Featuring: Carly Greenlief
Sport: Basketball
Level Played: Collegiate
College: Lynchburg College, Division 3

1. Do you think there are any positive role models for young athletes to look up to?

Yes, I think there are a lot of positive role models for young athletes to look up to. Every player from the US Women’s National Soccer Team is a great role model. These women are role models that put their sport/profession above the need to look cute, or sexy. Their number one priority when training and competing is to be the best they can be at their craft. That is something that youth today can definitely look up to.

2. Tell us about your life now and how playing sports shaped your life?

Sports are and have always been a big part of my life. I grew up playing basketball and soccer, and I played basketball in college. All of my best friends have also been teammates, and my boyfriend of 3 years played basketball at Lynchburg College; sports have brought a lot of important people into my life.

Carly team

Being on a team and playing sports really teaches you how to deal with different types of people. Basketball gave me the opportunity to play with people from different backgrounds, ethnicities, and cultures. It teaches you, forces you really, how to learn and collaborate with all types of people to achieve a common goal. These skills have helped me and will continue to help me throughout my life, in my job/careers, and personal relationships.

3. What makes a strong female athlete?

A strong female athlete is comfortable with who they are on and off the field, they know how to set goals, and have the work ethic to accomplish them.

4. How strong are you? and how do sterotypical images of how the female body should look make you feel?

I think strength can be defined in two ways, mental and physical. In terms of mental strength, I am mentally comfortableCarly warm up with my current body. I have a good understanding of what I’d like to improve within myself, but my goals aren’t based on what I see on social media or commercials; those females with “perfect bodies” distort reality. For physical strength, I think my body is in perfect shape to perform my day to day tasks, including working out, long dog walks and teaching today’s youth.