This past weekend my Girls on Track team (the Middle school program for Girls on The Run) had their end of season 5k race. It’s always such an emotional and rewarding experience for me to see the girls achieve their goals on race day. The race is a celebration of what we’ve learned and achieved together the last 2 months during our bi-weekly practices.
This season was my 3rd volunteering to coach at my kids old Elementary School. While running with all of the Northern Virginia participants last Sunday, I started to think about why I enjoy coaching them so much. I’d like to share some of those thoughts with you all.
Remember how hard it was to be a pre-teen girl? Remember how insecure and unsure you felt about getting ready to enter middle and high school? Remember the peer pressure you might have felt to look a certain way or be part of a particular group? Remember how hard it might have been to stand up for yourself at times? Well I believe it’s even harder to grow up now. With social media, selfies and snapchats the pressure can be so great and the uncertainties so immense.
I can remember navigating so much of this myself in Middle and High school and for sure not always making the smartest decision for me or always staying true to my values. In addition, having watched my own daughter steer her way through the turbulent adolescent years, made me appreciate even more the struggles today’s young women might face. We, like most moms & teens, had our own turbulent years and I am proud say she has grown into a beautiful, secure, smart young adult. Enter Girls on The Run.
My daughter participated in the GOTR program over ten years ago (before I even had any interest in running at all!). I’d like to think this experience helped to mold her into the terrific young woman she has become. We had the amazing opportunity to co-coach GOTR together last season. It was an incredible opportunity for us to have together and she brought a perspective that the girls really appreciated.
Girls on The Run is so much more than a running program. Each week has a “lesson” plan and activities geared around the weekly theme. The activities are active in nature and end with the girls running at the end of each practice. We talk about friendships, team building, pressures, and stresses to name a few.
Today’s young women have so many more decisions to make and if I can help to provide them with some of the skills they can use to make those decisions a little easier, then our time together has been a success. Girls on Track aims to give them “tools” to use and the confidence to stand up for what they believe in.
This season we’ve talked about:
-Making healthy choices around sleep, food and fitness
-Managing stress (from school, sports, friends, family)
-Time Management
-Exploring media messages about body types vs reality
–Peer pressure
–Friendships and Team Building
-Conflict Resolution
-Dealing with disappointment
-Supporting your team mates and working towards a common goal
I, along with my friend & Co-Coach Cynthia, have shared our own experiences and hopefully modeled some of the above behavior to our team of 11 girls. While our short time together certainly won’t change their lives or replace the importance of a loving, supportive home life; I hope that we have provided them with some of the skills to fill their “Tool Box”. As they navigate the next few years, it is my hope that they use some of those skills to make choices that they are proud of and remember that we are so much stronger when we build each other up rather than tear each other down.
As a Moms Run This Town Chapter Leader, it is also my hope that I am inspiring them to be the next generation of mother runners. This season celebrates 50k Girls on The Run participants. Quite amazing! I didn’t realize how much emotion I had tied up in this season until I sat down to write this today. As I head out to our last practice today, it makes me a little sad to say goodbye to them and very proud to know they will be going with to middle school with lots of “tools” in their arsenal.
What one piece of advice would you give to the girls on my team?
linking up w 
AnneMarie, Diatta & Shiela
This is great! Want to get involved once my girls get a little older!
I think you will love it!
It hink that this is such an incredible organization, and so important to the present and future health of our society. Not only are these girls learning valuable lessons, but they are enjoying it!
Thanks! I hope I am making a difference in their lives just a little bit.
I LOVE this! I ran as a SoleMate for the Chicago Marathon. It’s so hard to be a girl at any age, but young girls are so vulnerable! I would tell them that they are all beautiful and dream big and work hard!
Great advice! Awesome that you were able to buddy runner too.
I am in LOVE with this org..best tip for your girls…love yourself, ignore the hate from others, truly LOVE yourself!
That’s a great lesson! Sometimes so hard to do isn’t it?!
This is so awesome and you’re awesome for doing it!
Thanks friend!
Tell them to keep running! I don’t know what happens when girls hit puberty but most of them have a huge drop in self-esteem. Why? I’d love to know. But I think about all that running has done for me, and I think promoting that will help a lot!
So true! I wish I had run when I was younger. I do believe it gives you sense of confidence.
Very cool. I would love to coach a GOTR team! I remember being that age and had a terrible time in school with peer pressure, would love to be able to give back and help them avoid the things that made my school years not so pleasant!
That’s exactly why I decided to coach them. Perhaps when your boys are older you will be able to do it. You would love it
This is so awesome! I’m hoping to start something similiar at a middle school here. I’m on a board for a non-profit called Victoria Footprints which aims to get kids into running, but really want to focus on a girls’ group and perhaps do strength training with them as well. Any advice on how to get started??
That sounds really interesting. Going with an established program helps you with insurance and permits etc so that would be a great place to start. I am not familiar with Victoria Footprints but I can’t wait to hear about it from you.
I love this post! I honestly didn’t know much about GOTR until reading this, but I love what it stands for and the experiences that you (as a coach) get to have with them. I think getting a chance to work with women who have gone through a lot of the same emotions/experience that they have is helpful and will definitely give them some great memories/tools for their arsenal. I would tell them that they’re capable of so much and very strong; strong girls make for healthy and happy girls in my opinion!
Thanks and so true! Middle school years can be so trying I hope they continue to feel strong and confident about themselves and keep on running.
I absolutely love this! I’ve volunteered at the 5k before and run with a buddy but my schedule has not yet allowed me to coach. Perhaps in the fall when my schedule changes. It’s so important at a young age for girls to feel loved, supported and know anything is possible with hard work and effort. Kudos to you for doing this!
Thanks! I am really enjoying coaching them and yes so important for them to have a place to talk about all of their “stuff”.
What a fantastic program! Tell those girls to keep running – those are the friends they need to keep! Birds of a feather need to stick together 🙂
So true! Running friends are the best friends. 🙂
GOTR is an awesome organization. I have several friends who are coaches and I think it’s a great and worthy program.
I think the best advice for your team is just “be yourself”. Trite, but true. Friends (and “friends”) come and go, trends change, people move on, but if you are true to yourself, it will last with you a lifetime.
Be yourself is great advice and not always easy to do at their age.
You are so amazing! I’ve heard so many great things about Girl on the Run. Maybe I’ll see if there is a chapter near me I can get involved with. Let’s see advice – I guess I’d say don’t try to race each other, race for yourself. Run to feel free and strong and to challenge yourself, not to impress anyone else.
Great advice thanks! I hope you do have the ability to work with them at some point. They often look for buddy runners for their 5k races.
That is such a great initiative. I am delighted that you not only provide training but so much more to the girls. That is really cool.
Thanks I am really enjoying my time with the team.
I love that you’re a GOTR coach! Its such a great organization to be involved with, and I love your reasons for doing it.
Thanks so much! It is a great program.
How awesome!!! I am looking forward to doing this in a few years when my daughter gets into elementary school. I was unable to join this year because of my new job but I will be making some schedule changes to allow me to support soon :).
Advice I would give:
You are beautiful inside and out. Find your own beauty and accentuate it!
Great advice indeed! I hope you and your daughter both have the opportunity to check it out next year.
My advice is – no one else out here is quite like you – be uniquely you. Hold your head up at all times and be proud of who you are. I love this program.
Great advice and not always easy to do right?!
I love this, Deborah. Being a teenager was tough for me, and almost everyone I knew. What a cool thing it is, to be able to look to great mentors like you guys!!
It was a tough time for me as well. I wish I had started running back then myself.
You are impacting these girls at such a tender age and giving them a foundation to believe in their selves!! Running is a great sport to teach us, you get out of it what you put into it!
Absolutely! Thanks so much 🙂
This is so awesome Deborah – I didn’t know about things like this when I was a teen but I would have loved to have this kind of coaching and camaraderie . I ended up falling into bad habits around 14 (smoking, hanging out with the WRONG crowd) and I think a lot of this was there really was no one else around to hang around with 🙁 Keep up all the great work!
Thanks so much! I wish I had a program like this when I was that age too.
This is so wonderful! I looked into Girls On The Run and there wasn’t one close enough for my oldest with the time she got out of school. I’m going to have to keep checking as I also did put in a request somewhere. Maybe I need to see if I can coach or co-coach it. Not sure I have any good advise other than never give up and they are stronger than they think.
I think they are always looking for coaches. I would check with her school and see if they are interested in having the program. They are stronger than they think!
I remember years ago offering a running class for girls, it was quite fun. I think the Girls on The Run group was just getting started. #wowlinkup
It is a lot of fun for them! I love it too
I would say to them “believe in yourself”. I don’t have girls, but the girls my sons befriend seem to have low self esteem. I think it’s an awesome thing to be involved with.
Girls do tend to have low self esteem-its really sad isn’t it?
You are awesome for committing your time to GOTR! They are lucky to have you. I think when things settle down a bit, I might like to volunteer locally for GOTR.
Thanks! I really enjoy it so much. Hope you have the opportunity to work with them sometimes.
love this. it’s so important and SO valuable. i have a 15 year old niece and i agree – it’s SO hard to be that age right now. way to go!!!
Thanks! I really truly enjoy working with them each week.
I’ve been considering helping out at the GOTR team at my son’s school, but I need to wait until he’s old enough to hang out by himself. Luckily we have some great teachers who do it. It’s a wonderful program!
It really is! I hope you have the chance to do it sometime I think you would like it. I couldn’t do it when my son was younger either.
Deborah I love that you are so involved with this organization. I so wish we could have them closer to my area. Oh and I never look that good after running 🙂
Ha ha! Must be the great shampoo :). I love working with them!
What a wonderful organization – this kind of positive support during the tough middle school years is so important! Kudos to you for volunteering!
It is important & thanks I am really enjoying it quite a bit.
This is amazing and you just reminded me to look into volunteering for GOTR in my area. I was talking to my mom about this just last week and how I think I want to be a coach. It really is a great program and I do remember how awkward and challenging of a time that could be. I can’t even imagine the differences now with social media!
I feel it’s so much harder for them now. They are always looking for volunteer coaches or buddy runners for the 5k. Hope you are able to helpout
I have heard great things about Girls on the Run and it looks like a great way to reach out to our girls. You’re right, it has to be tough being a teenage girl these days! I need to find out how I can get involved! Thanks for sharing your experiences.
They are always looking for volunteers to be buddy runners for the 5k.
I coached GOTR this year too, and I loved it! I had so much fun with the girls and loved seeing them grow as girls and as runners! Congrats on an amazing season!
Thanks and congrats to you too! It is fun to see them mature over the year isn’t it?
Such a great post Deborah. I am raising 2 teenage girls and it is such a tough time for them. I strongly believe that each experience adds to their toolbox, so I am sure they will take away many things from this experience. Giving back to the community is so important… and I find I get so much more out of it than ever expected. I am sure you were a fantastic coach with your positive attitude and encouragement. Way to go !
Thanks friend! It’s not easy raising teenage girls is it?!
This is amazing! I would love to coach a GOTR team someday. My advice would be not to compare yourself to anyone else, just be your own person. That is what I wish I figured out when I was young!
That’s hard to do isn’t it!
I think GOTR is such a great organization, and the running is just a small part of it. It is so important for girls to have adults who encourage, support and mentor them through those very challenging times. You are a runing rockstar between GOTR and MRTT!
Thanks that’s so sweet! I really enjoy it.
Love this. Love your heart. Love your passion! 🙂
Thanks that’s really sweet! I know you have boys but maybe someday you will have the opportunity to be a buddy runner for one of the races. I think you’d like it!
Eloquently put! Thanks for sharing your thoughts with a community who cares about our young girls. Like you, my coaching experience has been similar and what empowers ME is that these young girls are learning to empower themselves!
Great point! I hope we are teaching them to empower themselves. Hope you had a great season! Thanks so much for stopping by.
This is great! Love what you do for young girls! I hope to do GOTR in the future once the kiddos are older. I actually looked into a chapter closeby but the times just did not work for me.
I had to wait until my kids were older as well. They often look for buddy runners for the 5k perhaps that would work for you.
Girls on The Run sounds like a great program! We need more organizations that encourage kids to lead a healthy lifestyle.
We really do!
I actually really love that you do this! I can’t think of a single better thing to pass on to young girls than a love for running, being active and staying healthy. Those girls being involved in this in such a young age will likely keep it up for life in one way or another. I bet they just love having you coach too!!!
I recently about 2 months ago started working with the youth, I work with about 5-8 girls who are 16-18, I have secretly hoped that some of them will pick up on my running, and want to consider giving it a try themselves. As I get to know them better over the next few months, I definitely plan on sharing the idea to them. But I need to wait for the right time and have the right relationship with them first so I don’t ruin any chances!
Very cool post though, love this!
Thanks so much! Yes waiting until the right moment is key. Maybe trying to sneak in some kind of active activity will spur them on.
I know I have said this before but this is such an excellent program for young girls. I wish there was something like this when I was at that age. My town didn’t have much going on. My friend’s daughter belongs to a chapter and really enjoys it! Well, except race day. She hasn’t embraced that part yet. LOL
I think it’s great that you are involved in mentoring and inspiring these girls. I am sure it’s a big commitment!
It is a commitment but I really enjoy it so much. I wish I had a program like it when I was growing up as well. I didn’t do anything at all until college!
I absolutely adore this program and even coached it for one year at the elementary school where I used to teach. The atmosphere was so positive and I loved the positive body confidence and self-confidence that the girls gained!
It is a great program and I am really enjoying coaching!
What a wonderful role model you are for these girls! I would LOVE to do this when my kids are a little older.
I think I would say to them, don’t let the pressures of social media lead you astray. Stay true to yourself, love yourself, know who your true friends are and cherish them.
Good tip-social media makes everything harder for them. I hope you have the chance to work with them one day. You would love it!
This is so awesome and i’m so jealous!!! I’ve tried the past two seasons to host a program at my kid’s school but ran into lack of participation for season and not enough space for the program second season…I will try again in the Spring…maybe if I submit my application now for next spring I can get in before all of the rec leagues. Keep up the good work!!!
I hope you can work it out! It’s very rewarding and the girls love it