Some of San Diego State’s smallest fans flocked to Viejas Arena on Saturday, not only for the women’s basketball game, but also to celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day.
Girls of all ages, sizes and backgrounds ran around the concourse of Viejas Arena, grasping checklists to make sure they visited all of their favorite SDSU women’s sports teams.
Lacrosse, swim, track and field, volleyball, softball, tennis and soccer teams set up areas where they could meet, coach and play a mock version of their sport with the kids.
It was 11-year-old Anyah Smith and her 9-year-old sister Aleighna’s first time at the event.
“It’s pretty cool,” Anyah said. “We were excited to meet the swim team.”
Both sisters are swimmers, though, Anyah wants to pursue a career as a professional swimmer and hopes to make it to the Olympics one day. Anyah and Aleighna’s mother, Sarah Smith, also enjoyed the activities.
“This is great,” Smith said. “It’s good for girls to see the opportunities they have when they grow up.”
This is the sixth year this event has taken place at Viejas Arena and softball head coach Kathy Van Wyk looks forward to participating with her team every year.
“We have a really fun-hearted group of girls,” Van Wyk said. “This is a great way for the team to be good role models.”
Children surrounded the concourse outside the arena, shooting penalty kicks against the soccer team, practicing their shotput and hurdles with the track team and playing a game of softball on a chalk-drawn field with the softball team.
“We have such an energetic group,” junior softball player Katie Mathis said. “ We can do this all day long with the kids and we love it.”
Once the activities ended outside, the fun continued to the inside of the arena, where the kids anxiously waited to watch the women’s basketball game. Despite their small statures, their cheering and screaming rivaled The Show, the well-known men’s basketball student section.
After the game ended, every person in attendance had an opportunity to get autographs from the players and take pictures with the players, which was the capstone to a perfect day for most of the kids.
“I loved having all the support,” senior guard Chelsea Hopkins said. “I think that really helped us get some momentum in times when we were struggling. Just to know that we could look around and see that we had girls counting on us and girls watching us, and I think that really helped.”
