Eight Epic Sports Mentors In a League of Their Own

With Serena Williams’ retirement announcement inspiring girls to trust their choices, and the latest League of Their Own series bringing forward new voices, young athletes have a field of role models to watch. And female mentorship matters in sports – perhaps now more than ever.

We know the stats.

Forty percent of teen girls are not actively participating in sports, the Women’s Sports Foundation tells us, and yet according to Korn Ferry 9 in 10 female CEOs played sports.

You do the math.

How can we encourage rising leaders to take the field, and stay on it together? How can we encourage them, as Abby Wambach just did on Forbes’ Insta feed, to lead from wherever they are?

Maybe by highlighting epic mentors to inspire and cheer them on.

Here is être’s summer lineup of eight legends who are truly in a league of their own. Because whether we find ourselves atop a medalist podium, warming the bench or entering the boardroom, what these women have to say can help the next generation stay to play.

1. Serena Williams on Mentorship.

While both Williams sisters have had an indelible impact on the game of tennis, Serena Williams also focuses much of her energy on issues like gender parity and women’s empowerment. Covering her efforts on equal pay in an article years ago, I remember thinking how inspirational her words were for girls everywhere, and her latest announcement in Vogue vaulted that inspo to a whole new level.

2. Simone Biles on Mental Wellness.

Receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom last month, Simone Biles became, at 25, the youngest living person to receive the nation’s highest civilian honor. Adding this to her 32 Olympic and World Championship medals, Biles was recognized during the ceremony for “turning pain into a greater purpose” and for having the courage “to stand up and speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.”

3. Kim Ng on Focus.

When Kim Ng, Marlins' GM and first female GM in major league baseball history, urged girls to stay focused and blaze their own trails this spring, she could not have been clearer. "You know what you can do,” she urged. “You know what you're capable of. Don't let anybody get into your head." Part of the 2022 Trailblazer Series that Ng had a hand in creating to offer mentorship opportunities to girls in baseball, this role model continues to pay it forward with focus day by day.

4. Nancy Lieberman on Leadership.

Posting this quote last week on Twitter, Basketball Hall of Famer, two-time Olympian, first ever female BIG3 head coach and second female NBA assisting coach Nancy Lieberman said it all. Described as “defying the odds since she was a young girl playing basketball in Harlem,” Lieberman knows leadership when she sees it and instills it in those around her every chance she gets.

5. Diana Taurasi on Greatness.

Called “The White Mamba” by Kobe Bryant, game-changer Diana Taurasi is a multiple Olympic gold medalist, a seven-time All-Star, a nine-time First Team All-WNBA selection, a three-time WNBA champion and the 2009 WNBA MVP. Oh, and she was MVP of both the 2009 and 2015 WNBA Finals. Her quote on greatness helps us recognize that it exists in every generation and should be valued across the board.

6. Alex Morgan on Goal Setting.

While Alex Morgan did not start club soccer until she was 14, it didn’t take long for this three-time Olympian, two-time Olympic medalist and World Champion to see and achieve her goals. Advocating successfully with teammate Megan Rapinoe for equal pay in the courts, and founding Togethxr alongside Sue Bird, Chloe Kim and Simone Manuel to bring greater attention to girls and women in sports, we love Team USA’s tweet and Morgan’s shout-out to other moms.

7. Katie Ledecky on Inspiring Others.

When she tweeted her encouragement to those learning to swim this summer, Katie Ledecky made a splash. This three-time Olympic swimmer, seven-time Gold and ten-time Olympic medalist, nineteen-time World Champion and fourteen-time world record-breaker regularly takes time out of her training to meet with young swimmers – perhaps it’s because her Olympic breakout moment came at the unprecedented age of 15.

8. Maybelle Blair on Owning Your Identity.

"You don't have to hide. I hid for 75, 85 years and this is actually, basically, the first time I've ever come out," Maybelle Blair?told an audience earlier this summer, talking about her sexuality in public for the first time. The crowd was assembled for the Amazon Prime series A League of Their Own, which keys off the 1992 movie about the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League where Blair played. Pleased that the new series (hint: dropped last week) highlights gay athletes and Black female players, Blair's words remind us all to own our own identities.

Because no one is too old or too young (check the phenoms in êXTRAS below)?to know her own mind.

Bringing it back to Serena Williams: Trust your choice. Trust your voice.

Mentors matter in every match you play.

Looking forward,

Illana

êXTRA: Three rising athlete moments you won’t want to miss:?Teen gymnast Suni Lee and her aerial first pitch at the Minnesota Twins game; 8 year-old Reese Hunsinger in her first major golf tournament; and teen paralympian Anastasia Pagonis breaking records while posting videos on TikTok about blindness.

Know a leader you think should be featured in The Epic Mentor Newsletter or an accomplishment of your own you’d like to spotlight? ?Subscribe at the top of the page and then DM me here! Have a question you'd like to ask an epic mentor? Follow me on Insta, Twitter or Facebook and let’s find your answer together!