I watched the new documentary about Hope Solo on Netflix recently and had a lot of mixed emotions. She clearly had a troubled childhood and a village who helped her achieve her goals despite her upbringing. But she also did things that got in the way of her making the most out of her role as the GOAT soccer player.
She spoke before she thought. More than once. She needed to learn the lesson of some things are “thinking things” while others are “saying things.” This one skill could have helped her so many times in her life. Was she wronged multiple times? Absolutely. But she needed to think it through before speaking or reacting in order to make her work more impactful. If she had learned these skills early in life, I am confident more of her teammates would have joined in earlier in her equal pay lawsuit. Was she wrong to sue for equal pay? Absolutely not. But her “saying things” habit alienated her from her teammates.
A great example of why young girls need to learn these super important life skills in sports and in the regular world. Playing the game doesn’t mean giving in or not asking for what you deserve. But the life skill is learning HOW to make that ask and when to keep those thoughts as “thinking things” vs “saying things.” So hard to navigate even under the best of circumstances, and Hope didn’t have those.
How do we teach girls these super important skills? One way is through a new non profit I am helping get up and running. The mission is to empower young girls through sports, providing them with the tools and opportunities to grow into confident leaders. The goal is to level ALL of the playing fields – in sports and in life. A baby step in the process, but a step in the right direction.