In the 2008 DI Women’s Basketball National Championship, Candace Parker, then Tennessee and current Las Vegas Aces forward, scored 17 points with nine rebounds to lead the Lady Vols to their second consecutive national title despite suffering from an injury, according to ESPN.
Moments like these are the reason why multiple Pepperdine athletes said having professional athletes as role models is vital for young athletes.
Multiple athletes said their favorite professional athletes have served as role models for not only on-the-field or court performance but also outside of sports. They serve as players for young athletes to model their game after but can also teach them confidence and work ethic.
“It’s so important to have someone to learn from,” said Tabitha LaParl, Pepperdine Women’s Soccer redshirt sophomore midfielder/forward. “If you were the only one you were looking at, you would settle, but having that upper level — that person to look up to just pushes you [to] that extra extent that you can up your game.”
Maggie Vick
Maggie Vick, Pepperdine Women’s Basketball junior forward, transferred to Pepperdine after spending two years playing for Iowa State, according to previous Graphic reporting. Two of her favorite professional athletes include Parker and New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart.
Vick said what made Parker and Stewart her favorites was where they played for college. Parker played for Tennessee — where Vick is from — and Stewart played for UConn — who has the most Women’s Basketball National Championships, according to the NCAA.
“For all the Tennessee players [Parker is a] hometown hero, obviously,” Vick said. “You grew up watching them; you want to be just like them. “
Then Tennessee forward Candace Parker plays in the the 2007 Women’s March Madness tournament. Maggie Vick, Pepperdine Women’s Basketball junior forward, said Parker is one of her favorite professional athletes.
The Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame is in Knoxville, Tennessee, which Vick said gave her the opportunity to meet former WNBA players at induction ceremonies, including Parker. Being listed as 6’2”, Vick is taller than most people in her small hometown, but meeting these athletes helped her realize she should embrace her height.
“It’s something that you should be confident in,” Vick said. “Something that you should celebrate. You shouldn’t hunch over, try to hide, try to blend in. Stick out; be yourself — be true to yourself, and embrace it.”
From interactions like those, Vick said she learned professional athletes as role models can do so much more besides help someone in their sport.
“If you can look up to somebody, and the person you look up to can pass on good things to you and help you become a stronger, better, more confident version of yourself, that’s immensely rich and useful in life,” Vick said. “I couldn’t imagine how I would feel about myself or what kind of work ethic I would have or self confidence or anything like that if I didn’t watch some of these players.”
Katherine Lytle
Katherine Lytle, Pepperdine Women’s Track and Field hurdler, said she played soccer growing up, and her favorite professional athletes are former professional midfielder Julie Ertz and Gotham FC midfielder/defender Crystal Dunn.
Lytle said those two stuck out as two of her favorites because of their advocacy for women sports.
“They fought for equal pay for the women’s and the men’s team, which was a really big step forward for women’s sports,” Lytle said. “And then, they were also trailblazers because they won many Gold Cups and Olympic Games.”
For track and field athletes, Lytle said one of her favorite athletes is Olympic 400-meter hurdler Sydney McLaughlin. McLaughlin is a two-time gold medalist in the 400-meter, and she broke the world record for the event twice — most recently with a time of 50.68 seconds in 2022, according to World Athletics.
Similarly to Ertz and Dunn, Lytle said McLaughlin is one of her favorite athletes because of what her accomplishments mean for women’s sports.
“If she was put into a men’s field for a lot of meets, she would have beat a lot of men, which for track especially, is pretty big,” Lytle said. “Men are physically supposed to be faster than women, and for a woman to be better than a lot of men she competed against was pretty cool.”
Olympic 400-meter hurdler Syndey McLaughlin breaks the 400-meter hurdles world record July 22, 2022, at Hayward Field in Eugene Oregon. McLaughlin’s time in the 400-meter was 50.68, according to World Athletics.
As she watched her favorite athletes accomplish these feats, Lytle said it made her want to succeed at her sport even more. She knew she wasn’t at their level but wanted to get there.
“Seeing the level some people can get to — it just kind of motivates me to be like, ‘Oh, I can always work harder, and I can always be better,’” Lytle said. “Because, obviously, I’m not at that level.”
Lytle said, as a female athlete, professional athletes provide the inspiration some young female athletes need.
“I already had a family that motivated me and pushed me to play sports,” Lytle said. “But, a lot of girls are in a family where that’s not necessarily normal, so seeing it on TV is inspiring.”
Tabitha LaParl
LaParl said a couple of her favorite professional athletes are Mia Hamm, former US National Team forward, and former professional forward/midfielder Tobin Heath. She chose nine as her soccer number because it was Hamm’s number.
LaParl said she had the opportunity to meet both Hamm and Heath. She just happened to run into Hamm at an athletic store and attended a Nike event Heath coached at.
“They made the environment very comfortable,” LaParl said. “I wasn’t afraid to ask them questions and learn from them and hear what it’s like to be on that big stage and if that is a possibility one day.”
LaParl said the biggest thing she learned from those interactions was how to have more faith in herself as a player on the soccer field and look for different ways to help her team.
“I just learned to be confident on the ball,” LaParl said. “Whatever I can bring to that field or that team or that game — bring it, and don’t hesitate.”
Mia Hamm, former U.S. National Team forward, scores a goal to become the all-time leading goal scorer May 22, 1999 in Orlando, Florida. This goal was the 108th of her career, according to the Olympics website.
When it came to applying these lessons to her game, LaParl said it was less about mechanical aspects and more about her approach on the field. Rather than worrying about what happened previously or what’s to come, she learned to hone in on what she can do in the moment to help her team.
“You could tell, when they’re on the field, they’re in the present and not worrying about outside factors,” LaParl said. “[They are] being less anxious and trying to be that light on the field, whether it be on the ball [or] off the ball.”
LaParl said putting their advice into practice often involved being more creative with what she did on the field.
“Don’t hesitate to try different types of paths or try different moves in the game,” LaParl said. “Even if you mess it up, there’s a chance that you can do great and then try something new. So, I always have something up my sleeve to make me better.”
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