Wells College Celebrates National Girls and Women Day in Sports
Aurora, N.Y. -
Written by Senior Kayla Groth, Field Hockey
On February 7th, 2024, Wells College observes the 37th annual National Women in Sports Day as created by the Women's Sports Foundation in 1987.
As recognized by the United States Congress, the first week in February is dedicated to highlighting and acknowledging the contributions of girls and women in the sports field, both at the competitive and administrative levels.
As of right now, Wells College hosts eight women's sports including soccer, softball, field hockey, lacrosse, cross country, volleyball, basketball, and swimming, and remains the only school in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference with a female Head Athletic Director: Tara Ruckh.
Ruckh played three sports in high school before continuing her basketball career by attending SUNY Cortland as a physical education major. After graduation, she received an assistant coaching job at Ithaca College for both basketball and track and field. After another coaching job, she landed at Wells College where she remained the Head Women's Basketball Coach for seven years until last year where she became the Associate Athletic Director, eventually becoming the Director of Intercollegiate Athletics in 2023. "Being the only female athletic director in our conference, I look around the room and sometimes question 'what do I need to do to make a difference?'" Ruckh admits. "But I just try to be the best leader for Wells College and advocate for our student-athletes and coaches as I can. I try to be the strongest voice I can be for what our needs are as Wells College."
Besides Tara Ruckh, there are currently four other women involved in sports administration or coaching at Wells, including Grace Van Horn, Head Women's Softball Coach; Patricia George, Head Swimming Coach and Aquatics and Fitness Center Director; Adair Milmoe, Head Field Hockey Coach and Assistant Athletics Director for Student Success; and Jackie Schnurr, Faculty Athletics Representative.
Now more than ever, the necessity of having positive female role models in higher levels of authority continues to grow as more women begin to get involved in the sports industry. Wells has continuously dedicated itself to giving females opportunities to grow, learn, and further their careers and passions in sports.
Head Field Hockey Coach and Assistant Athletic Director of Student Success, Adair Milmoe, comments that in an ever-changing world, the role that sports plays for young girls is now more important than ever. "Watching a young woman mature and grow in confidence and ability throughout four years is so rewarding. Watching a team grow into a culture of camaraderie and friendship is again so rewarding. Then watching them cross the stage to get their degree is the best," Milmoe explains. "Sports is one of the few areas in a woman's life where she can be taught life lessons about competitiveness, teamwork, and adversity. It is a place where women can define themselves as leaders and meaningful participants in life." With this being her first year at Wells College, Milmoe has faced a tough season, but continues to cheer her girls on, even in the off-season.
Patricia George, Head Swimming Coach, recounts the road she took to get to her current administrative role and what Wells has given her. "Throughout my time at Wells, I have had very supportive Athletic Directors that were always open to allowing me to take on new roles such as Senior Women Administrator and becoming the Fitness Center Director. Most recently I started teaching the Wells 100 classes and becoming a Professional Advisor for the first-year students to give them more support," she says. "I think it is exciting to see more females in the sport and holding higher administration roles." George then recounts the most previous swim meet Wells attended, where all head coaches in attendance were females, and mentions that the AMCC conference commissioner is a woman and the last championship from last season had more female coaches than male!
While National Girls and Women in Sports Day acts as a great way for female athletes and coaches to reflect on how far they have come, there is also room to simultaneously acknowledge the work that still needs to be done. Head Softball Coach Grace Van Horn admits that there have been obstacles in the road, but she has still fought hard to get to where she is today: coaching and mentoring young women on the softball field. "Being a woman in the workplace is always challenging, but in an industry that is male dominated, it can most certainly bring even more obstacles. I also am on the younger side of the coaches that we compete against at this level, so being a young woman on top of just a woman brings its own set of challenges," she says. Van Horn remarks that she has also had the unfortunate experience of having officials or older male coaches make unkind comments or look down on her for the position she holds as a young female in the sports industry. This is why the recognition of women in the athletic world is more important than ever. "I believe that National Girls and Women in Sports Day is an important facet to empower young ladies into striving to always be their best. It is important that we recognize all the hard work and dedication our young women make to their prospective sports. It truly is a unique industry, and I would love to see more women taking an active role! Anyone can do anything they'd like if they put their mind to it and work hard," Van Horn concludes.
When asked about National Girls and Women in Sports Day, female-identifying student-athletes had nothing but good things to say about what sports has offered them, especially on the collegiate level. "The most rewarding part about being a woman in sports has to be the ability to create an environment where I can watch other girls flourish. A team sport with the proper dynamic is one of the most powerful support systems available to us as female student-athletes," says Julia Barnwell, a senior captain on both the women's lacrosse team and the field hockey team.
Wells College takes this day and always to acknowledge and celebrate the accomplishments and contributions of all female coaches, administration, and student-athletes in the Wells community and beyond. Happy National Girls and Women in Sports Day!
