Ashley's name deprives the "ash tree meadow" personage of how Ashley is independent, ambitious, strong-willed, creative, and inventive. Let's take a peek at Ashley Lawrence's leadership life.
Written by: Suhani Kothari, Edited by: Naya Nassri
Created by: Sanskrati Sharma
Ashley Lawrence, 22, grew up in Ontario and Toronto, however recently, she began calling Paris home. Lawrence is living the dream as a member of the renowned French soccer club, Paris Saint-Germain, having signed a two-year contract on the heels of her graduation from West Virginia University, where she earned a bachelor's degree in sport and exercise psychology.
Ashley started to play soccer at the age of 5 and joined the team at 17. Like other soccer players, Ashley never considered soccer as a career until she played in the Rio Olympics. Ashley often talks about how her family was the most powerful support system for her during that time, and they would always tell her, “You should continue; you’re going to go far.” University was where Ashley discovered how much she could achieve in the future as a professional sports player. In addition, for the sports mates out there, sports psychology could be increasingly beneficial as claimed by Ashley Lawrence, “It helped me develop the tools and visualisation methods to get in the right headspace and learn how to deal with the pressure of competition and performance, both internally and externally. Now when I’m on the field, my only focus is on playing—no distractions,”.Fun fact: Ashley does a 20-minute quiet time before a game, in which she practises silence and imagination to visualise the game in her head.
What does Ashley have to say about sexism between men and women paychecks?
“A man could sign a professional contract and get millions of dollars, but that’s not offered to women right now. Some female players make a good living on a salary, but some players aren’t. Right now, for me, it’s about taking advantage of the platform that I have—pushing my brand and finding additional ways to make money. It takes a bit more work on and off the field. So yes, getting a salary, but also I’m embracing connecting with communities of younger players and doing various kinds of activities—whether it’s soccer camp, meet-and-greets or empowerment workshops. It’s forced me to have an entrepreneurial mindset, which is cool because it’s another one of my passions.”
“Knowing how women’s soccer is progressing, I hope one day women will be able to sign those contracts and make millions just through their salaries. But until then, I think it’s about reaching out and finding other ways.”
The breakdown of what Ashley spoke about salaries and inequalities in the sports community is stereotypical mindsets still exist in modern society. When female athletes play soccer, the audience usually considers them homosexual, since they play a masculine sport. Nevertheless, female soccer teams are formed based on similar passions and talents between different groups of individuals who share the love of the game. Ashley mentions how there weren’t any challenges she faced during her career time; however, many females out there were bullied, tortured, and characterised based on the sports they play. As the world rapidly develops, people change their mindsets about gender-specific sports. However, groups of communities out there don’t support women’s sports and that's completely normal, though the sports community and club should take responsibility and provide security for their players to avoid in-between game distractions arising from insults and abuse outside of the stadium.
Finally, Ashley Lawrence is a motivational, entrepreneur role model for women empowerment and can be idolised by soccer players, as well as all the females who follow their passion and work hard until they achieve their dreams. As mentioned above about how Ashley focuses on empowering young girls and hosting soccer camps and meet greets, Ashley’s most recent act of kindness was Barbie’s “You Can Be Anything” campaign, which was a fantastic concept. Initially, when they reached out to her, she was so excited because it was consistent with what she stood for. The message aims to help young girls imagine the possibilities through play, this is essential since your imagination is such a powerful tool. “As kids, it’s so easy to dream of the impossible as if it *is* possible, but as you get older, reality sets in. But I think very young girls should know that anything is possible if they set their minds to it. And I hope that I can help with that.” (Ashley Lawrence, Flare)
References:
Hiba Traboulsi August 7, 2017. “Soccer Star Ashley Lawrence on Sexism & Stereotypes in Sport.” FLARE, 7 Aug. 2017, www.flare.com/career/ashley-lawrence/.
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