A young girl’s ball flip impresses a member of the Duke field hockey team at Saturday’s National Girls in Sports training session. Photos by Nat LeDonne/Duke Athletics
Nurturing the Next Generation of Female Athletes
For National Girls and Women in Sports Day, Duke opens Cameron for a community training day
Nurturing the Next Generation of Female Athletes
For National Girls and Women in Sports Day, Duke opens Cameron for a community training day
Saturday morning the courts and mezzanines of Cameron Indoor Stadium was turned over to young girls in the community -- building their love of shooting hoops, scoring goals, sinking putts and just being active.
That morning, Duke athletes from nearly a dozen sports shared their athletic expertise with several hundred girls in grades 1-8 as part of National Girls and Women in Sports Day.
For the Duke students, it was a chance to connect with community members to show their love of a sport that has provided them with confidence and opportunities. For the young girls, the event gave them a opportunity to meet the Duke athletes and to explore new sport interests.
Throughout the morning, every picture include a smile, and some intense focus from the young girls. Every lesson included laughter. The Cameron Indoor court was taken over by young girls from the community picking up tips from Duke athletes in 10 sports.
In Cameron’s mezzanine section, newcomers to tennis received tips on how to handle a racket. Across the mezzanine, the crew team set up a training site. The track & field team turned its site into a race course, while the cheer squad brought large smiles from the girls. Golf set up a challenging putting green.
The participating girls had fun scoring baskets and goals, hitting volleyballs and getting autographs from their favorite players.
Members of the Duke Athletics staff and the student-athletes who assisted with the training day.
Read More: Duke Athletics in the Community
A Duke baseball player helps a young girl run the bases at Duke’s Coombs Stadium during a spring practice for the Durham Miracle League. Photo by Shane Sturtz
The women’s basketball team wore Nike shooting shirts made of 100% recycled polyester, which is composed from plastic bottles which are cleaned, shredded into flakes, converted into pellets, and then spun into a high-quality yarn. Photo by Duke Athletics
