The event featured three guest panelists including two alumni, Vice President of Communications for the PGA Tour Laura Neal and Vice President of Operations for Gym Launch Secrets, Maggie Owen. They were joined by CEO and Founder of Pickleball in the Sun, Laura Gainor, and the panel was moderated by Assistant Professor of Sport Management, Ashley Ryder.
The first National Girls and Women in Sports Day was celebrated nearly 40 years ago, and while the industry has seen major progress among female professionals, these panelists reminded event guests of the growth and evolution that still needs to be made.
Through her role with the PGA Tour, Neal said she has been able to help create a more diverse and inclusive environment in sports.
“I've seen progression,” Neal said. “I've seen more women at the table. I'm helping hopefully to advocate for that in my position now, to bring up the best talent male or female, new to sports, young, old. To have those diverse voices in the room makes everyone better.”
She emphasized the importance of having a variety of voices to keep and gain new and old fans, which is essential for growing the sport.
Say ‘yes’ to opportunities
During the event, the panelists discussed that saying ‘yes’ to opportunities is important especially for women.
Owen reminisced about being a Flagler student and how she chose to start early and take advantage of volunteer opportunities, especially within the Sport Management Program. She was able to gain great mentorship in the fitness industry with CrossFit which led to becoming a personal trainer herself and eventually opening her own fitness facility.
“I knew that in order to figure it out, I needed to get in front of people who were doing the things that maybe I would want to do,” Owen said. “I just kept saying yes to opportunities and getting in front of people that we're doing things [involving fitness] that maybe I would want to do and that kind of helped pave the way for me to realize that I wanted to get into [fitness].
She urged students to use their resources, network, and curiosity to benefit them and work towards their future career goals.
“I just encourage anyone here to reach out if there's somebody doing something that you might want to do [in the future],” Owen said. “Figure out, can you talk to them? Can you pick their brain? Can you ask questions? Can you volunteer with them? It's just a great way to figure out if it is something that you want to do in [the future] or an avenue that you want to keep exploring.”
The panelists also stressed the importance of internships and the opportunities they bring.
“I try to grab onto as many opportunities as I could,” Gainor said. Whenever there were opportunities to have an internship, whether it was paid or not. I was constantly reaching out to people to be able to have those opportunities. Those real-world experiences are perfect to have.”
Battling the stereotypes
The panel discussed stereotypes they've experienced or seen other girls and women in sports face, like the misconceptions that they have a “lack of knowledge” compared to their male counterparts. The panelists also gave advice on how to overcome these obstacles, so they don’t become crippling and hold you back from success.
“I've always given myself the opportunity where I'm going to be the absolute best,” Owen said. “If I'm going to take on a task, I'm going to be the best at whatever that task is. I'm going to acquire whatever the skillset is. I'm going to learn as much as I can about it. I'm going to do whatever it takes. If I'm going to take something on and take on a role or responsibility. I'm going to do it to the best of my ability.”
Gainor said that as a woman in an industry with such a long track record of being male-dominated it is important to be a strong leader and help to lift up other women.
“I always try and make sure to stay true to myself and I think that a lot of women kind of show that and bring that into sports and into leadership,” Gainor said. “I think it's huge when you have some women at the top that are kind of helping and we've seen a lot of that growth and more of those women come in over the last 10 years.”
Neal told the audience that they need to be aware of the “traps” and try not to fall into the stereotypes that have been created around women for so long.
She emphasized that women and girls in sports have just as much responsibility to prove their worth as men do.
Neal found herself becoming frustrated after taking immediate initiative to take notes in the workforce during a mock situation where top executives were present. No one else offered to be the notetaker. Instead, Neal said it was naturally expected that she, among male colleagues, would assume the task.
“‘Can someone else pick up a marker, please?!’” Neal recalled asking the group. “What I'm telling you is it starts early. I've been in group projects at Flagler and it's like who's the person keeping everything organized making sure notes are done and keeping on time. It's usually the women in the group so watch for those defaults.”
Balancing personal and professional life
Balancing your professional and personal lives comes with its own challenges.
The panelists shared their experiences as mothers and wives and how they cope with the challenges and duality of their lives. Gainor is a mother to two kids and her husband also works in sports.
Gainor admitted that the hardest challenge for her was to learn to say no.
“The biggest challenge for me is [that], so many people reach out to me, and I want to grab onto all of them and help everybody,” Gainor said. “At some point, you have to have some barriers. Make sure you are giving some time for yourself to go for walks and to be active in order to keep your mental health in check as well.”
Owen is also a mother of two kids and her husband is the CEO of their company, Operations for Gym Launch Secrets.
“We manage a team of 75 plus employees,” Owen said. “We run a 30-million-dollar portfolio. Our schedule is demanding of us, so I'm a big advocate of saying no to things. I figure out the main priorities we have, and for us we look at different areas of our life from our family, fitness, business, and faith. What are the priorities we're going to have in each of those areas? That allows us to say what are we going to say, ‘yes’ to and what are we going to say ‘no’ to.”
