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Sydney Supple is ranked as one of the top multi-purpose players in the 2019 class. The two-time Gatorade State Player of the Year and Extra Inning Softball 1st Team All-American went 25-2 in the circle with a 0.97 ERA for her Oshkosh (Wisconsin) North High team this year and batted .460 with 39 home runs to lead the Spartans to the sectional quarterfinals.
Known for her passion for the sport and competitive nature between the lines, the Northwestern commit has also won a PGF Nationals title playing for the Chicago-based Beverly Bandits. This summer she was the ace on Bill Conroy’s 18U team and has done as much off the field as she has on it including raising nearly $50,000 to help build a “Field of Dreams” in her hometown of Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
Syd was very involved in last weekend’s Empowering Girls for Life Convention in Chicago and in her latest blog for Extra Inning Softball recaps her experiences which including working the Jennie Finch camp as the softball legend was one of the key speakers on Saturday for the inaugural event…
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Few times in your life are you lucky to be able to meet, watch, or speak to some of the most powerful and influential women in all aspects of life.
Imagine being in a room full of women who have all made it to the top level of their careers whether that is on the field or the court or in the business world or the broadcast booth, telling you their stories and how they all started as young girls just like you.
Words like “powerful,” “compelling” and “inspiring” are the best ways I can describe the experience!
If you were a player of any sport, a parent of an athlete, or simply just a normal person competing in everyday life trying to be successful, you walked out of the conference with a new set of eyes in which you see a vision of what you want and dream of, but the difference now is you see the obstacles in the road you know you are going to face but you don’t fear anymore because you can see the finish line to success.
Starting the Empowering Girls for Life Conference on Saturday morning with panelists Carol Hutchins and Jessica Mendoza was like starting off a softball game off with back-to-back homers… it was something special!
Before we even heard about female empowerment, Coach Hutch taught us a little history lesson for us to appreciate how far women have come already. I learned more from her speaking about Title IX than I had ever learned in school.
Then standing next to Coach Hutch was Jessica Mendoza, who is living proof of all the good that has come since that law passed in 1972. Jessica is a female athlete who played at Stanford, one of the most prestigious universities in the country; represented our country by winning a Gold and Silver medal in the Olympic Games and continues to blaze the path for girls like me to follow.
As the first female commentator for a Major League Baseball game in the history of ESPN, she now has a full-time job in the booth as a color commentator. Jessica stood up and looked every person in the eye and said, “It is okay to be different, and when you have a passion for something it is easy to be different.” All of us athletes in the audience were there because we ARE different and it finally felt like we could accept ourselves and see how amazing being different can get you by looking at the path of success Jessica has taken.
In addition to being one of the impressive speakers at the conference, softball legend Jennie Finch also hosted a camp at the Dome at Rosemont, Illinois not far from O’Hare airport.
I was fortunate enough to be able to work alongside the woman who has easily become the face of softball in Jennie. Growing up I looked up to her, attended her camps and went to her last professional game ever and, in talking with her at length that day, I came away convinced that there is not a better ambassador for our sport.
Jennie is the type of person who will speak to every person as if they are the most important person in the room. She also had the trust in me to give me her phone while she was pitching to take pictures, which of course led to me taking a selfie (because I wanted her to remember me!) and her showing her great sense of humor by posting it that night after she found it.
Jennie’s message delivered throughout her camp and speaking at the convention was to give girls of all ages the dream of playing at the next level and stressing to not let anyone tell you differently.
The conference provided an incredible opportunity to hear from athletes at the highest levels in college and the Olympics and professionals in all fields–including a couple winners on ABC’s “Shark Tank”– speak about how to handle adversities.
They gave us their stories of struggles and failures and how they grew from them, teaching us how to face our obstacles and, instead of letting them break you, letting them MAKE you.
We all play sports that are very results driven. You feel great after wins and defeated after losses and Chicago Bandits Coach and former UCLA and Olympic Gold Medalist Stacey Nuveman forever changed my outlook for the rest of my career by simply sharing what she tells her players: “Get your confidence from your preparation, not your outcome.”
Coaches Patty Gasso, Kate Drohan and Tracy Fuchs were other phenomenal coaches who spoke about how they keep their teams at the top of their sports at the collegiate level.
None of them focused on the skills or plays they have used to compete for national titles, but instead they talked about their players’ hearts, minds, and leadership abilities. Fuchs sharing how her girls are the only team in field hockey team in the country to wear shorts not skirts because, yes, they may be girls but more importantly they are ATHLETES!
Kate Drohan also sharing how she truly believes Northwestern University is genderless and their administration and coaches work to empower all students and faculty.
Patty Gasso conveyed why her team is so great, as she believes the girls come in insecure but she strikes to build their confidence so they leave Oklahoma as young women.
Being raised as a female we are not always taught how to promote ourselves, but are taught to be humble and to not accept a compliment directly for ourselves, but rather put the light on someone else.
One takeaway was that times are changing because each speaker is where they are today as they refused to believe they were less than equal because of their gender. They demanded a seat at the men’s table in whatever field they were pursuing and they promoted themselves to become the legends they are.
At the end of the day I learned I am a female but more importantly, I am an athlete, and I am not judged by gender but my achievements instead.
A final thank you to Bill Conroy for believing in the greater good and the future of girls turning into strong women.
For all the women who spoke, thank you for being role models for not only for myself but every other person that you touched sitting in the audience and that you will continue to touch as your legacies continue.
The Empowering Girls for Life was an event that I will forever remember and draw upon during every obstacle I face as well as every success I have, knowing I am following in the footsteps of all the strong females who have stood before me and will stand after me.
I am looking forward to attending this event every year it shall continue!