RANKINGS
EVENTS
I COMMITTED
COLLEGE
ABOUT
With the 2020 Empowering Girls for Life convention coming up quickly–Saturday, October 3--we’re going to run some past stories and videos of note from the first two years .
Click HERE for info on how to register for FREE to watch this year!
In Day 2 of the initial EGFL Convention which was held Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 11-12, 2018, NFCA Hall of Fame head coach Patty Gasso was one of the keynote speakers.
Coach Gasso has led the Oklahoma softball program to four national championships (2000, 2013, 2016, 2017) and has seen her Sooner teams reach the Women’s College World Series more than a dozen times during her tenure,
You can see her speech below.
Prior to her speech that day, Extra Inning Softball’s Brentt Eads caught up with Coach Gasso to find out how she became involved in the event and why she is so passionate about empowering young female student-athletes…
*****
How did you first get involved with the Empowering Girls for Life Convention?
Bill Conroy reached out to me and I praise him for what he’s trying to do. I think it’s a time that’s very important for young girls in this culture to become empowered in every way. As soon as I talked to Bill, it was a no-brainer as this is something I really believe in.
It’s a passion for me as a coach. It’s my goal and mission to ensure that when players come in as girls–which they are–that they leave as women who are strong, independent and confident in what they’re doing.
At what age do you think it’s important for parents and coaches to start instilling this “empowerment.”
The earlier we can teach these things, the better. Any time or chance I can do something like this and promote this platform to players, parents and coaches I jump on it. It’s important for them to hear my side and learn about what I see because they’re all involved with the future of their young players and it’s never too early to start having this mentality.
What is the No. 1 problem with young girls you see that you’d like to see changed?
Insecurity. There are a lot of words I can use, but that one jumps to mind. It’s the young girls’ mentality of, “I’m not good enough” or “My parents, coaches, or friends say I’m not good enough.” There’s constant pressure like, “Why haven’t you gotten an offer yet?”
We’ve even had some tragedies where girls have taken their lives because of this pressure. I don’t just want to focus on the tragedies, but it’s everywhere: social media including online bullying, worrying about “how many “Likes’ I get (or that she got more than I did).” Sometimes a person’s worst enemy is their own mind where we can create something that becomes twisted and it’s not the truth.
So what do the adults do to make this better?
We need parents, teachers, coaches to build these young players up–whether building them up on the softball field or facing criticism off the field–we have to address this and my passion is trying to send a message to the adults that it’s not right to pass on the message to young people that “you’re not good enough.”
It shouldn’t be that the worst thing about going to the softball fields, sometimes, is the ride home when the fun gets taken out of it. I’m trying to get the adults to understand the unconditional love they should have for their players and kids, that even if you strike out three times you walk away feeling loved. We shouldn’t allow softball to define who we are and who they, the young people, are.
Have you determined what you’ll be speaking about?
I’m doing my own 30-minute segment. I’m going to talk about fighting for what is right. I’m going to show a piece on the World Cup in soccer where the women stood up for what’s right and not settling because they are females.
I’m also going to go into Paige Lowary’s story about the ups and downs of softball; I want kids to hear it and about her wanting to quit softball followed by a clip of her winning a (Women’s College World Series) National Championship on the mound. I’m going to talk about softball and the topic of breaking out of the chains of insecurity.
If you could get across one message to help adults and youth become empowered for change, what would it be?
To parents or coaches, I would say to stop and think before you react. Think about what you’re going to say before it just spills out. These young, impressionable females hear what you say and they don’t unhear it… it doesn’t just go away. Take a second, whether you’re fired up or even enraged, to check what’s going to come out of your mouth because it can’t be erased.
On the young female side, I hope they walk away with the message to enjoy life away from softball. I really don’t recommend that softball is all you do every day and all you think about. The best athletes I have are balanced meaning they have other things going on in their life. The player who sleeps with her glove is the one I’m concerned about! I want them to play other sports, have a social life and focus on their studies. Softball shouldn’t be all you think and talk about when you’re at home. It’s called “balance.”
*****
Oklahoma Head Coach Patty Gasso has won FOUR Women’s College World Series Championships. Need we say more?
Click on the video below to watch her captivating speech from the 2018 Empowering Girls for Life convention and learn what the first thing she does with new players coming into her program…
For more information on the 2020 event, go to: www.empoweringgirls.life