Share
Published 16:09 17 May 2017 BST
However, the fact of the matter is, I'm also a bit of a fraud - and Ms Clinton's comments have highlighted that. I write articles about how important it is to play sport and how liberating it is to be fit and healthy and have a passion. Truth is, I'm a big fat quitter. I've only been back playing squash the last three years. I gave up at the age of 17 and didn't step onto a court for a full decade; I fell deep into the dreaded 'drop-off zone'. Why did I quit? Well, I can't pinpoint an actual reason, but a number of factors were probably at play. I was a cheeky teenage girl, the draw of fun and going out on the weekends, as opposed to travelling the country playing tournaments was strong. But if I'm really being honest, I quit because I started to lose. I won the Irish Junior National Squash Championship when I was just 14 years of age, by the time I turned 16 I had begun to lose matches - to one player in particular (who's a great friend and a great squash player). I hate to lose, so what did I do? Did I persist and battle through? Nope; I gave up. Was it childish? Absolutely. Do I regret it? Pretty much every time I come off court. In her letter, Chelsea touches on all the reason's why sport is so important for the development of young girls and women;
"It’s particularly important that we encourage and support girls to be physically active because there is a participation gap between boys and girls in sports. In fact, data shows that across the United States, less than 50 percent of middle school girls get the recommended amount of physical activity each day, and by the age of 14, they drop out of sports at twice the rate of boys"[caption id="attachment_346952" align="aligncenter" width="594"]
(Photo by Noam Galai/WireImage)[/caption]
It's not just the physical aspect of sport which Chelsea highlights, she talks about how the gap in physical activity between boys and girls can have a major impact on developing critical teamwork, confidence, and leadership skills;
"Whether it’s the guts to stand up to a bully, the grit to stick through a tough statistics class, the confidence to ask for more in salary negotiations, the courage to start your own business, or so much more — the research shows we simply will not reach our full potential as a society if young women are dropping out of participation in life in middle school and high school, including life as played and imagined through sports and dance and so much else."Yes, I'm a quitter, and I have to live with that. But the fact is I came back to my sport and I've been reaping the benefits ever since. I manage junior teams now, girls who are 12 - 15 years of age, who are blossoming within the sport. Despite this, you can see the difference between them and their male counterparts. The self-consciousness that comes with being a teenage girl is starting to creep in - even when I try my best through my 'quitting' story to let them know how important it is to stick with it. As Chelsea mentions girls are athletes, we are competitors, and we are meant to do incredible things. So if you're speaking to your little sister, or your daughter, a niece or a neighbour, don't ask them about boys or makeup: ask them about their match... and if they smashed it up.
