Sydney Schenn Has Inspired Me
-Jason Schenn
WHAT SPORT IS THIS PERSON INVOLVED IN?
JS - Amateur tackle football player, Sydney Schenn. LB/DB/LS Moosomin Generals, Team SK U18 (2019), Nissan Titan Project (2019), RMFL MOP-Defence (2019), Regina Riot (2020 rookie season lost).
WHAT HAS THIS WOMAN OR GIRL DONE TO INSPIRE YOU?
JS - As a coach and sport administrator it has been my role and mission to create opportunities for youth to play football. Before 2018 the only opportunity for the girls was to be a part of the coed team or take up the sport as an adult with the WWCFL. This gap led our program to create SK's first female U18 team which quickly grew into a 4 team league that continues to grow today.
I did not expect my daughter to take an interest in the sport and often wondered if she got involved because of me or because she wanted it for herself. While she admits it was an opportunity to spend more time with me and try something different (she is also a gymnast and coaches youth gymnastics) she quickly discovered she enjoyed football and that many of her skills from gymnastics transferred well and helped her be a strong football player. She is playing now for the love of the game and to be part of opening football in a bigger way to women and girls. The reason she inspires me is because through this experience I have been able to watch her and her teammates grow into strong, confident young women that now have opportunities opening to them that the pioneers before them could only have dreamed of. They will become leaders in whatever field they choose going forward. Sydney inspires me to continue to create opportunities for all those yet to come.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE SYDNEY SCHENN IN ONE SENTENCE?
JS - Sydney is a strong, confident, determined and competitive young woman who also has a vulnerable side that requires her to work very hard to cope with the challenges of growing up combined with the challenges of competing in what has long been a male dominated sport.
WHAT HAS SYDNEY SCHENN TAUGHT YOU ABOUT SPORTS, WORK ETHIC, PASSION, OR LIFE IN GENERAL?
JS - She is a mirror in many ways to me. All the good things that make her a strong competitor and leader as well as those vulnerabilities that hold her back. What I learn from her is that as we work through her challenges, I have the opportunity to improve myself as a parent and as a coach to others.
WHAT IS YOUR TAKE ON LEVELING THE PLAYING FIELD FOR WOMEN IN SPORTS? WHAT CURRENTLY GIVES YOU HOPE, AND WHAT CHANGES DO YOU THINK STILL NEEDS TO BE IMPLEMENTED?
JS - The first thing in my mind is opportunity to play. In our sport coed is the only option for many at the youth level. I believe that many girls do not want to play with the boys and therefore do not join; and those that do, eventually feel that they cannot compete safely with the boys and seem to leave the sport around 10th grade. Few play coed through 12th grade.
The development of female youth programs is the answer but it is a huge challenge as financial resources to acquire gear are limited and volunteer youth coaches are generally at capacity with existing programs with a segment of those not interested in coaching girls. It leaves only the super committed to juggle a huge load. With more opportunities created at the grass root level it will allow growth and increase opportunities at the elite levels as well. What gives me hope is that there seems to be a willingness at the PSO and NSO level to encourage and promote growth in female participation. What needs to evolve yet is the financial support and access to programs to make it easier for volunteer organizers to create opportunities to play.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT FOR OTHERS TO GET INVOLVED, BE INFORMED AND/OR START SUPPORTING WOMEN IN SPORTS?
JS - In our sport we are constantly under siege over safety concerns. Tackle football is undoubtedly a contact sport that carries a higher level of risk compared to other sports, but there have been many advancements in equipment, coaching and injury management to reduce those risks.
In our sport the participation of girls and women represents the future of football for all players, not just females. Commonly, in my experience, it is a mother that denies their child (male or female) the opportunity to play due to the perceived risks they learn about in the media. This preconceived bias prevents parents from learning about what is being done to make the sport safer and allowing their child to try it. With more women and girls playing, more parents will understand the risks and these female players will in turn become the mothers of future players that will understand through their own participation the risks and the benefits of the sport and allow their boys and girls to participate improving the sport in the long run. Participation in team sport has so many societal benefits beyond the fun and physical development that often gets lost in our risk averse world.
FINISH THE SENTENCE ABOUT SYDNEY SCHENN - “SHE IS ____.”
JS - Independent!