as everyone played their sports. The volleyball team taught each group how to set a volleyball, while the lacrosse team gave each girl their own lacrosse stick to practice cradling. 

Duncan says this day is important to keep the momentum growing for women’s sports and to show the younger girls there is a place for them in athletics. 

“I hope they go home and wanna start playing whatever sport they find most enjoyable,” Duncan says. “I hope they see not only the love for the sport that we have, but the relationships we have built, the empowerment, and the belonging we feel because of our sport.”