While working full-time as a fitness and wellness teacher, Valerie Moncada also competes as a professional cheerleader. She dedicates weekends to training for competitions with her team.
Moncada finds inspiration from 27-year-old American gymnast Simone Biles. Biles has won numerous Olympic and World Championship titles, establishing herself as the most decorated gymnast in World Championship history.
In gymnastics, athletes often peak at a younger age because they have more strength and flexibility to perform complex routines. According to The Guardian, Biles is older than many gymnasts, but her achievements have redefined preconceived notions regarding age and female athletes’ capabilities.
“Biles goes above and beyond doing tricks that males usually do,” Moncada said. “I’m going to continue to do [cheerleading] as I’m older. Following her, I think that you can still do sports as you get older, even still for fun.”
Moncada said she admires Biles not only for her achievements but also for her courage. Biles has spoken out about mental health challenges, the pressure she faces as an athlete and other causes important to her.
“I think that female athletes should be celebrated. Female athletes can achieve anything that they set their mind to,” Moncada said. “Just continue to fight for equal rights [and] equal opportunities. We are capable of doing and achieving great things.”
Junior Anika Rodriguez is part of Archer’s varsity soccer team, which qualified for CIF playoffs this season. Rodriquez said she looks up to former American soccer player Megan Rapinoe.
Rapinoe was the co-captain of the United States women’s soccer national team. She won multiple Olympic medals and FIFA Women’s World Cup titles and was the first woman in sports to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In addition, she openly expresses her gay sexual orientation and advocates for LGBTQ+ rights, gender equality and social justice in sports.
“It’s important to recognize athletes because there’s not a lot of equality in sports,” Rodriguez said. “Just highlighting their accomplishments, especially for the U.S. women’s soccer team, rather than the men’s, improve representation in history.”
In 2016, Rapinoe became the first white female athlete to kneel at a game during the US national anthem to protest racism and police brutality against African Americans.
“It’s important for younger athletes to find a role model,” Rodriguez said. “I feel in the media, men are very much shown upon and celebrated, so it’s important to celebrate women in sports, not just during Women’s History Month, but in general.”
Fitness and wellness teacher and Archer basketball coach Dani LeNoir has been watching basketball since she was 6 years old. LeNoir said she is inspired by American basketball player A’ja Wilson. She currently plays for the Las Vegas Aces.
“I just really love the way she approaches the game both on and off the court. She carries herself with so much grace in the face of a lot of adversity,” LeNoir said. “She’s just a baller. I love everything about her game and everything she does off the floor.”
Wilson won her first WNBA MVP in 2020, as well as her first Olympic Gold medal, in the 2020 Summer Olympics.
In recent years, women’s collegiate basketball has had a rise in viewership. Coverage has expanded through different streaming platforms and has provided more opportunities to watch the games and engage with the sport.
“Even a lot of former male professional players are saying, ‘I can name 50 of the women in college right now playing basketball because it’s so exciting and so amazing to watch,'” LeNoir said. “A lot of people usually say that, ‘It’s not fun to watch because they’re not dunking,’ and all of a sudden, it’s some of the most exciting basketball that you ever watch.”
LeNoir said there should be better marketing and funding among women’s sports in order to create more awareness in the representation of female athletes.
“You have to back women not just with words, but with money. Just as much as you back the men … Don’t allow other people to define your worth. It takes a lot for companies to back women in our country, and if they don’t, that doesn’t mean that you are not worthy,” LeNoir said. “We’re starting to see an uptick in more support for women’s sports. Keep fighting for change.”
Archer varsity softball player Cleo Wilson (’27) said she admires softball player Maya Brady. Brady currently plays for UCLA.
Brady is the niece of former American football player Tom Brady. As a freshman in 2020, she was named Softball America Freshman of the Year. Additionally, Brady recorded 11 consecutive hits, setting a new UCLA program record to begin the 2023 season.
“She’s very positive when she plays. She doesn’t give up even when her teammates are down, so that’s very admirable,” Wilson said. “[Brady] has made me a better player. I’m able to look up to her and see how she plays and compare myself and learn from her.”
As a soccer coach, player and fitness and wellness teacher, Jamie Fink said, growing up, her role model was her sister, Amanda Fink.
Amanda Fink played tennis at the University of Southern California. She was nominated as a four-time college All-American and four-time Pac-12 selection in both singles and doubles.
“It was a very competitive household. She was my motivation on how she carried herself as well as a person not just an athlete,” Jamie Fink said. “She taught me the courage to step away from the game. I think a lot of us think it takes a lot of courage to play at the professional level, but we don’t really talk about the courage to also step away.”
After playing professionally, Amanda Fink started coaching at her local tennis club. She discovered that she enjoyed interacting with different kinds of people and making deep connections.
“Our goal as providers, as coaches, is really important to keep the engagement and the level of fun and enjoyment of tennis up and be able to show that tennis isn’t just about creating the next number 1 in the world,” Amanda Fink said. “It’s about creating a great lifestyle, creating healthy habits [and] a social sport.”
