Rosa Bradburn plays softball during the summer, soccer in the fall and basketball against her brother, but she isn’t your typical three-sport athlete — Rosa is 9 years old.

Rosa is just one of about 40 children who, from noon to 2 p.m. Sunday, packed Ben Light Gymnasium for the Girls and Women in Sports event. Started in the early 2000s, this event caters to girls ranging from third to sixth grade. This year, participants were assisted by members of women’s Ithaca College varsity sports teams, receiving hands-on guidance in lacrosse, volleyball, gymnastics, crew and team-building exercises.

 

At the volleyball station, girls split into groups and took part in different drills that encouraged them to work together. From playing a game similar to leapfrog to batting around a tricolored beach ball, every drill pushed the girls to work their hardest from start to finish.

 

“I like doing volleyball,” Rosa said. “Getting hot and sweaty is fun.”

Beth Lyons, who brought Rosa and two other members of her Girl Scouts of the United States of America troop to the event, said it’s important for girls to have fun and experience a sport outside of a competitive atmosphere.

“To be in a fun environment, rather than one where they’re actually getting ready to play a game or something and having a coach trying to get them certain skills, [is beneficial for the girls],” Lyons said. “This gives them a chance to come out and have fun — no pressure.”

As varsity athletes assisted the girls at each station, Andrea McClatchie, operations and events coordinator for intercollegiate athletics, said the athletes’ guidance and interactions help put athletic success into perspective for the participants.

“It’s great to have interaction with our women’s varsity athletes as role models,” McClatchie said. “[To] just say, ‘Oh, I can do this — I can go off to college, I can play sports in college, I can be smart, I can be a woman and be successful and do it and have fun. The girls have a great time, both the athletes and the kids.”

Varsity athletes from the women’s lacrosse, gymnastics, crew and volleyball teams came out Sunday, many of whom participated because they enjoy teaching and interacting with the girls.

“It’s fun,” freshman volleyball player Carly Graham said. “I love working with kids anyway, so it’s fun to have them. Seeing them have fun and enjoying themselves is a big deal here. So long as they’re having fun, that’s all that matters.”

Women’s crew Head Coach Becky Robinson, who helped with team-building exercises alongside members of the women’s crew, said the opportunity to work with the younger girls benefits both parties.

“It’s good for [the athletes] too,” Robinson said. “To see some of the things we do as a regular part of our practice and our training in team building … and how other people respond and react to the same things and just seeing it from the other role. I’m not sure you really learn it until you teach, so being in that position gives them a great opportunity as well.”

Introducing sports that the girls probably haven’t experienced before, like lacrosse, is another way that McClatchie said gives the younger girls a better understanding of what’s out there and available to them.

“[Lacrosse] is becoming more and more popular,” McClatchie said. “But there are still a lot of people who don’t know what lacrosse is. So it’s just a great hands-on thing to give the girls a taste of what’s out there and what they can do and just have fun with it.”

The athletes aimed to encourage the girls to develop confidence in sports for the future. Robinson said this type of interaction can contribute to girls breaking out of traditional stereotypes in sport.

“The idea of being a woman in society and being confident, strong and sure of yourself is an incredible gift,” Robinson said. “Interactions that these girls can have with athletes, and realize that to be an athlete you can still be nice, you can still be pretty and that you can still be feminine, it’s just trying to break out of some of the traditional stereotypes that really can prevent girls from getting into sports.”