Overnight, it felt that the world turned on its head. I went from going to Boston every day for work, to suddenly rolling out of bed and being at home working from my kitchen table. “This will only be for two weeks,” I was told. But then, quickly school was canceled for the remainder of the academic year, towns slowly started to close their doors, and we all were adorning masks when we went in public. Time slowed down and we all were inside. But, as the weeks turned to months, we started to recognize that we were going to miss out on milestones that usually happened throughout the year. Proms, graduations, summer barbeques, weddings, and many more life events. We started to miss each other, family, friends. This COVID-19 pandemic hit us all in different ways, and for me, it hit in the fact that I missed coaching.
As a life-long athlete, sports were the center of my world for as long as I could remember. I did take a brief break during my three years at college, but I hopped right back within months of graduating. I love everything about being a coach. Planning the practices, traveling to games, and even the weekly email to the parents. I thrived as a coach and I was truly missing the moments when players would suddenly have an “ah-hah” moment, the lightbulb moments, and all the moments in between. I had been talking to a colleague and she could feel the passion I had for coaching radiating off of me and she suggested that I find a way to channel that. But, how? With COVID-19 rampant in our region, there were no sports for kids, there was no way I could do any sort of program with schools closed, nevermind gyms! How could I find a way to reach girls to continue their growth in this weird time? And at that moment, that is when my debut novel, Lady-thletes, was born.
I remember sitting there, trying to think about all the lessons I preached to my players and wanting to put them in a book. The process was truly agonizing. What if this lesson is not something that will resonate with another girl? What if this passage does not make any sense. But, surely, over about a period of five months, Lady-thletes was born.
As a synopsis, Lady-thletes is about the trials and tribulations of teenage female athletes. It walks through five different challenges that I had to face and overcome as an athlete. The first is about how to get through a loss with vital steps on how to approach your feelings, working through them, and arriving at acceptance. The second is about time management through the concept of compartmentalization. The third is about identity, working through creating a core-identity, and getting to see the “you” behind the jersey. The fourth is about relationships! Whether the relationships are athletic, personal, or romantic in nature, these are vital to being an athlete and a person overall. And finally, the last chapter is about leadership; athletes are natural leaders and therefore this is an important concept to walk through to ensure your own success. As the reader journeys through the book, they are submerged in self-reflection and tips to be able to build their foundations for their success as a woman in sports.
This book was written by a former athlete (me) for athletes. I want to be able to help girls so that they do not have to struggle the way I did when I was a girl growing up. My motivation for you to read this is to truly help you succeed and become an empowered female athlete. You are seen. You are heard. And you will be a successful person regardless of the paths you chose to take.
Since you have so kindly taken the time to read this article, I want to offer you a sneak peak into Lady-thletes! If you would like, you can get a free copy of the “Note from the Author” section of Lady-thletes! Click this LINK RIGHT HERE.
If you would like to purchase Lady-thletes it is available here: On Amazon
If you would like to continue the Lady-thletes conversation, come follow me on Instagram: @coachemilywilliams
Or even check out my website here: www.emilytheauthor.com
And remember, I am always in YOUR corner!
She Writes Sports 
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