From Opening Ceremonies to Super Bowl C-Suites – What Gen Z is Saying About Mentors in Sports
"That was a crazy big weekend in sports!"
"I heard Gen Z makes up 75% of Olympic athletes this year…and there are more women than ever!"
"Someone said the ENTIRE Super Bowl C-suite female this year? Is that even true?"
It was – and it’s true.
After an action-packed weekend in sports, these are snippets of DMs I'm seeing right now – sent by girls obsessed with the games and game-changing mentors on screen.
And they abound.
From the moment I spoke at a high school in New Jersey last week (thank you for the invitation Girl Up!) and spotted the entire girls’ varsity soccer team in the audience, I knew mentors in sports were top of mind. When I asked who in the auditorium wanted more direct access to mentors and three rows of teammates raised their hands in unison, the moment rang true.
And when I asked whether stats like these from Être’s earlier research resonated, they nodded like a single player.
(The Current State of Girls' Confidence: Être x YPulse 2024)
Mentors matter for Gen Z girls in sports, and both research and recent events bear it out.
Luckily for players, parents and the public, last week and the games that lie ahead are providing mentor moments we can savor.
Take, for example, last week’s Olympic Opening Ceremonies:
The start of the 2026 Winter Games featured the first-ever all-female honor guard raising the host country's flag
International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry became the first woman to officially declare an Olympic Games open
Coventry's words hung in the air like...well, suspended rings when she reminded us that we can only rise by lifting others and that our strength comes from caring for one another
Approximately 1,362 female athletes are expected to participate in the 2026 Winter Olympics, marking a record-high 47% of the total 2,900+ athletes competing
From Mariah to Charlize to Laura Pausini, Sabrina Impacciatore and torchbearers Deborah Compagnoni and Sofia Goggia, role models fanned the flame for next gen viewers before any medals were awarded
Keeping our eye on the ball, let’s turn to last night’s Super Bowl:
Even before the game started, San Francisco celebrated National Girls and Women in Sports Day by honoring prominent women in the sports industry for the younger set. Who did students cite as their sports role models? Think Simone Biles, Caitlin Clark, Serena Williams and Angel Reese, often identifying with players in their own sport. “I'm a softball player,” one college student told ABC News, “[so] I'm going to stick with softball and say the Romero sisters."
As the weekend drew near, however, Gen Z eyes started to focus on the Super Bowl LX Host Committee, noticing that the entire Bay Area Host Committee C-suite was female
Led by Zaileen Janmohamed and filled with events like Women Raise the Game honoring Diana Flores, the Sports Power Brunch, and the inaugural Women in Sports Dinner, the days leading up to Super Bowl Sunday did not disappoint girls looking for online and IRL mentor moments
From women in corporate leadership roles to women in broadcasting (Maria Taylor became the first Black woman to host pre and post-game and for the second time in history two women reported directly from the field: Melissa Stark and Kaylee Hartung), the message to girls settling in to watch the game was clear: your voice belongs in sports
Erin Fong's art took over every Super Bowl ticket, program and poster, Coco Jones paying tribute to Whitney Houston was a moment none of us will soon forget, and Brandi Carlile and the cameos we spotted during the half-time show kept girls on their toes...and I'm guessing in their cleats
“Sport has always played a major role in my life,” said Zaileen Janmohamed in this interview. “I played hockey throughout my teenage years...[t]hat arc really shaped how I see the power of sport: as a connector across cultures, identities and generations, not just as entertainment.”
And perhaps today more than ever, seeing sports as a connector across cultures resonates with Gen Z.
“I want to meet mentors in sports,” one New Jersey high school soccer player confided to me last week as we walked out of the auditorium, “because my sport is the thing I’ll take with me wherever I go next.”
As we gather this week to watch mettle win medals at the Olympics, her words are something to remember. Our love of sports and the examples that are set – determination, resilience, ambition, grace and gratitude – can eclipse heavier headlines, even if just for a minute.
History can be made in the tenth of a second…and the resulting mentor moments can last a lifetime.
Looking forward to keeping girls in the game,
Illana
ÊXTRAS: Three more moments I loved over the weekend you won't want to miss: Maria Taylor presenting the Lombardi trophy, Lindsey Vonn cheering for teammate Breezy Johnson from the helicopter, and a Parade of Nations will get me every time.
