“When did you fall in love with sports?" Manager of Fan Experience Jammy Torres Millet Talks National Girls and Women in Sports Day

As the daughter of Puerto Rican migrants, athletics were unintentionally woven into the fabric of my family’s acclimation and social survival on the mainland U.S. I was told that when my dad migrated here as a teenager, he barely spoke English but played on the basketball team at Dorchester High School. The family joke, though, was that he did know how to say, “Pass me the ball.” This reality, these family stories, and my relationship with him have shaped my own love for sports. For me, it was always about connection and relationships.

This past Saturday, I had the incredible opportunity to participate in an event celebrating National Girls and Women in Sports Day. I had been part of planning this event alongside community partners like the West End Boys and Girls Club (Whitney Edwards) and Shooting Touch (Ugo Nwaigwe-Hirschman) and featured sponsor TOGETHXR, for about three months.

As around 70 girls between the ages of 9-16 poured into the West End House that afternoon, I was overwhelmed by the power of collaboration and what it can bring to life. The turnout was truly inspiring—young girls, professional women’s sports teams like the Connecticut Sun, Boston Renegades and Beantown RFC, and local youth development organizations from all corners of the city gathered to honor and support girls and women in sports.

One of the highlights of the event for me was participating in the Women in Sports panel. It was grounding and cup-filling to share my story and engage in meaningful discussions about the challenges and joys of our journeys in sports. For me, it felt like a love letter to my younger self—one that the young girls in attendance were also able to read. Especially when the moderator asked us to recall the moment we “fell in love with sports,” I reflected on a memory with my father at the Field’s Corner basketball courts where he lifted my little five year old self up high enough to attempt a shot at the basket—I recalled the sun shining in my eyes and the recollection feeling like poetry.

When digging deeper into the conversation about the current landscape of women’s sports, I mentioned how I believe that women have this unique ability to bring humanity to the game, citing Unrivaled founders Breanna Stewart and Naphessa Collier’s emphasis on providing childcare for the athletes. I also spoke candidly about the struggles of growing up with undiagnosed ADHD and how it impacted me as an athlete. Shortly after the panel, a young girl approached me in the gym and asked, “How did you cope with your ADHD?” I was shocked but filled with so much joy, knowing that we would both remember this moment forever and because it felt like the P.S “I love you” in the letter to little Jammy. I told her that for me, because my diagnosis came late it was different, but I encouraged her to stop trying to cope and instead tap in, lean in to the super power, “figure out how it makes you better”. I explained that once I changed how I thought about my ADHD, it stopped being a disability, or something I had to “cope” with. That single interaction reminded me of the ripple effect our stories can have.

Not only did my fellow panelists—Jenna Wheeland from the Connecticut Sun and Katie Kalugin from the Women’s Boston Gay Basketball League—impress me with their insights, but so did the girls in the audience. They asked thoughtful questions like, “What advice would you give your younger self?” and “What advice would you give a young girl looking to enter the field of sports?” Their curiosity and courage were as inspiring as the stories shared on stage.

In addition to the panel, the event featured various activities celebrating the achievements of women in sports, all aimed at inspiring the next generation. From interactive workshops to resource tables and giveaways, there was something for everyone to enjoy and learn from. It was a day filled with inspiration, empowerment, and heartfelt connections, and I feel profoundly grateful to have been a part of it.

Reflecting on the day, it's clear that events like these are essential in promoting gender equality and uplifting the next generation of women athletes—especially in our city where for many decades, championships have been primarily associated with our men’s sports teams. And while as a fan of those teams, I am grateful, I am beyond excited and ready for the girls and women of our city to step into their moment.

Written by Jammy Torres Millet, BOS Nation FC’s Manager of Fan Experience and passionate about advancing equity through sport. 

BOS Nation FC, TOGETHXR, a media and commerce company founded by four of the world’s greatest athletes: Alex Morgan, Chloe Kim, Simone Manuel and Sue Bird, West End House Boys and Girls Club, a vital community anchor dedicated to inspiring and empowering young people to realize their full potential and Shooting Touch, an international sport-for-development organization whose mission is to use the mobilizing power of basketball to bridge health and opportunity gaps for youth and women facing racial, gender, and economic inequalities and many other local youth development organizations—collaborated to celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day. 

National Girls and Women in Sports Day (NGWSD) is a day to recognize the accomplishments of girl and women athletes and the positive impact of sports participation. It's celebrated annually on February 5th. Learn more here.