Believe. Believe. Believe.
Our mothers always told us to believe in ourselves because if we believe then we will be great. Many of us give thanks and appreciation to those who supported us throughout our journeys and helped us reach our accomplishments. Many of those times, we thank our mothers, siblings, friends, coaches or even teachers.
The word, “believe,” rings in the sounds of Katie Sowers’ heartbeat when it comes to learning how to achieve greatness. Not only has belief driven her to achieve her career dream of coaching a professional NFL team, but it is the philosophy that she reflects onto her athletes, the San Francisco 49ers, which drove them to reaching the Super Bowl Championships of 2020.
Katie Sowers is a leader and trendsetter as a woman in a man’s world of sport. She built herself up to become the second full time female NFL coach and the first openly gay coach to help lead her team into the Super Bowl Championships. Sowers competed in the Women’s Football Alliance for nearly a decade and her love and joy for the sport of American football drove her to believe that she can make an impact on a deserving team.
DID SHE IMPROVE THE PROGRAM?
It would be ungrateful to say that Sowers had no impact on the team because her drive and belief grew on the players which encouraged them to fight for their deserving spot on that stadium. Before she was offered the full time position, Sowers trained the un-drafted 2017 rookie, Kendrick Bourne. “I believe in you” are some of the most powerful words that can be heard to make us feel whole again, gain back our trust and bring out the confidence within. Bourne ended up leading his team to the Divisional Round win, after three seasons being coached by Katie Sowers.
WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN FOR WOMEN IN SPORTS?
Football along with many other sports, emerged as a man’s game. One to which women were either not invited to or prohibited to participate in, but does that mean we as women need to sit back and let men do the work?
If we learn from the example Katie Sowers is setting for us, we would not hold back our greatness. We would believe in ourselves.
The men that play in most of these leagues grew up raised by hard working, supportive and dedicated mothers. Mothers who despite their circumstances, believed in them enough to make these men believe in themselves.
Katie Sowers was welcomed by the 49ers because they saw in her what they see in their role models. They see support, dedication and belief.