Our Mission

To use this book as one way to channel girls’ inner sportiness -- because we believe in the transformative power of sports in developing our confidence, skills and the mindset that helps us thrive.

Ultimately, we hope this book will help girls foster a little more love for sports and encourage them to regularly participate in sports so that playing sports is a lifelong habit.

Our Why

Being founder of a nonprofit initiative that champions sports for women and girls, Alicia is always thinking about different ways to engage girls in sports. Research shows that participation rates of girls in sports lag behind boys. Sometimes she hear girls telling her they don't like sports. Sometimes she hears moms telling her that their daughters don't want to participate in sports. It saddens her, because she personally has found so much joy through sports participation. Playing sports strengthens our physical, mental and emotional health, and gives us opportunities to practice and hone life and leadership skills. Alicia doesn’t want girls growing up missing out on sports because they don't like or don’t want to play sports.

The title of the book, Sporty Girl Journals, might make it seem like it's written for girls who are already in sports and love sports. Contrary to that, this book is dedicated to all girls, regardless of their sporting experience. One of the things that prompted Alicia to create this book was the fact that she kept hearing girls and women describe themselves as "not sporty," and she kept thinking, what does being “not sporty” mean? Or another way to phrase it -- what does it mean to be sporty?

We believe that everyone is innately "sporty"; there is a wide range of sports out there that require different functional and motor skills and suit different expectations, interests and needs. JK Rowling said, "If you don’t like to read, you haven’t found the right book." Alicia says, "If you don't like to play sports, you haven't found the right sport for you."

It's simply a matter of understanding what are the sports that bring us individually the most joy. There is not a single person who is the best at all sports. We want to let all girls know that we're all sporty in our own way. We can be a runner and be sporty. We can be a swimmer and be sporty. We can be a fencer and be sporty. We can walk up a mountain and be sporty. We can be dancers and be sporty. Sports is for everyone!

This book was developed with the objective to create something fun, appealing, actionable and inspiring. Sports should be fun and enjoyable!

Our Goal

By combining stories, journaling and activities into one book, we hope Sporty Girl Journals will be a strong memento for girls, one they can keep and re-read fondly over and over again as they transition from primary school to secondary school and beyond. This book will only play a small part in their sports journey, but we hope will remind them of the fun they have in sports, their friendships and what they have gained from sports participation. We hope all of these experiences and memories will have a long lasting ripple impact into other areas of their lives.