Instagram vs. Reality?: A Female Athlete’s Road to Recognition

Like millions of people all over the world, I watched the FIFA Women’s World Cup.  I saw female ambassadors for not only soccer, but sport, kicking ass.  I read Abby Wombach’s book, “Wolfpack”, a call to women everywhere to go out and get what the f*** they want.  I can turn on ESPN in the month of May and can watch 5 college softball games at ONCE!  Even our professional game is getting love through an amazing partnership with FloSoftball, airing nearly every single game of the National Pro Fastpitch’s season!  What a time for women in sports! 

Then I turn to my reality:

If all goes well at our qualifying event at the end of the summer, our team will have secured our spot in the 2020 Olympics (AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!).  Then, each of us will have about a month off to recover, recoup and get back on our grind.  

The Canadian government and sport organizations have recognized our (Softball Canada’s) success over the last number of years, allowing us to maintain our de-centralized training model.  This model allows me to maintain a “normal” job and live in the United States as long as I am able to meet a series of training benchmarks throughout the year...and of course be available for the entire summer season. 

Over the last 5 years this has taken on several different forms.  I’ve been a mid-major assistant coach, power-5 assistant coach and now a director of operations.  The final move, a 50% pay cut and role change to finally put my training first.  For many female athletes, not working simply isn’t an option.  We receive basic athlete assistance from the Government of Canada but it all goes directly to our training.  With the prospect of centralization and training together as a team for the majority of 2020 on the horizon, thoughts of how I will support myself start to swirl around in my head.  How will I afford health insurance when I’m forced to quit my job?  Car insurance?  Rent? Starbucks? Jk...But really, adulting isn’t cheap!

Inspired to put myself out there and offset some of the expenses incurred in season and through training, I reached out to all of the companies and products that I use exclusively in my preparation: everything from food to supplements to equipment to clothing to recovery modalities and everything in-between.  I explain to them that I’m an eleven year veteran and captain of the Canadian National Softball Team on the journey to #Tokyo2020.  

Of the responses I do get, their first question is almost always: how many followers do you have?  Once I get that response, I know my chances are slim.  I have less than 5,000 followers on both Instagram and Twitter with no specific “market category” of followers.  AKA, from a business perspective, I won’t reach enough people to warrant a sponsorship, free product or even a mere discount. Thank u, next.  

No one asks about the success you’ve had on the field or the impact you make off of it.  No one asks how many hours you spend in the gym, in the cages, or on the field.  All that matters to them is the how many people you can reach through your platform.  We continue to preach that your worth as an individual is not defined by your social media presence and that “Instagram versus reality” is in fact a reality....but I’m left wondering whether or not that’s true.  

Are there companies or individuals eager to support the journey to greatness?  Or will they only be there after you’ve achieved it?  Seeing companies like Secret Deodorant stand up for equal pay and opportunity is amazing...(insert comment about the pay inequality between Major League Baseball and Softball).  But what would have happened if they didn’t win the World Cup?  If the viewership numbers weren’t what they were?  Companies claim to support female athletes and the pursuit of equality and their goals, but do they?  Are they actually interested in helping the athlete achieve their lifelong dreams or only interested in the brand awareness and publicity that an Instagram post seen by 100k+ people brings?  I really don’t know...

It’s easy to look around at your peers and envy what they have.  In Canada we have snow on the ground for half of the year and a mere 5,000 high school softball players.  We’ve become one of the best teams in the world even though our opponents always seem to have more.  What we’ve learned, though, is that we are special.  We’ve found what we consider to be our competitive advantage and exploit the heck out of it.  Whether or not we receive the support or sponsorship that those around us may, we will continue to work our asses off...the Canadian way.