Thirteen years old is a transformative, yet fragile age. As the newest members to the teenage community, thirteen year old boys and girls alike begin to really find themselves at this age. They begin to form their own thoughts and opinions apart from the norm, discover who their true friends really are, and, most importantly, unlock and foster their individual talents. The latter is especially true of one unique young girl from South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania named Mo’Ne Davis.
Mo’Ne Davis discovered and cultivated her talents at an earlier age than most when, at six years old, she was seen playing football in the park and effortlessly throwing perfect spirals by Steve Bandura, the program director for a recreation center in South Philadelphia.
Recognizing her natural ability, Bandura invited her to come and practice with his basketball team, where she was the only girl on the team–and its best player. She also began to practice and excel in other sports, such as soccer and, most notably and soon famously, baseball.
The world watched with amazement as this past summer, the first African-American girl to play in the Little League World Series wound up her arm and delivered pitches at 70 miles per hour. She became the first girl in the Little League World Series to pitch a shutout, leading her team to countless victories and almost to the finals.
Yet, Mo’Ne does not consider baseball her main sport. She prioritizes basketball, and as an eighth grader at her school, Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, she was moved up to the high school Varsity basketball team. She led the countless victories as their star point guard with an amazing eye for the court and a hunger to score.
Mo’Ne Davis has grown in more than simply a fleeting news headline. She has become nothing short of a phenom. Mo’Ne has created a legacy of sorts by becoming a role model for millions entirely separate from her TV debut.
Following her Little League successes that garnered national interest and praise, Mo’Ne became the first Little League World Series baseball player to be featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. She recently released a memoir, Mo’Ne Davis: Remember My Name, and has partnered with organizations like Plan International’s Because I Am a Girl that helps to lift as many as 4 million young girls out of poverty. She was named one of the “Top 25 Most Influential Teens of 2014” by Time Magazine and even participated in the Celebrity All-Star exhibition game, going head-to-head with five-time All-Star MVP, Kevin Hart. She does all of this while still maintaining her spot on the Honor Roll at her school.
But, what this tremendous thirteen year old is perhaps best known for is not her wildly fast pitch nor for her TV appearances, but rather for the immediate impact she is having on the young girls of current and future generations. She, at her young age, is serving as a tangible role model for aspiring young female athletes who are constantly taunted by the societal constraint that girls cannot achieve the same level of respect in athleticism as boys. She is the only girl on an all-boys baseball team. But in the face of this adversity, Mo’Ne did not back down. Instead, she decided to shine, and ever since that decision, she made it quite clear to the world that she would not accept society’s notion of what a girl can and cannot do.
Because of her ardent work ethic and dedication to her passions, Mo’Ne suddenly made thousands of girls dreams of being in the WNBA, NWSL, or even in the Olympics, seem realistic. As her face graced the cover of Sports Illustrated magazines across the globe, she redefined society’s definition of “throwing like a girl.”In fact, Kobe Bryant, NBA MVP, was supposed to be featured on the cover of that month’s issue of Sports Illustrated, but instead, he was replaced with this gifted young teenage girl from South Philadelphia who has become the visual representation of a global movement towards gender equality.
Her influence continues to grow and spread after the release of her documentary “Throw Like A Girl” directed by Spike Lee and sponsored by Chevrolet. The documentary, though only 16 minutes, details Mo’Ne’s journey and innate athletic ability through the eyes of her coach, Steve Bandura, as well as her family members, teammates, and friends. What Mo’Ne stressed when interviewed in the documentary is that she could not have succeeded without the support of her coach, friends, and family who never told her that she “couldn’t.” As a result of their confidence in her capability, Mo’Ne was able to flourish and become the incredible and well-rounded young person that she is now.
As Mo’Ne Davis shows the world that throwing like a girl is, in fact, a positive thing, she is becoming an icon not only to young girls inspired by her success and women amazed at her achievements, but to young boys and men as well. Suddenly, boys and men alike are realizing that the typically insulting slur, “you throw like a girl,” has now been debunked. Now, the phrase now is nothing more than a tremendous compliment.
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