Her Next Play Announces Sports Summit For Teen Girls In Minnesota

Fresh off a competitive community contest win, a team of young Edina women are investing their prize earnings in an event designed for teen girl athletes. The Her Next Play Edina Girls' Sports Summit will take place September 30, 2019 at Life Time Sport in Eden Prairie, Minn.

More than 140 Edina middle school girls are registered for the summit featuring presentations by high profile professional and Olympic athletes; sports psychologists, broadcasters, influencers and more. Agility training, soccer and yoga are also part of the day's line-up that runs 8:45 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Registration remains open: https://ecfoundation.formstack.com/forms/her_next_play

Her Next Play JV Team Leadership

Her Next Play, a Minneapolis-based non-profit, is dedicated to empowering female athletes to confidently launch successful careers. Recognizing the power of the teen girl voice, the executive team installed a Junior Varsity board of 9 middle and high school girls to help support the organization's mission. The Junior Varsity teen board adopted a #PlayBold attitude, pitched and won the Edina Community Foundation "Bold New Idea" contest to help fund the summit. In the future, Her Next Play intends to scale and replicate the sports summit for an all-city, all-girl event.

"It's been inspiring to see the Junior Varsity board members take the lead on this summit and create an event that will motivate girls to lead in sports and life," says Sara Wegmann, Her Next Play president and founder. "Our organization believes an early investment in young female athletes across all backgrounds and abilities will help build the pipeline of future women leaders."

Edina Girls' Sports Summit Line-Up
Throughout the day, participants will hear directly from athletic and academic all-stars including:

Lee Stecklein, USA Olympic Hockey Player
Olympic Gold Medal winner as part of the United States women's national hockey team and part of the 2019 Isobel Cup champions for the Minnesota Whitecaps.

Carrie Tollefson, Olympic Runner
Elite middle distance runner and Olympian; 5-time NCAA champion and 13-time Minnesota State track and field and cross country champion.

Erin Ayala, Sports Psychologist
Works with athletes to identify goals, enhance self-awareness and motivation to reach peak performance.

Cori Kennedy, Sports Broadcaster; Social Media Manager
Sports commentator for professional softball. Known for her viral softball tutorial videos with over 2 million views.

Ellie Smart, Professional Cliff Diver
Currently the youngest high diver representing the United States and, after medaling at the FINA World Cup in Abu Dhabi, recently became a permanent diver on the 2019 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series.

Kyndra de St. Aubin, MN United FC Commentator
Television analyst for Minnesota United FC. Currently the only full time major league female color commentator.

Coley Ries, Professional Softball Player
Professional softball player for the Aussie Peppers of the National Professional Fastpitch League. 2017 DII National Player of the Year and National Champion.

Marissa Brandt, Olympic Hockey Player
Member of the 2018 South Korean National Olympic Ice Hockey Team, and International Ice Hockey Federation Women's World Champion.

Her Next Play is an emerging Minneapolis non-profit organization empowering female athletes to launch successful careers. Playing sports builds powerful leadership skills and female athletes have enormous career potential. Research shows 52% of women leaders in C-suite positions played sports at the college level. Her Next Play launched in March 2019 to help female athletes translate their athletic skills and experiences into powerful careers. To date, Her Next Play leadership and volunteers have engaged 425 female athletes through outreach programs and special events, with plans to serve another 750 by Summer 2020.

Her Next Play also sponsors the nationally recognized SEE US movement, initiated by Her Next Play Varsity Board member, Court Place, to spread awareness about female athletes being underrepresented, sexualized, and judged based on appearance rather than ability. The organization offers camps and workshops at clubs and schools to engage, empower and inspire female athletes.

Her Next Play is possible with the support of Minnesota's sports-oriented communities. Minnesota has the highest percentage participation of girls in high school sports in America with a championship WNBA team (Lynx), and women's hockey team (Minnesota's Whitecaps) who won the Isobel Cup in their inaugural season and sold-out every home game. Minnesota leads the way in women's sports, and has an engaged and committed community of business, sports, and non-profit leaders who have come out to support Her Next Play.

At Her Next Play, we #playbold, and are part of the #boldnorth because it's all #forthenextgirl.

Learn more at: www.hernextplay.org/

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