Soleful Sports in the Community

CEO Commentary Piece for November 2024 Newsletter

Reframing Stress on the Court and In Life

During the Thanksgiving break, I was out of town at a basketball tournament with my high school team. We played two very physical games with the first one being a nail biter. We were neck and neck for much of the second half. It came down to free throws in the final seconds and we won! There was so much stress in the game but as the buzzer sounded, we were cheering and filled with hope! While I approach the stress of a game with excitement and even exhilaration, I saw the stress felt during this tournament in a positive way as opposed to a negative way. Stress and challenges are a part of life, and while I fall short sometimes, I strive to approach important life moments the same way I do while enjoying those stressful moments on the basketball court and the softball field.

Challenges and stress often must exist together. Stress creates a catalyst for great change. The brief but essential stress a butterfly undergoes when emerging from its cocoon is necessary for its growth. We have the ability to alter our perception of challenges and thus the stress that comes with it. A TED Talk by Kelly McGonigal – a health psychologist from Stanford who I was first introduced to while taking an intro to psych class at my local junior college, says the way we perceive stress impacts our well-being. How we think about our stress really matters. McGonigal says that if we perceive stress in our lives to be negative, this can have painful effects on our mental, emotional and physical well-being. However, as I shared with my recent team’s game, if we can see challenges and stress as an opportunity for growth, then they can help us practice our resiliency and even approach stress more positively.

Moments of stress in our lives are to be expected. They are needed for our evolution and survival. Stress is often needed for us to accomplish and conquer amazing things. It is a great feeling to look back on moments of stress and say, “I did that and look at me now.” Challenges and stress will be a part of my next phase of life as I move onto college in two years. So I need to continue to reframe and practice my mindset on it. Young athletes should strive to do the same in order to accomplish great things in their sport and in life.

Please reach out and share your thoughts on this post and how you channel stress in a positive way.

-Audrey

“Hard days are the best because that’s when Champions are made.” - Gabby Douglas


CEO Commentary Piece for October 2024 Newsletter

Speak on it!

This week, I was given another opportunity to give back to my community. I visited West Fresno Middle School and was able to provide them with about 20 soccer cleats for the kids who have a passion for sports there. During my time there, I got to listen to the perspective of the people who work there and learn more about the children attending school. It came to my attention that there were kids playing soccer there that were playing in sneakers and even crocs and discovering that left me feeling honestly emotional. So, to be the one to be able to provide the proper shoes to these kids made my whole week. I want to give children the opportunity to play the sports that they love, and under safe conditions.  Situations like this are in much of my community and reminded me why working to build up Soleful Sports is so important. The need remains great. This latest shoe drop also reminded me of the importance of injury prevention and how not only shoes but also speaking out about how your body is feeling can make all the difference.

I read an interesting article about running shoes recently that reiterated this. According to Van Alsenoy, et al. (2021), footwear with or without custom foot orthotics have the potential to improve comfort. While the link with running performance and foot orthotics needs further investigation, the study reminded me of my sports journey. At the end of my 8th grade year, I noticed that I was experiencing lower back and hip pain when playing summer basketball. I changed my shoes and even tried various creams and stretching exercises, but no relief. My dad took me to see an orthopedic specialist and after a few tests I learned there were issues with my body’s alignment. Not everybody is perfectly symmetrical; except for Venus de Milo. I learned that my hips were not aligned because my right foot is a few centimeters shorter than my left and that because of my low arches, my basketball shoes were not providing full benefit when I was playing. With the help of my doctor, I had custom arch supports and a heel lift made to help improve my performance as well as walking every day. After a few weeks, I felt the difference and I haven’t had issues with my hip or lower back since!

The findings from this study by Van Alsenoy, et al. (2021) were interesting in that not only was it discussed the importance of proper shoes for an athletic sport; in this case; running; but it also showed how it helps build a community of runners. The study is based on a meta-analysis, including four studies, showing a small but statistically significant decreased oxygen consumption at steady state speeds while wearing the most comfortable footwear. Other highlights of the article include proper footwear along with orthotic inserts for some help with reducing pain along with rates of injury. The community part of a sport is important. By talking to other athletes in your sport, you can learn about footwear better suited for you and even discuss problems your body may be experiencing.

Like in my case, the proper shoes helped but more importantly, I talked to my coach about some of the pain I was having. She suggested I get checked out by my pediatrician. That conversation made all the difference. If you are experiencing continuous pain while playing your sport; even if it is not severe, talk to your teammates about it, your coach about it and your doctor about it. My hip and back pain was minor but it didn’t seem to stop which is why I got it checked. I am so glad I did. I wouldn’t have known about my alignment issues and likely never would have gotten it looked at properly.

- Audrey

"Don't be afraid to ask for help. It's a sign of strength, not weakness." - Ronda Rousey

Van Alsenoy, K., van der Linden, M. L., Girard, O., & Santos, D. (2021). Increased footwear comfort is associated with improved running economy – a systematic review and meta-analysis. European Journal of Sport Science, 23(1), 121–133. https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2021.1998642


CEO Commentary Piece for September 2024 Newsletter

It’s All About the Shoes!

Some people ask me of all of the athletic supplies to focus on, why shoes?  Well, the easy answer is, I simply love shoes.  There is nothing like a pair of fresh kicks to wear on the first day of school or when stepping on the court or field.  But it is much more than just a love of shoes that motivated me to start Soleful Sports.  If you have read “Our Story” you know the origin story of Soleful Sports and how it started with one pair of shoes for one player. In looking at research, it is worth noting that proper footwear is essential for many if not all sports to prevent injuries and long term damage to the body. An article from MidAmerica Orthopedics titled, The Importance of Proper Footwear for Athletes, discusses why footwear is essential for a variety of reasons. 

Proper shoes enhance performance.  An athlete’s abilities and training provides them with the skills to do well in their sport but they can get further with essential gear and footwear.  A football player’s cleats or a track runner’s spikes can help them push the limits of their ability to not only train better to to perform better. 

Having the adequate footwear helps to prevent injuries. According to the American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine, about 25% of all athletic injuries involve the feet. Improper shoes can lead to ankle sprains, fractures and even worse.  These injuries can have lasting effects and make joints and parts of the body even weaker.  Studies show that appropriate footwear reduces the risk of overall sports injuries significantly. 

Knowing the lifespan of your shoes and when to replace them is important.  Athletes are superstitious and tend to grow attached to their athletic wear. They can tend to associate winning a game or match with wearing a certain headband, or socks or shoes.  But shoes are an athletic item that needs to be replaced regularly. The average lifespan of an athletic shoe is about 40-60 hours of use depending on the level of playing.  Ballet pointe shoes for example can have an even shorter life span and can cause major injury to the body if not replaced consistently. 

At Soleful Sports, we are growing more and more knowledgeable of the types of shoes we are acquiring, learning to determine how much use they each have left if gently used, and taking into account who we are donating them to ensuring the athlete is fitted properly. It brings me so much joy to see youth athletes with the quality shoes that not only enhance their performance but simply give them the ability to play their sport. It will remain our mission to support as many youth athletes as possible through shoes! 

-Audrey 

“If I don’t get it right. I don’t stop until I do.” - Serena Williams


CEO Commentary Piece for August 2024 Newsletter

Prioritizing Mental Health for Youth Athletes IS Health

Thank you for taking the time to support Soleful Sports and welcome to our first newsletter! Each month, we will share updates on the organization like our most recent inventory, what we have been up to each month and a commentary piece by me about topics related to youth sports.  I like to write what’s on my mind and the state of youth athletes in my area as an athlete myself. I hope you enjoy! 

August is a time to start getting ready for the school year and is also National Wellness Month. Most youth athletes spend their summer playing club sports, going to summer tournaments and doing regular workouts to get ready for school year sports. But summer is also an important time to practice self-care, reduce stress and create healthier habits to feel like your best self! In October of 2022, in my freshman year of high school, I tore my ACL while playing on my basketball team. The injury was my first major one and it was devastating. Having to be sidelined my entire first year of high school sports was a test of strength while my year long recovery was a test of will.  The mental test was just as challenging which not many youth athletes talk about.  When I returned to play in August 2023, my body was not the same.  Even now,  as I get back on the basketball court and on the softall field, things feel different both mentally and physically. I am slowly growing to accept that my body is not the same while still playing the sports I love with the same if not more passion and will. 

Throughout my years of playing sports, I have seen many athletes and coaches push the idea of how in order to be the best at their sport, that needs to be their main and only priority. Constant training and tournaments is what they believe will get them better. But in reality, that can cause burnout at a young age, cause many athletes to lose their passion for the sport, and in my case cause major injury. “It is very important to take a step back and recognize when something is not good for your mental health” (Suplee, 2021). Dr. Suplee works at Valley Children’s Hospital and her blog on prioritizing mental health for athletes speaks to so many athletes, teammates and me. Breaks are ok, mental health days are ok, prioritizing yourself is ok. Those ideas should be essential when teaching athletes about their sport, rather than teaching them that breaks will make you worse or put you behind.  

It is ok to push youth athletes. Oftentimes, we do need it. But there is a threshold for all of us and there are days when we need a break or when it all becomes too much. To the coaches (and even parents) who want your youth athlete to succeed, yes push us but also see and hear when we need a moment to rest physically and mentally.  For all of us, that amount of time may be different.  But it takes knowing your athlete and who they are to figure that out and to accept that of us. To all you youth athletes - in the end, you are the ones lacing up your shoes to play, you should know your limits and you should be confident in advocating for your physical and mental needs.  Athletes' mental health IS health and is just as important if not more important as physical health.  

-Audrey 

“She believed she could, so she did.” 


July 16, 2024

Soleful Sports official Merch is here! View our collection here to see shoes, shirts, socks, stickers and more!

March 1, 2024

We are excited to start a partnership with Mendota Community Schools to help provide athletic shoes for their programs. Here is the first delivery of youth baseball cleats!

March 20, 2023

Spring sports are here!! We are so happy to donate track cleats to Yosemite Middle School today. Good luck to your youth athletes and go Bears!

March 3, 2023

Thank you Edison Bethune Charter for the opportunity to visit your school and deliver baseball cleats to your athletes. Go Wildcats!

January 27, 2023

Today we went to Walmart where we saw some baseball cleats on clearance. My dad talked to the manager and told them about Soleful Sports and gave us 13 pairs of youth baseball cleats! Thank you for supporting our Central Valley athletes!

January 19, 2023

We were happy to make a delivery to Mendota Junior High School today! We hope you are able to use the soccer cleats and wrestling shoes for your athletes!

December 21, 2022

Thank you to the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools @FresnoCOSS Department of Safe and Healthy Kida and St. Anthony of Padua School @stanthonysschoolfresno for the donations. We can’t wait to deliver them to youth athletes in the Central Valley!