BY ZORAH BURRESS / Kalamalama Staff
Female athletes and coaches from Hawaii Pacific University joined forces last weekend to host HPU Girls and Women in Sports Day at the Shark Tank in Manoa.
Assistant athletic director and head women’s tennis coach Lauren Conching organized the free mini-clinic, which featured volunteers from HPU’s softball, soccer, golf, cross country, volleyball, acrobatics and tumbling, and cheerleading teams.
Representatives from each team hosted their own 15-minute mini clinics, working with the girls in rotation to help get them acquainted with each sport.
As the groups rotated throughout the gym, every girl got an opportunity to try every sport offered. In total, there were around 150 young women who took part in the event on Sunday.
“A lot of little girls don’t get the opportunity to try everything so it might spark a new love for something.” said Conching. “A lot of the athletes that we have at our school were fortunate enough to make it to the college athletics level, so they for sure received great coaching and training growing up.
“Most of the female athletes I know are coached by men, so I started this event many years ago for little girls to see that they have female role models and there are people that look like them. They can recognize it is possible for me not to just become a college athlete one day but maybe to become a coach as well.”
This was the 12th time the event has taken place, and the time it has been held since 2020. It was also the first time the Shark Tank hosted the event.
