Both non-athletes and athletes have told me how they learned to swagger in the outdoors and sports. You can read about a world champion tri-athlete along with the stories of regular women who raft, bike, row, and soar. We will explore the challenges for women with swagger in sports, along with the successes and victories

Women who participate in sports face significant challenges. In a 2006 survey, “The New Normal? What Girls Say about Healthy Living,” conducted by the Girl Scout Research Institute, 40% of girls 11-17 reported that they don’t participate in sports because they don’t feel they’re skilled enough. Girls and women of all ages need the stories of encouragement and descriptions of athletic role models found in A Girl’s Guide to Swagger.

Kathy tells the story of her epic river trip “Last summer I did a 17 day Grand Canyon River trip where my brother was the lead boatman. It was a private trip, with about five oar boats and one paddle boat.  Big rapids.  I simply decide that I’d be on the paddle boat as much as possible.  There’s one rapid, at the end of the trip called Lava.  Now, it’s a 17 day trip and all of the boatmen have done this river many times, so there were multiple stories of mishaps on the boat-loving, man-eating Lava.  I’d start singing the Jaws theme whenever anyone talked about Lava. Finally, we arrive and pay homage to the big black piece of basalt that is the entry to Lava. Our boat captain went to plan the route, while the rest of us shuffled around, then we’re off with some plan I have no idea what, about how to get through this giant.  I planted myself behind Tabor – was the guy a man or a tree trunk?  Didn’t matter to me, since I’d paddled for days behind him and knew he took every wave hit before I did (I stayed pretty dry).  Off we go, with Captain Bob warbling orders at us, which you listen to very carefully; since one does not overtake the river, merely dance with it and the river always leads.  We hit this hole, and I looked over Tabor’s back and was staring straight down, I kid you not, at a 15 foot wall of sheer water.  We hit the bottom of the hole and had to dig deep, all paddles in and climb out of it up and over, pirouette off the edge and dance over to the net rapid.  It was thrilling and over in about 30 seconds.  I wanted to do it again, and again, and again (but no one else would go). I believe that it was only swagger that got me through the rapid, the simple knowing that we’d make it somehow.  Actually, it was swagger that got me on that trip.  At age 50, I never doubted that I could do this adventure…and I hope to do it again at 60.