Community Members, Sports Enthusiasts, Parents,
It has been my honor to coach the Bowling Green High School women’s soccer team for the last 7 years. During my time coaching, I have had the opportunity to witness young women become better soccer players, students, leaders, and human beings.
While I am so proud of the women on this team for all of their athletic accomplishments and achievements, including making the district finals for the first time since 2012 this past season, being a part of our team is so much more than that. Our team has a culture that allows these girls to build relationships that they may have for the rest of their lives, learn leadership skills, understand the importance of being a team player, and have a general sense of belonging.
During my time coaching, we have been able to send multiple girls to continue their soccer careers at the collegiate level. We don’t just accept players of that caliber though, we, like many of our teams at Bowling Green, allow players of all experience levels to join. Every girl that wants to experience a high school sport has the opportunity to do so when they decide to play girls soccer, no matter what grade they decide to join. These girls get the opportunity to be a part of a team, which is something that gives them a lifetime of memories as well as harboring skills that help them outside of high school. Being a part of a team allows these ladies to make new friends; friendships they likely would not have formed outside of playing soccer. When walking into school on the very first day, a day that is often filled with stress and anxiety for many, these girls have over thirty friendly faces saying hello to them. They immediately have a sense of belonging because these athletes have spent the last two months together laughing, learning, and cheering for each other in every way. Having a circle like this is invaluable.
In addition to friendship, I have been able to watch girls excel in academics. While for some athletes, having a sport is what motivates them to do better in their classes, for others, it helps give them something to look forward to and helps them decompress after the long school hours of taking high level honors and advanced placement courses. We, as the girls soccer team are proud of our team culture, which includes having a strong desire to succeed in everything we do, to care about the little things and the bigger picture. Our team GPA for last season was over a 3.5, while our 2025 class of eight girls all are graduating with a 4.0 GPA or higher. We are nurturing young women who are more than just soccer players.
Another part of our team culture is that we practice team standards, or norms. Our first team standard has nothing to do with soccer, it is to be a good human being. While we do teach girls how to play a sport, we also teach them how to be good teammates. If you ever come to a soccer practice or game, you will witness a sideline of girls standing up in support and encouragement, constantly cheering each other on, while also holding each other accountable and pushing their teammates to give their very best. While on the outside it may seem like these athletes just learn soccer, that is the farthest from the truth. We are building strong, independent, female leaders who have the ability to succeed outside of the high school’s walls.
None of this can happen without your help. Please help our team continue to curate confident, resilient young women in their quest to be successful members of society by voting Yes for Bowling Green City Schools on May 6th!
Erika Kimple
Delta
