Taylor Ballantyne. Photography
Honor Smoke, pictured above is the current New York state champion for her weight group in boys and girls wrestling. She trains and competes mostly against boys, often winning. Smoke is 10-years-old, she's also an assistant coach for 5 and 6-year-old wrestlers at the "Little Scrappers" program in upstate New York. She's one of the ten girls featured in the March issue of Sports Illustrated. Honor was immediately sure of herself when she first stepped onto the mat at 7, her mother Brittany said.
"She's a sponge for knowledge, she picks up everything really fast. She does everything with a smile, and has an amazing attitude. She's naturally talented," her coach Jason Chase said.
I still don't know what a tilt is in wrestling, and I read the article I'm currently reviewing. Coach Chase taught her the tilt during a match, and remembered the opposing coach telling his wrestler to stay away from Smoke's tilt, it's her best move. Chase said Smoke learned the move and scored with it in less than a minute.
Hope's married parents, Brittany and Michael mostly played basketball, and their oldest daughter is passionate about wrestling, puzzling, yet promoted by the parents.
My fascination for "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland weaves well into my youth sports photography. I simply like young empowered girls. They awake wisdom, showcase positive vibes and instill happiness.
Maggie Mertens co-wrote this 28 page article with Erin Strout. Each girl generates goals beyond sports. Extracurricular activities, sports or not is a conduit for personal and professioanal goals. Pushing past perceived boundaries and obstacles to get to where you want to go is how Alexa Encarnacion, a mom detailed the importance of her 13-year-old daughter Julia Dinar being on the fencing team.
Five stars for Merkens and Strout's SI article.
Pepper Persley is a dual sportster in basketball and soft ball, pictured below. She also has a second degree black belt in taekwondo. She's adapt at her sports and avid about its journalism. She has her own podcast, Dish With Pepper, also on the You Tube Channel. She's interviewed WNBA players such as Diana Taurasi and A'ja Wilson.
Erick W. Rasco. Photography
Eighth grader Pepper Persley is the starting point guard on the high school girls varsity team. Two of her friends, also 13, play on the high school jv team, and say it was Pepper that convinced her peers to try out for the high school basketball team.
Eleven-year-old Liana Chan was on the swim team for four years and currently plays hockey scrimmage at the Bronx Boys and Girls Club, competing mostly against boys, Merkens said.
Hockey fuels Chan's happiness and confidence while making her strong.
Erick W. Rasco. Photography
Carmen Wilkey is a 12-year-old track star for Move United. In June, 2022, she set the national record in the 60 meter race for her age group, gender and disability. Her left leg was amputated when she was 14 months old because of Fibular Hemimelia.
A month after her 60 meter record, she set two more national records with the disc throw and long jump. This spring, Wilkey will compete with her middle school alongside and against able bodied athletes.
Two years ago, Wilkey learned how to snow board, and was riding the intermediate slopes, aka blues on her first day trying.
This 12-year-old wants to be a two time paralympian in the summer track and field games and a snow boarder in the winter games. Some may say her goals are too big, and she loves proving people wrong.
Kohjiro Kinno photography
Lala Scholl bagan her passion for playing and organizing pick-up games when she was seven years old. She played on the all boys soccer team in elementary school.
Scholl's tales of soccer continues. Now 12-years-old, she's on the girls soccer team in middle school and said, the level of competition has sky rocketed since elementary school. The natural leadership skills she's demonstrated thus far is an encouraging entree of positivity.
Jeffery A. Slater. Phototrography
"I'm intelligent, powerful and confident," 13-year-old Krin Brown brown said of herself.
The Eyekonz Sports curriculum, based in Philadelphia includes skill development, and lessons to build self esteem and coupe with adversity on and off the field.
Eyekonz Sports is for five to 18-year-olds in field hockey and lacrosse.
Brown has juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis and AMPS, Amplified Pain Syndrome, yet still plays on the team.
"Winning as a team, losing as a team, just being there for each other whenever we can, that'he best feeling ever," Krin said.
Erick W. Rasco. Photo
Twelve-year-old Noelani Spicer was born with spina bifida and cerebral palsy. At the age of five she joined Kinetic Kids which provides training in ambulatory and wheel chair track.
Spicer has set national records in eight track events for her age group. She maintains confidence through the support of sports and she aspires to be Paralympian.
Kinetic Kids isn't just about athletic goals and fast times, it's about learning to live independently as possible for as long as possible.
Taylor Ballantyne. Photography
In the summer of 2020, Julia Dinar's best friend introduced her to Fencing in the Park in Brooklyn. She was 8-years-old at the time. Fencing in the Park was founded and directed by Nzingha Presod, a four time senior world medalist winner, two time Olympian and world champion in fencing. Prescod was the first black woman to medal in the Senior World Championships when she won bronze in 2015.
In 2021, Prescod Institute for Sport, Teamwork and Education was created by Prescod. The goal for PISTE is to provide students with pathways to become champions, leaders and scholars in fencing.
Now 13-years-old, Julia Dinar is still hooked on fencing. It allowed her to find confidence in herself and what her body can do, she has severe asthma. Julia credits her mom Alexa Encarnacion for keeping fencing encouraging and fun and to do her best. Don't get too upset when her performance falls short of expectations.
Dinar has appeared on the Kelly Clarkson Show and attended a youth fencing event ahead of the 2024 Summer Games.
Body image hinders many girls from not even trying out for sports. Be the best version of yourself in sports, or anything chosen to pursue. Bravo again to Merkens and Strout for spotlighting these amazing young girls and the importance of exercising the mind and body. Sound advice for all of us.
"For girls who might not feel confident in sports because of body image...just because your body doesn't fit into the image of what somebody in your sport is supposed to look like, it doesn't mean you're not capable of great things," Dinar said.
At 13, Dinar aspires to get a college scholarship in fencing, and moving on to medical school to become a pediatrician.
Twelve-year-old Ja'nor Elzie is the only girl on her football and basketball team, pictured below.
High school freshman, Calyz Watkins started playing football when she was six, and misses the sport, but now plays on the varsity basketball girls team.
Watkins aspires to attend Louisiana State University and getting drafted into the WNBA. Medical school and women's flag football are her back-up plans.
If your still reading, I'm surprised. All ten of the girls I just mentioned from SI have realistic paths for success and happiness. These girls, yet to start high school possess the wisdom of the ancients and moderns.
"Never let someone bring down your confidence in yourself, believe in what you want to do," Watkins said. Mark Izzy Schurr
