Welcome to the World of Women in Sport
What is the formula for women to achieve more?
Welcome to Formula For More!
Come join me as I discuss the latest and often controversial topics related to women’s sports and what it will take to see women succeed - “the formula for achieving more”. Before we dive into what to expect from this space, let me introduce myself - the face behind the faceless Substack!
My name is Lauren, I live in Brooklyn, and I’m a lifelong athlete. I’m approaching 30, so “lifelong” sounds a bit dramatic, but sports have been an instrumental part of my life thus far. I played everything under the sun as a kid but ultimately chose to pursue tennis. You may think this is where I tell you that I was a professional athlete, or that I was a prodigy who achieved a lot at a young age… unfortunately, I hate to burst you’re preconceived notions so early on, but I was neither. In fact, I went on to study design and became a graphic designer for a living… a slightly different path if you will.
BUT. Sports never left me. I started my design career at a major athletic retailer and then moved on to work for two professional sports teams. I started gathering a foundation of skills and knowledge of the sports industry that I knew I could apply in ways that were more true to me and my passions - which, as you can maybe guess, one of them was women’s sports. So I made the tough decision to quit my 9-5 job to explore this world with my full attention. Which led me here… to the launch of this Substack!
(You can also follow Formula For More on IG, @formulaformore, for quicker content and more visual take on the world of women in sport!)
I don’t just love women’s sports because I am, well, a woman and I have played sports. I see women in sports as symbolic of something more. In short, women who succeed in sports at the highest levels are proof that women can do the same in any endeavor of their choosing. It’s possible to take risks, to push through hard things, to overcome doubt and expectations… to be more.
These women show us we can go for more.
As a young girl, I had posters of Kristine Lilly, Mia Hamm, Briana Scurry, Serena Williams, and Maria Sharapova on my walls. Now let me just say again, that I wasn’t the star athlete or prodigy like I mentioned earlier. I wasn’t destined to go professional or to join a national team but I was still good enough to play my sport through college at a competitive level. Sport also still became my safe haven. It was my stress relief and was my reason to keep improving day in and day out. It was the place where I felt strongest and most like myself. I realized that these heroes on my walls planted that seed within me a long time ago that I was capable of more. And it translated far beyond sport. I began to find confidence in myself in all aspects of my life. I think they were the reason I never doubted that my goals in life were too ambitious.
Photograph by Elsa Garrison
So that leads us back to this glorious Substack platform. With this newsletter, I want to explore this world further, the lessons I’ve learned over the years, and the many more to come. The women’s sports landscape is ever-evolving. Although it’s much more accepted to support a women’s team or female athlete today, it’s still very niche and not something you can casually bring up with a friend. I think that has a lot to do with the fact that the very things we love about men’s sports as a society such as community, belonging, perseverance, skill, business, risk, strategy, and physical prowess, are not immediately understood or valued in the women’s game yet. But its potential is there - admired by the select few who have found it.
I will say that I don’t believe the women’s game is supposed to teach us the same things as the men’s game. I really don’t. I believe the combination of what it CAN teach us is still yet to be determined. But as the younger generations build on top of the foundations set by the legends before them, we will soon discover what that combination has the potential to be. With the industry’s current trajectory, women’s sports are poised for greatness on all cylinders - skill, community, influence, and business, but only if we nurture it properly and challenge the norms.
In the coming posts, I want to discuss a variety of questions:
What does it take to achieve at the highest levels?
Who are the legends of this world?
What will it require - financially, physically, and mentally?
What will leagues and clubs have to do to support women on these journeys?
What are the underlying issues holding women back?
What other industries are involved in sport?
What are the latest sports performance strategies for greatness?
Who are the best athletes in the world and why? What can we learn from them?
What does it look like when women are valued in society?
And these are just the start!
I won’t claim to have a PhD in sports psychology or philosophy, so take this newsletter with a grain of salt! I am just a woman who believes in the future of the women’s game, who asks a lot of questions, and who doesn’t like to accept the status quo.
If you are at all interested, even in the slightest, in learning more about this world, then I would highly recommend you give this a chance! I’m so excited to begin this journey and the opportunity to develop a community here with you all on this platform. And my biggest hope is that you take away something of value from my content and that you hopefully learn something new along the way.
I will be posting every week, so hit that subscribe button and don’t miss out on the latest!
Alright, I’m done rambling… for now! I hope to see you again soon.
Keep going for more!
Lauren