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Nina Cash was photographed by Ben Watts in Portugal.
Haley Kalil was photographed by Yu Tsai in Belize.
Penny Lane was photographed by Ben Watts in Portugal.
Camille Kostek was photographed by Yu Tsai in Belize.
Tanaye White was photographed by Yu Tsai in Turks & Caicos.
Ashley Callingbull was photographed by Yu Tsai in the Dominican Republic.
Achieng Agutu was photographed by Yu Tsai in Mexico.
Christen Harper was photographed by Ben Watts in Portugal.
Jena Sims was photographed by Yu Tsai in Mexico.
Athleticism comes in all shapes, sizes and abilities.
Yet 48% of girls who drop out of sports are told they have the wrong body type. It’s time to inspire change—not just in how we see young athletes, but in how we speak to them. By praising girls’ passion and commitment, not criticizing their body type, we can give them the support and confidence they need to thrive. Together, we can keep her running, tackling, jumping, training harder and going bigger. Let’s keep her confident. Let’s keep her in the game.
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featured athletes
Dove and Sports Illustrated have partnered to create Sports reIllustrated, a special collection of stories profiling 10 inspiring young athletes who are changing the conversation around girls and sports. Studies show that girls are far more likely than boys to drop out of sports by their teen years. This diverse group of athletes is a reminder that regardless of background, body type or challenge faced, young girls should continue to participate and use sports to build confidence, heart and determination that will last a lifetime.
by Maggie Mertens
Photography by Taylor Ballantyne
In the winter of 2022, when Brittany Smoke asked her oldest daughter, Honor, which sport she was interested in playing, she was surprised to hear the then seven-year-old say wrestling. Brittany and her husband, Michael Smoke, both played basketball, along with most of their community in the Tonawanda Reservation in upstate New York. But Honor, now 10 years old, was always jostling and playing around with her four siblings. At first, Brittany was a little apprehensive; she didn’t know anything about the sport. And Honor and her younger sister, Scarlet, were the only girls there. But Honor was immediately sure of herself on the mat. “Honor is a sponge,” says her coach, Jason Chase. “She picks up everything really, really fast.” Chase noticed immediately that Honor was naturally talented, and she had an amazing attitude. “Honor does everything with a smile on her face. She’s one of the happiest athletes I’ve ever coached.”
Three years later, Honor is now the New York girls state champion in her weight class, and wrestling is her favorite sport. She wrestles year-round with Chase, while also participating in basketball and cheerleading, where she’s a flier and a tumbler and is working on mastering her roundoff back layout. Even though girls wrestling is growing—the number of high school girls’ teams quadrupled nationally over the past decade—Honor still generally trains with and competes against boys. And, often, she wins.
“If there’s a girls bracket, then I normally wrestle in that bracket, too,” she says. “But I normally wrestle in the boy’s bracket.” This doesn’t faze her one bit. “She’s as tough as anyone in that room,” Chase says. “It doesn’t seem to faze her at all.” One thing that makes Honor such an incredible athlete is her confidence: she’s never afraid to try new things and challenge herself. At a recent tournament, Chase noticed that Honor was maneuvering her opponent into a tilt position, which flips them onto their back, to get closer to a pin. At the break, Chase brought Honor to a mat off to the side and showed her how to complete the move. Back in her match, she immediately started hitting the tilt on her opponent. Chase recalls hearing the opposing coach shout, “Stay away from the tilt! That’s her best move! Don’t let her hit that!” He could only laugh. “I had literally just shown it to her 30 seconds earlier.” In 2023, Honor placed fifth in her age and weight bracket at the New York Wrestling Association for Youth (NYWAY) State Championships. But in 2024, she came back determined to win.
And Honor is building her own community in the wrestling world. She’s convinced one of her friends from school, Jenny, to join Chase’s team. Honor’s two younger sisters—Scarlet, age seven, and Callie, age five—now wrestle, too. And Honor helps coach the “Little Scrappers” program for Callie and other four, five, and six-year olds in the program. As an “assistant coach,” she and Scarlet come to every practice to show the younger kids the different techniques. “They’re such great examples of what a practice partner should look like,” Chase says. “Having them in the room, there’s already somebody that the little kids can look up to.” Honor plans to keep wrestling. Next year, when she starts middle school, she’ll seek out an opportunity on the school wrestling team for the first time, because she has big dreams. She was inspired by watching the Paris Olympics this summer, especially by Amit Elor, who won the gold medal for the United States in freestyle wrestling. “I want to go to the Olympics,” Honor says. For now, though, she says she hopes other girls see that wrestling isn’t just a sport for boys. “Because many girls have been doing it,” Honor says coolly. “I’ve been doing it, myself.”
“This time, I was like, I gotta get first,” Honor says. Honor’s confidence and hard work paid off, as she claimed first place at the 2024 Championships. “Being able to come into states this year with the confidence to do her best, even after a disappointing finish last year, is one of the most valuable things wrestling has taught her,” Brittany says. “Mentally, it’s tough,” Brittany continues. “Wrestling teaches them not only to be physically fit and active but also how to stay mentally strong. It shows them they can overcome tough challenges and do hard things.” Honor’s tenacity as a wrestler also comes from the massive support she gets from home. “Wherever Honor wants to go wrestle, her parents travel all over to make that happen,” Chase said. “And wherever they go, they have a huge group of their family members that travel to support the girls.” Brittany says the other members of their community on the Tonawanda Reservation are extremely proud of Honor and her younger sister, Scarlet. “Our community is very supportive of Honor and all of her achievements,” she says. “They’re always rooting for her and asking when her next meet is.”
back to athletes
When Pepper Persley was six years old, she was frustrated. She had been doing a skills class for basketball for a couple of years at that point, but she still couldn’t make a basket on the 10-foot rim. So when practice ended one day, she asked her dad, Christopher Persley, if she could stay after to keep trying. Pepper stood there, taking shot after shot after shot. Christopher and one of her coaches stayed to watch, encouraging her. But after a while, Christopher told her that it was OK, she could try again next week. Pepper said no, she wanted to keep trying. Finally, after nearly an hour and a half, the basketball left six-year-old Pepper’s fingertips and sailed up into the basket. No bounce, no air ball. “It was glorious,” Christopher remembered. Pepper and her dad and her coach were all thrilled, jumping up and down to celebrate. “I think it was the most excited I’d ever been, up until that point,” Pepper says. Today, you could kind of call Pepper a sports nut. At 13, she plays basketball and softball, and recently earned her second-degree black belt in taekwondo. She grew up going to New York Liberty games; her first was at age two. Her parents have been a big influence: Jenelle played softball in college, and coaches Pepper’s team today; Christopher was a middle school basketball coach for years and a track and field athlete in high school.
Her natural curiosity about sports and her supportive parents have led to her finding an early career as a sports journalist. In 2020 she started her own podcast and YouTube channel, Dish With Pepper. She’s been a sideline reporter and attended press conferences, and interviewed WNBA players from Diana Taurasi to A’ja Wilson. Interviewing her heroes has not only inspired her as an athlete, it’s helped build Pepper’s confidence both on and off the court. But meeting the greats doesn’t mean that everything has come easily to her as an athlete. In fact, last year, Pepper nearly quit basketball altogether. “I had a coach that made it hard for me to have confidence in myself that I was ever going to be a good basketball player,” she says. Pepper, Chris and Jenelle decided that she needed to leave that team and take a break. For a while, Chris worried she wouldn’t go back to the sport at all, because her confidence was that low. But he encouraged her to keep up her practice on her own, to rediscover her love of basketball. “It took her quite a bit of time to even get comfortable handling the ball again,” he says. But by this past summer, she had rediscovered the spark. She told her parents she wanted to try to make the varsity team at her school. This winter, Pepper was part of a group of six girls, all eighth graders, who were asked to attend the high school team tryouts. When two of her friends told her they weren’t going to try out because they were too nervous, she gave them a pep talk. “To not take this opportunity, you’ll feel worse,” she told them. “I have so much faith in you that you’ll make this team.” Both of those friends are starters now for the high school junior varsity team. And Pepper is the starting point guard for the varsity team. “Which is amazing, because I don’t know if six-year-old me trying to make a shot on a 10-foot rim would ever have thought something like this would happen,” Pepper says. But Christopher says it’s because of that tenacity of that six-year-old Pepper that she is where she is today. “She’s just such an amazing teammate,” he says. “She’s the type of kid who’s willing to play tough, demanding positions because there isn’t anyone else to step up and do that stuff. In basketball she would prefer to play [a different position,] but they need her at point guard and so she steps up. That’s who she is. She’ll step up.”
When she plays for her softball team that means she’s often playing catcher, an unpopular position in the hot summer months thanks to the heavy gear. And she’s the one the team turns to when things are hard, like at a recent game when an opponent was hurling racially-charged insults at Pepper and some other members of her team. Pepper didn’t get angry or go after anyone. She turned to her own team to make sure they were all O.K. and they were supported, Christopher says. “There was Pepper, she was there for her teammates,” he says. “I was blown away by that moment.” Whether she’s interviewing her idols or playing in front of a crowd, Pepper faces far more scrutiny than your average 13 year old. But in her time as an athlete and a commentator, she’s learned to tune out the noise and rely on her community for support. “One thing I learned from basketball is to not worry about however many people are watching, whether that’s 30 people who are sitting at a game or 10,000 people watching a broadcast. Who am I really making an impact on?” Pepper says. “I definitely care what people think about me, but only the people that really matter: my parents, coaches, and teammates.”
Photography by Erick W. Rasco
Lacrosse sticks in hand, a group of a dozen tween girls form a single-file line in the middle of a grassy playing field in Philadelphia, where their coach holds up a full-length mirror in front of them. Before launching into drills and conditioning exercises, each athlete steps up individually, stares at her reflection, and speaks her own daily affirmation into existence. This is 13-year-old Krin Brown’s favorite part of every practice. For three years, she’s been looking herself in the eye and declaring, “I am intelligent. I am powerful. I am confident,” she says. “It’s really helped me to believe all of that,” Krin says. Krin is a member of Eyekonz Sports, a Philly-based league founded by Jazmine Smith (a.k.a. “Coach Jaz”) for ages 5-18 that aims to introduce lacrosse and field hockey—predominantly white sports—to athletes of color. The curriculum combines skill development with heavy emphasis on lessons that build self-esteem and teach girls how to cope with adversity on and off the field. Developing that self-belief is critical, especially for a young girl who copes with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, as well as Amplified Pain Syndrome (AMPS). Whether she is sprinting around the lacrosse field or sitting in class at school, Krin is likely experiencing some degree of joint pain and stiffness—and it’s often intense. Movement, combined with other treatments like icing the joints and going to counseling to reduce anxiety or stress, can help alleviate some of the symptoms she experiences.
And sometimes, Krin, who plays attack, has learned, her contributions don’t always come in the form of scoring goals or making assists. On days when she is facing her own physical limitations, Brown knows it’s just as important to simply show up as a teammate. Being part of a close-knit community has proven a powerful motivation to keep playing lacrosse. “Winning as a team and losing as a team, just being there for each other whenever we can, that’s just the best feeling ever,” Krin says. Smith says Krin arrived at Eyekonz a shy, quiet 10-year-old, but has gradually become a reliable leader among her peers, supporting new members as they acclimate to the program. This team has not only given Krin the motivation to rise above challenges and stay in the game, it’s given her the confidence to encourage others to do the same. “Krin will be the first person to help them gauge the process and tell them, ‘I’ve been in your shoes and I know it’s uncomfortable,’” Smith says. “It’s not pushy, it’s not judgy, it’s just helping them lean more into their self-love.” But make no mistake, Brown is also a competitor who feels her best when she’s scoring points. Never one to let her condition hold her back, Krin has proven she is capable of incredible things both on and off the field. She hopes her friends can find their own strength in watching her develop hers. “I feel like a lot of my friends are like, ‘Oh, I can’t. I can’t, I can’t,’” Krin says. “But I tell them, ‘You can do it.’” She learned it at lacrosse: Success—in sports and life—begins with what we tell ourselves.
by Erin Strout
On the track, Noelani Spicer is free to test her limits. And often it’s in those moments of competition and training that she recognizes how capable and confident she really is. Spicer, 12, was born with spina bifida and cerebral palsy. She found adaptive sports early in life, joining a nonprofit group called Kinetic Kids at age five, which provides training in ambulatory and wheelchair track, as well as seated and standing field events. It didn’t take long to realize that she had talent, setting age-group national records in eight events ranging from the 100 meters to the 1500 meters, as well as the discus and javelin. Noelani also competes in archery. For as many accolades as Noelani has already accrued, the titles and trophies aren’t necessarily what keeps her motivated, she says. Instead, it’s the friendships she’s made among teammates and even competitors from across the country. “I just really like racing and being with my friends,” Noelani says. “But mostly being with my friends, much, much more [than racing].”
While the social aspect might be at the top of the reasons why Noelani thrives in track and field, her coach, Scott LeBlanc, says she still has an ability to “flip a switch” when it’s time to race, getting into a serious, sometimes intense mindset. “She will celebrate her own accomplishments and yell and cheer when she crosses the finish line, but she’s one of the first to celebrate the people she raced with,” LeBlanc says. “That’s a unique talent, to be humble enough to recognize the other people around you, even if you beat them.” Noelani’s father, Gregory Spicer, remembers when his daughter was born and doctors told him and his wife, Analisa, that “she’ll never do anything.” They refused to believe it—and they’ve never allowed their daughter to limit herself, either. “I tell her, ‘Your wheels are your legs. You’re no different than other kids and you have things that they don’t have,’” Gregory says. Noelani becomes emotional when she’s asked what she’s most proud that her body can do. “I can try,” she says, in a whisper. Analisa says that in many ways Noelani’s success on the track draws attention to her disabilities in a way that day-to-day life doesn’t, which can stir Noelani’s feelings when she talks about it. “She knows she has differences from other kids, but we’ve always raised her as a typical kid,” Analisa says. During the off-season, Noelani has also discovered that strength and conditioning sessions have given her a new kind of self-belief. As she advances in weightlifting, she’s enjoyed showing off her new-found power to her mom. “It highlights the strength in my upper body,” Noelani says.
Participation in sports has also helped Noelani navigate the challenges she faces at school. When other kids are unkind, she doesn’t let it bother her, Analisa says, because she knows she has a community of people in track and field who she can rely on. “I think without sports Noelani wouldn’t have that backbone of support that’s needed to help maintain her confidence,” Analisa says. Ultimately, Noelani dreams of taking her speed to the highest level and becoming a Paralympian. She looks to 21-time Paralympic medalist Tatyana McFadden for inspiration to keep training toward that goal. The 35-year-old—who has also won 20 world championship medals and countless titles at major marathons including New York City and Chicago—was also born with spina bifida. McFadden’s advocacy at her Maryland high school led to a state law that requires schools to provide equal physical education and athletic opportunities for students with disabilities. Access to adaptive youth sports is still limited, but with the support of her family, coaches, and Kinetic Kids, Noelani is able to travel from her hometown of San Antonio, Texas, to participate in competitions across the country. Currently she enjoys the sprints the most—“That’s because she loves the limelight,” LeBlanc says with a laugh—but she has plenty of time to specialize. For now, she’s testing herself against athletes in different classifications. Noelani typically competes in the T33 classification for wheelchair athletes with cerebral palsy, but she’s also won in the T54 classification for those with spina bifida—notable because T54 athletes have full upper mobility while Noelani has hemiplegia on her left side, making her upper body weaker than most of her competitors. And every time she exceeds her expectations, Noelani raises the bar for herself. “It makes me feel like I could do more,” she says. And that sentiment extends off the track, too. LeBlanc says that adaptive sports are about more than athletic goals and fast times—it’s about learning to live as independently as possible, for as long as possible. “If that takes her to the Paralympics, I’ll be watching and cheering, but you can’t live on that,” he says. “What she’ll live on is her ability to speak up for herself and do for herself—and those are the life skills she’s learning through sports. It takes courage, but that’s what life’s all about.”
The summer of 2020 in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, was a tough one. The COVID-19 pandemic was raging through New York and kids had few opportunities to socialize or participate in many activities. Julia Dinar’s best friend, however, had discovered an intriguing group called Fencing in the Park, welcoming local youth for free lessons in an unfamiliar sport. Desperate to find her then-eight-year-old daughter—who lives with severe asthma—an outlet and a reason to get outdoors, Julia’s mom, Alexa Encarnacion, took her to a session. “When we first started this, I wanted Julia to be moving. It wasn’t really about winning or anything like that,” Encarnacion says. With extra-curriculars being so limited at the time, she was also excited for Julia to have opportunities to socialize, build community, and form connections with coaches and mentors. As it turned out, the group was founded and directed by fencer Nzingha Prescod, a two-time Olympian, world champion and four-time senior world medalist. She also became the first Black woman to win an individual medal at the Senior World Championships when she claimed bronze in 2015. But beyond her accolades, Prescod had also grown up in the neighborhood and was on a mission to create no-cost opportunities in underserved areas of the city. The initiative was so successful that in 2021, she created the Prescod Institute for Sport, Teamwork and Education (PISTE), providing students with pathways to “become champions, leaders, and scholars through fencing.”
Julia has been hooked on fencing ever since, practicing with PISTE four times a week and competing up to three times a month. That chance encounter in the park has proven life-changing, she says, and allowed her to find confidence in herself and what her body can do. “[Prescod] started in the same situation as me and she became an Olympian,” Julia says. “That encourages me. It shows me that people from my background can achieve amazing things, too.” Fencing is not the easiest sport to master. It takes quick, strategic thinking, agility, and intense focus. That’s exactly why Julia loves it, “I like that it challenges me mentally and physically,” she says. “You have to think tactically and be one step ahead of your opponent, but then also you have to use every last bit of your strength to win a bout.” Julia’s first medal came at a local competition two years after she started—it took a lot of patience and hard work to see that kind of result. Still, Julia gives credit to her mom for helping her keep fencing fun, encouraging her to do her best but not get too upset when her performance falls short of expectations. Fencing has become more than a sport for Julia. Through PITSE, Julia has found a role model, supportive community, and most importantly, a boost in her confidence. Julia wishes other girls her age also gave fencing—or other sports—a chance. Her advice for those who don’t see themselves as an athlete? Don’t let other people’s opinions hold you back from finding a sport you love. “For girls who might not feel confident in sports because of body image, I would say just because your body doesn’t fit into the image of what somebody in your sport is supposed to look like, it doesn’t mean you’re not capable of great things,” she says.
A big “secret” of Julia’s success is that her and her mom keep gratitude at the center of their fencing life. They repeatedly voice appreciation for the people who introduced them to PISTE, the coaches and for the families who have created a needed support network and welcoming community. Fencing has also opened doors to unique opportunities for Julia, like appearing on the Kelly Clarkson Show, traveling to Paris for a youth fencing event ahead of the 2024 Summer Games, and even ringing the bell at the New York Stock Exchange. Those experiences are what create the consistency and connection to coaches and peers that Prescod believes help girls stick through the inevitable ups and downs of youth sports. “When they build great memories together, that’s what matters, especially when they’re young,” Prescod says. At age 13, Julia already sees that her dedication to fencing may become a means to her life’s aspirations—perhaps a college scholarship that could, eventually, lead her to medical school. Though she intends to keep competing “as long as my body allows me,” she says the ultimate dream is to become a pediatrician. PISTE collects report cards from the athletes and Prescod has noticed, “Julia’s grades have just gone up and up and up…I’m hoping being part of PISTE is continuing to influence her positively, not only in fencing and sport, but academically.” Encarnacion believes that Julia’s participation in fencing is nothing short of transformative—it has shown her daughter that, no matter what her circumstances are, she can push past perceived boundaries and obstacles to get where she wants to go. “She can love her body, be healthy, and be the best version of herself,” Encarnacion says. “That’s all I want from her—to be the best version of herself.”
Three years ago, Ja’Nor Elzie’s mom took her to cheerleading sign ups near their home in Slidell, Louisiana. That day, registration didn’t go as planned. Ja’Nor watched as her brother joined the football team. And she wondered, Why not me? When Janor asked her mother, Jozette Thomas, about football, she looked around at all the boys taking to the playing field and wasn’t sure, at first, what to do. “I was terrified, honestly, because I’m like, There aren’t any little girls on the team,” Thomas says. “I had to step outside of what I wanted. And she’s just really fallen in love with the sport.” Ja’Nor is the only girl on her football and basketball teams. And at 12 years old, she’s learned to embrace her individuality and prove herself as a valuable member of the squad. Her favorite position on the court is anywhere on defense. Ja’Nor wants to be the one to make sure her teammates are set up for success. “All in all, my teammates are very supportive,” Ja’Nor says. “It can be very hard because some of the boys are not used to playing against girls, so they can be a little rough. But at this point, I’ve gotten used to it.” The second-oldest in a line of six siblings, Ja’Nor feels like her participation in sports sets a good example for her three younger sisters. She likes to show them that she can be strong on the field of play and still like to wear a dress or put on some lip gloss after the game.
Who has she learned this from? Her favorite players in the WNBA, Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark, she says. Ja’Nor has a special connection to Reese, who played at LSU—located about 90 minutes away from her hometown—before she was drafted by the Chicago Sky in 2024. “I love how she’s just there and she’s supportive and very confident in what she does,” Ja’Nor says. “She’s not going to let anybody walk over her.” On the track, Ja’Nor has taken a liking to the longer distances, and she loves that her “aunties, uncles, siblings, and parents” are all cheering her on at the finish line. It’s this kind of support, from her family, friends and teammates, that has given her the confidence to overcome any challenge. As an athlete who also deals with asthma, Ja’Nor is proud that she’s learned how to work with her body to achieve her goals. “My body doesn’t give up on me,” she says. “As long as I have a strong mindset, I know my body can help me through anything, like going faster, or keeping a steady pace, or stopping myself when I need to take a little break.” Thomas is always concerned about her daughter’s ability to breathe while she’s competing, but she’s also learned that Ja’Nor rarely allows her condition to stop her from doing her best. “Being asthmatic, being the only girl on the team—oftentimes all of those things can work as discouragement,” Thomas says. “But instead, she hasn’t let anything stand in the way of what she wants to do.”
Photography by Jeffery A. Salter
Liana Chan loves letting her imagination run wild. At her home in the Bronx, you’ll find her reading fantasy books about dragons and other mythical creatures, crocheting and drawing for long periods of time. Being so creative might be what drew her to play ice hockey, too. It’s not exactly a common sport for kids in the Bronx, but when she first started taking hockey lessons at the local Boys & Girls Club, being on the ice was its own kind of magic. Liana says practicing falls was when she first fell in love with the sport. “During one of the practices, we were told to skate out into the middle of the ice, and then would purposely fall on our stomachs into a Superman pose,” Liana says. “It didn’t hurt, and you just were sliding all over. It was so fun.” Liana, now 11, didn’t even know how to ice skate when she first started playing hockey two years ago, but her coaches at the Boys & Girls Club—a program supported by the NHL’s New York Rangers—helped her and the other kids learn quickly. Liana says she felt confident on the ice because she knew that she could fall down and it wouldn’t hurt because of all the special gear. Now, her favorite part of practice every Wednesday and Saturday is the first moment she steps on the ice, skating around the rink while warming up. She loves the feeling she gets gliding around as fast as she can. At that moment, Liana says, she feels free. “It’s the best feeling ever,” she says.
Liana’s parents have always encouraged her to try new sports. For four years she was on a swim team, and she’s tried horseback riding, baseball, basketball and tennis. Her older brother ran cross country and her sister swam too. So when Liana and her younger brother, Zachary, were both interested in hockey, their mom, Katie Chan, encouraged them. She figured, at the very least, they would learn how to ice skate, something she still isn’t comfortable doing as an adult. At first, Katie was a little nervous though. “I was kind of worried about her playing, about whether she could tough it out,” she says, especially because Liana is smaller in stature than others her age. But as it turns out, Liana loves the sport. In fact, this year, she decided to forego swimming to focus on hockey, because she feels so passionate about it. Liana’s dad, Lawrence, says he’s noticed a difference in his daughter since she started playing hockey. While she’s always been a great student, a good listener and kind to her friends and family, hockey has made her tougher. Getting back up after a fall has given Liana a new kind of confidence: nothing can keep her down.
“I’m so proud that she’s persevered at this sport that’s predominantly male,” Lawrence says. “I was scared at first she would get banged around, but she actually doesn’t really let it get to her. She recovers quickly.” Even though no one in the family used to watch hockey, they’ve since been able to go to Rangers games and meet some players, like current defensemen K’Andre Miller and former star Stéphane Matteau. Liana says she likes to see the players on the ice to get inspiration for new skills to learn. She hopes to skate faster as she plays more hockey, too. Lawrence says that when they go skating as a family now, “She’s skating circles around me.” Liana doesn’t play on a team yet, but they do scrimmage at the Boys & Girls Club program, and when they do, she likes to play on the wing. “I like being near the puck and chasing it down,” she says with a small smile. Lawrence adds that after she scores, she always celebrates with a cheer, and finds her parents in the crowd, waving to them to let them know, “I did it! I scored!” And even though she plays with mostly boys, she says, being one of the only girls out there has never bothered her. “It doesn’t matter who plays hockey, it’s just a sport,” she says. For Liana, it’s the sport that’s made her feel most happy, confident and strong.
As a little girl, Carmen Wilkey was so active that she often had to go back to her prosthetist before she was scheduled in order to replace the foot of her prosthetic leg, because it would wear out early. Carmen did dance and gymnastics classes, and ran around with her friends and classmates on the playground and in PE. She was an amputee, but she never let it slow her down. Carmen’s left leg was amputated below the knee when she was 14 months old because she was born with Fibular Hemimelia, meaning she lacked a left fibula, ankle bone and pinky toe. The best outcomes for this diagnosis are seen with amputation at a young age. Every year on her first day of school, Carmen, now 12, brings in her prosthetic legs to show her whole class what they are and how they work, so no one thinks her amputation is something she’s ashamed of. When she was 9, Carmen’s prosthetist asked if she’d like to attend a clinic for other people learning to run in prosthetics, put on by the Challenged Athletes Foundation, and she was eager to give it a try. As soon as she tried out running on the track, she was hooked. “I’d never been to anything like that before, it was a lot of fun meeting new people, and learning the different techniques,” she says.
The clinic also introduced Carmen’s parents, Michael and Bekah Wilkey, to many other families of amputees, all with information to share about the sports available for kids like Carmen and how to get involved. That fall, they found an organization that helped match kids with running blades. The first time Carmen tried her blade, she was anxious to see how it would change her game. “It was extremely exciting, but also nerve-wracking because I’ve never been on a leg like that before,” Carmen says. “But I’ve seen so many people run on these kinds of legs so I really wanted to try it to see if I would be super fast.” As soon as she got the blade on a track, Michael says, “She took off.” The next summer she started to compete in track and field meets hosted by Move United. At the Endeavor Games in Edmond, Okla., in June 2022, Carmen set a national record for her age group, gender and disability classification in the 60-meter race, finishing in 13.93 seconds. Her performance qualified her for Junior Nationals in Denver, Colo., the following month. There, she set two more national records, in discus, with a 45’ 4.5” throw, and long jump, with a 9’ 7” jump. Now in the U-14 division, Carmen competes in the shot put, discus, long jump, javelin, 100-meter and 200-meter races.
But adaptive competitions are only in the summer, and they usually require travel. This spring, however, Carmen will be able to join her school team for the first time, at Severance Middle School, and attend team practices and regular meets, competing alongside—and against—able-bodied athletes. Just like all kids, Carmen picks up some things quickly, and others she has to work on. Three years ago, Carmen attended a snowboarding camp with Paralympic snowboarding gold medalist Noah Elliott, and just as with track and field, she immediately got the hang of it. She was riding blues, or the intermediate slopes, on her first day. Michael, an avid snowboarder, takes her to ride regularly every winter near their Colorado home. But this fall, when she joined her school’s swim team, success wasn’t as smooth. When she was learning breaststroke, in particular, she remembers telling her coach she didn’t know how to make it work because, “I don’t have two feet.” Bekah, Carmen’s mom, says, “She was ready to be done with it.” But Carmen took some time to remember that she actually really enjoys swimming, and instead of quitting, she asked her coaches if they could look into some adaptive breaststroke options for her. “She went back each meet,” Bekah says. “And I know it was hard for her but she improved continuously until the end of the season.” Carmen has loved being part of the adaptive sports community because she’s met so many other athletes like her that inspire her. She has one older friend she’s made, for instance. “I look up to her a lot because she’s very strong and determined and she does a lot of things that are super cool. She just exudes confidence.” Carmen says, “Meeting all these other para-athletes has really put in perspective what an athlete can look like, and that they come in all different shapes and sizes.” Having a supportive community of diverse athletes has inspired Carmen to continuously challenge herself as an athlete, building body confidence with every step forward. “Sometimes I’ll think, ‘Oh, I can’t do this thing,’” Carmen admits. “And then I prove myself wrong. And then I’ll think ‘But I definitely can’t do this thing,’ and then I prove myself wrong again.” She has a dream of becoming a Paralympian two-times over: competing in the Summer Games in track and field, and in the Winter Games as a snowboarder. Some might call it too big of a goal, but Carmen’s used to proving people wrong.
Photography by Kohjiro Kinno
Lala Scholl, 12, was always fast—the fastest kid in her class—and proud of it. But it wasn’t until five years ago, during a family vacation to Atlanta, that she discovered how using her speed could invigorate her body and uplift her spirits. At the time, Lala, then seven, joined a soccer practice with one of the family’s friends. She was immediately hooked. “It looked like she was really having so much fun,” recalls her mom, Kaori. When they got home from the vacation, Lala’s father, Owen, who had been an avid athlete growing up, began teaching her the basics of soccer. Before long, Lala started organizing her own pickup soccer games, inviting friends and even strangers to play. At recess, she gathered as many kids as possible to join in. When she asked about playing for her elementary school’s soccer team, she learned there was only a boys’ team— and she joined without hesitation. Immediately, Lala found her speed made her a good fit as a forward and shooting gave her a rush. When she remembers one of her first goals, her eyes sparkle. “A kid named Everett on my team passed it to me, and then I ran and scored,” she says. This year, at her new middle school, things got more competitive. There were multiple girls’ soccer teams, and Lala had to try out. “They did some drills that I didn’t really understand,” she admits. Still, her speed and ball-handling skills, honed through those countless pick-up games, earned her a spot on the team.
Lala has been able to keep her confidence on a more competitive team thanks to a network of support and a genuine love for the game. Her mother Kaori says she’s most proud of her daughter continuing on with soccer this year even though she’s not the best one on the field anymore. “On her old teams, she was always the top skills player, but this team was different, and she felt like she wasn’t as good. But I’m so proud of her for sticking with it.” The middle school team has been a significant step up from the elementary school and playground games Lala was used to, but her skills—and her circle of friends—have grown quickly. Lala says, “Playing soccer anywhere, anytime, and putting my skills on display whether I’m confident or still learning, has helped me take other risks, too”. This year she also tried out for the school musical, Finding Nemo, and had a few different parts. Was she nervous performing in front of 200 people? “No,” she says. Lala thrives in the spotlight, whether it’s on the soccer field or the stage.
She used to call it “syrup season.” When Calyx Watkins played offensive line(wo)man for her community youth football team, her favorite part of the game was “pancaking” her opponents. “You put them on their butt. That’s a pancake,” she says, smiling. “Then pour some syrup on them. That’s where we got that—me and my brother.” Calyx started playing football in Detroit at six years old. Her father, who died in 2021, was her coach. Her older brother, Ja’Kobe Watkins, was a rising star who went on to play at Southeast Missouri State University, and her biggest fan and mentor. She was surrounded by a game dominated by boys and men, yet she still yearned to play. So she did—and it proved meaningful in many ways. “Me and my brother both won championships the same year we lost our dad,” Calyx says. “We dedicated that to him.” But today, Calyx wistfully refers to football in the past tense. Now in her first year of high school, she’s moved on to basketball. Calyx loves her new sport—and she has already made the varsity squad—but wishes she could still participate on the football team. Unfortunately as she grew older, the sport became increasingly difficult to navigate. The logistics, such as needing her own hotel room and a chaperone during travel, coupled with the physical discrepancies between herself and the boys, made playing unsafe.
“She’s still working real hard,” Ja’Kobe says. “I’m glad she’s off the football field— I know how violent it can get. I just take the responsibility of trying to develop her and make sure she’s well off to go to college. I know it is hard work, but she can do it.” For Calyx, not having an athletic outlet was never an option. She enjoys physical activity and competition too much. Her mom, Alana Freeman-Watkins, who played basketball at Grambling State University in Louisiana, encouraged her to try basketball instead.
Watching Calyx bring her competitive spirit and willingness to develop new skills on the court has been gratifying, Freeman-Watkins says. And it’s also become an opportunity to form important bonds with new teammates, which is no small consideration for teens. After so many years as the only girl on her team, Calyx has found the girls’ basketball culture welcoming and uplifting. “Her basketball team is definitely a sisterhood…it empowers them in a way, if they’re insecure in the school setting they can get out on the court, display their skill set and be in a different friend group,” Freeman-Watkins says. Calyx may have left “Syrup Season” behind for now, but she understands that the strength she built in football transfers to basketball, too, and she’s enjoyed learning what it takes to win an entirely different kind of game. As a power forward, Calyx rebounds, defends, and yes, she shoots and scores, too, already visualizing recruitment to the powerhouse program at Louisiana State University and getting drafted to the WNBA. “I love how you got to keep running down the court. It’s aggressive,” Calyx says. “I just love everything about it and I’m starting to learn more from my mama and watching LSU games.” If those hoop dreams don’t come through, however, never fear, Calyx has a couple of backup plans: women’s football (she counts Odessa Jenkins, founder of the Women’s Football Tackle & Flag League, as one of the athletes she most looks up to) or medical school. Maybe both? It seems nothing will stop a girl whose greatest joy is a well-executed pancake. “Never let somebody bring down your confidence,” she says. “Just don’t give up on yourself… believe in what you want to do.”
