Photos courtesy of Rachel Gillam, Dalton Wainscott, Kamaron Farver and Indiana Athletics
Sitting behind her desk at IUPUI as a first-year head coach, Shonda Stanton knew exactly what she wanted for her team.
Yes, she wanted to win games and compete for a championship, but she wanted more. She wanted to create an environment in which her players would thrive on the field and in the community.
Giving back was equally as important.
As a result, Stanton and her staff at IUPUI created the Lil’ Sis program. She has carried the blueprints for that program with her to Marshall and now to Indiana.
“I had seen how successful the program was at my previous institutions and it fit with what I wanted at Indiana. We want to win in the classroom and win in the community and what better way than by serving as mentors and role models for the next generation of potential softball players.
“The women on our team are highly skilled, but they are so life-giving and encouraging. And I don’t think there’s enough positive, life-breathing actions being put into our young people. I knew this program would be the right fit at Indiana because I knew we have young women that are incredibly driven academically and athletically. Why would you not want a young person in the community to get touches on someone like that?”
Looking at the Indiana program on the surface, you see a team that is poised for greatness on the field. Stanton, who is in her seventh year as the head coach at Indiana, led the Hoosiers to a 44-18 overall record and an 18-5 mark in the Big Ten in 2023. IU finished second in the Big Ten regular season standings and in the Big Ten Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011.
Peel back the layers and take a closer look and you get a sense of what the Indiana softball program is about.
Understand that winning doesn’t just happen. The amount of effort and energy the players and coaching staff put into the IU program is staggering.
That same effort and energy extends beyond the field and is poured into the Lil’ Sis program and other community service projects that IU participates in, which also contributes to the Hoosiers winning ways on the field.
Being selfless, being a great teammate, being encouraging, leading by example and being present are hallmarks of a successful team on the field, but it’s also why the Lil’ Sis program is successful. The on the field success and the off the field success go hand in hand.
The Lil’ Sis program runs from September through May each year and girls in grades 1st-6th are paired with an Indiana player. During the year, participants receive letters from their IU player and experience a meet and greet, pregame and locker room activities and a recognition day and pizza party.
Stanton places great value in what her players can learn from participating in the Lil’ Sis program.
“First and foremost, it’s giving our college athletes the ability to lead and mentor and be a source of encouragement. I think giving them those opportunities helps them realize how privileged and how grateful they should be and how blessed they are to do what they do.
“When they see a young kid come to the game and they’ve got a jersey on with their name on the back, it just hits a little more. When you see Sarah Stone, before she’s going up to bat, engaging in the on-deck circle with four or five little sisters that have come to watch her play. It hits home and the goal is making connections in the community.”
The goal of the program is to engage in the community and enhance the lives of young girls, but the Indiana players also benefit greatly from this interaction.
“I think like anything when you fully invest you get the full benefit. I think that’s one of our themes for our team is we want them to have the full benefit. I think when our athletes do that, when they fully invest, they get the full benefit back.
“Just in the office the other day it was cute to hear some of our players talk about the questions they asked the little sisters in the last letter and then hear about the responses. They enjoy the engagement and then they take it so much further. I see them show up for their little league games. I see them show up for them for school events. Our athletes do an incredible job of getting the full benefit there. Clearly the little sisters are benefiting but I think both parties are benefiting at a high level.”
Providing young girls with positive role models resonates and helps to establish the team culture at Indiana.
“We’re teaching these young kids, when they get interactions with us, that they are strong and capable of doing what they want to do in life. We take a pause when they come out on game day for them to do pregame activities with us and come on the field and do a little dance party and have a pizza party and an autograph session. We really are taking a pause. And I think ultimately, we talk all the time about if gratitude is our habit, then love will be our reflex.
“And if you look at our culture, the best part of their day should be when they walk in that clubhouse. When our kids are other-focused and they’re centered on serving others, it pays dividends beyond anything that I can teach them. It does show the investment that our athletes put into this program.”
The Indiana Lil’ Sis program currently involves approximately 150 young girls and Stanton sees growth potential with teams across the country adopting a similar program.
“I’ve seen it grow at different levels, whether it’s collegiately or high school. And I would encourage anybody that is interested in implementing a Lil’ Sis program to reach out to me. This is a program that doesn’t require a large investment in terms of organization and funding. And you can’t put a price tag on the benefit that these young girls are getting. I really would love to see these programs pop up all over the country.”
As for inspiration, Stanton need only look next door to her assistant coach Gabbi Jenkins.
“I don’t have to look any further than the office next door to me and I see Gabbi Jenkins to understand the impact of the program. Gabbi is all about relationships, and I watched her become the gold standard in terms of what it means to be a big sis. And it was evident every time we had signups for the Lil’ Sis program, because everybody would want Gabbi Jenkins.
“And to watch Gabbi and how that shaped a part of her coaching and why we do what we do. We can have kids that are in sixth grade and below come in our locker room, and the messaging that she’s sharing, I’m telling you, it is making a difference in the lives of those young people. I think this program gives them a little bit of an anchor and lets them know there’s somebody in your corner rooting for you and strengthens them as an individual.”
*****
Gabbi Jenkins had the hottest ticket in the state of Indiana on August 28, 2023.
It wasn’t a ticket for an IU football or basketball game and it wasn’t a ticket for an Indianapolis Colts or Indiana Pacers game.
It was a registration spot to participate in the Indiana softball Lil’ Sis program.
Within an hour of the post on the Indiana athletics website and social media the spots for the program for the 2023-24 season were filled.
Jenkins has enjoyed the full experience of the Lil’ Sis program. She played at Indiana from 2017-21 and is entering her third season as an assistant coach for the Hoosiers.
A portion of her coaching duties extend to the Lil’ Sis program where she has oversight responsibilities.
Jenkins’ first involvement with the program came during the 2017-18 school year when Stanton came aboard as the head coach.
“As players we knew this was near and dear to Coach Stanton’s heart and is at the root of empowering women. And so, we got to jump in on this in year one. I found it to be neat that I was able to grow relationships with each of my little sisters in a special way.
“It wasn’t about writing a letter every two weeks, it was about sharing what was real in my life. We’re going to share life and we’re going to walk through this together. It’s not just us speaking into their life, but it’s also our little sis speaking into our life.”
It took on a greater significance for Jenkins during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“One of my little sisters had a disorder that during COVID she couldn’t go to school like everyone else and she had to remain virtual and so for her we were in this together in a unique situation. We went through a book together called Mind Gym and it built my mindset as much as it built hers. It’s whatever the little sis needs and really whatever the big sis needs as well.”
And now as she oversees the program, Jenkins remains focused on providing the best possible experience for the participants and her players. The program is currently capped to ensure the number of participants is manageable for the team and provides an opportunity to form more significant relationships.
“There are typically anywhere from four to five little sisters for each of our players and that means there is impact happening in each of their lives. How do you change the world? How do you change the environment? You start with one. You don’t have to do everything, but you must do something. Investing in people is never going to be an investment that goes void.”
Watching, and hearing, of her players’ interaction with their little sis is a constant reminder of the value of what playing softball, and attending school, at Indiana truly means.
“Having a joyful experience and recognizing that I’m getting to live the dream. I think for our players a big piece for them is that you are reminded of reality and what a gift it is playing in this program.
“It’s just a reality check that this is special what we get to do. We play softball in Division I at a power five school in the storied Big Ten Conference. And the little sis is our great reminder of that because they just have such a childlike awe and enjoyment of the game and of their big sis.”
The value of this program is not short term. Jenkins hopes the message will carry throughout the lives of her players.
“When we’re able to teach our players within our own program that one day they’ll walk out of here. You don’t get to stay forever. It’s four or five years and to realize that relationships are the core of everything you’ll ever do whether it’s the job that you’re going to be in, the family that you’ll raise or the spouse that you’ll meet. In all those things the relationship is central and makes everything else enjoyable.”
*****
Spend time around the Indiana softball program and you will hear a certain phrase.
“If you can see her, you can be her”
For Indiana standout pitcher Heather Johnson, those words are ones she holds closely and values.
But for Johnson, it’s not just about being a role model on the softball diamond. She has done that, as she was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team in 2022 and posted a 16-7 record in the circle in 2023.
It’s also about being a role model for the young girls who participate in the Lil’ Sis program.
“It’s being a light in their life and providing them with encouragement. I have one girl who always tells me how good she does on her tests. I always write back and tell her how proud of her I am.”
IU players are encouraged to hand write letters to their little sisters and when Johnson was introduced to the program in 2022 as a freshman, she embraced the idea of writing letters because it reminded her of family.
“I think there’s just something special about getting a handwritten letter. My grandmother still sends birthday cards that are handwritten, and my mom writes handwritten letters and those are just so special to me. I know when I get a handwritten letter from these girls, I’m like, wow. I can see their handwriting. I can see all the misspellings. I love it. I love the vulnerability of it because you can just see everything right there in front of you.”
Writing, and receiving letters, also allows Johnson to be where her feet are.
“I think it really helps you too just slow down sometimes. Being an athlete, our lives are moving so fast, but then I get to slow down, and I get to write these letters and I get to read these letters. They talk about how busy their lives are sometimes. And I’m like, yeah, their lives are busy too. But then I get to just really slow down and be where my feet are. And it helps me just really take it all in.”
One of Johnsons’ favorite activities in the program is the meet and greet.
“Putting a face with a name is my favorite thing. Writing to these girls all year long and finally getting to see their faces, and getting to interact with them in person is really cool. They are excited to meet me and I’m equally as excited to meet them.”
Johnson has forged a special relationship with a little sis that started outside the program. Once she met Johnson she enrolled in the Lil’ Sis program.
“I have one little sis named Madeline. And I met her when I gave her pitching lessons in the summer. She writes me these amazing letters and tells me everything that’s going on with school and everything that’s going on with pitching. Seeing that she wanted to invest time back into me and be my little sis because of the time I spent with her in the summer was great to see.”
But for Johnson, all the relationships she forms in the Lil’ Sis program are special.
“The person is always greater than the player. Playing softball for most of the population is only going to last for four more years after high school, so the person is always going to be greater than the player.
“Coach Stanton has a motto which revolves around turning out strong, confident women. I think that’s exactly what this program is doing. I think if I could have gone back and been a part of this program it would have been one of the highlights of my life. It’s a great program and I’m so thankful to be able to write these girls and share in their lives.”
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