TAMPA, Fla. — Today marks National Girls and Women in Sports Day, a celebration of progress in showcasing women's professional athletics. The Tampa Bay Sun exemplifies this movement as the only professional soccer team in America with an entirely female staff filling key competition roles.
"It means everything," said Emory Wegener, Tampa Bay Sun goalkeeper when asked about the significance of National Girls and Women in Sports Day. "I think we're at a spot where we're all still fighting for ourselves, but all the trail blazers have made it a lot easier. We're still fighting for that spot, for all the young ones. It gives me chills. We are strong and empowered, and we can do everything we put our mind to."
The day represents opportunities that women like Wegener could not have imagined just a few years ago.
"I would never imagine in a million years that we would have the opportunities that we have now," said Denise Schilte-Brown, Sun head coach.
The Sun's unique, all-female leadership model has proven successful. The team won the inaugural Super League Cup last season with this exact structure.
"We won a championship last season with that exact model. So we can find a lot of success with this. It's very achievable," said Sun goalkeepers coach Tristin Stuteville. "It's so important to have females in those spaces, in the decision-making spaces. Who better to understand that space than a female themselves?"
From the day she took the job, Schilte-Brown said she's doing this for all the girls in Tampa Bay who need to see what's possible.
"The little girls looking at women, and they're so beautiful and powerful and strong," she added. "It's not easy being the only professional women in the City, and to hold up those standards, and to be the example they all need to be for these little girls, but they're doing it."
For women with young children, the most important aspect is showing the next generation that there is a pathway to play at the highest level.
"To have two girls of my own, and have them come to the games and see the girls and see what's possible. It's really cool, as a mom and as a professional," said Aerial Tirado, Sun head athletic trainer. "To watch these women come out there and be an influence on a young group of girls. Whether it's just through their hard work, their grit. But also seeing the possibilities."
Wegener believes days like National Girls and Women in Sports Day serve as important reminders for continued progress.
"I think it just reminds us to stick together and keep fighting that fight and move everything in the right direction."
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Tampa Bay 28 Sports Anchor Kevin Lewis knows what happens on the field ties us together. From parents coaching kids to young athletes achieving life-long dreams, Kevin shares stories we can all celebrate. Reach out to him below.
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