‘Future Female Leader’: Henrico teen honored for her work in the community, youth sports
VENN
HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- A Glen Allen High School graduate is being honored for her work in the community. Emma Sicat, who graduated in May, is an avid soccer player, but she has bigger goals than just those on the field.
Sicat was recently awarded $1,000 for the Future Female Leader Scholarship by the National Society of High School Honors. It honors young women making a difference in their communities.
Her goal -- making youth sports accessible to everyone.
Sicat grew up on the soccer field, starting at the YMCA when she was 4 years old. She currently plays for the Richmond Strikers and has been on a travel team for the last 11 years. In recent years, she has dipped her toe in refereeing and coaching for a female empowerment program called EVLV.
Emma Sicat at 4 years old. (Courtesy of Emma Sicat)
“I’ve learned so many valuable lessons from that experience," she said. "You just learn, like, confidence, decision making.”
It was after years of growing out of uniforms and cleats when it hit her.
"Not everyone has those opportunities to learn those valuable life skills and I also started thinking about all the equipment that goes to waste each year when players have to purchase new uniforms, or they outgrow their gear," she said.
After some research, Sicat found Leveling the Playing Field, an organization focused on redistributing sports equipment to under-resourced communities. She got to work right away.
“We started with a collection -- just a smaller collection originally," she said. "Collecting from neighbors, from friends, from teammates.”
That "smaller collection" turned into $114,000 worth of equipment.
$114,000 worth of equipment was donated. (Courtesy of Emma Sicat)
She even started a school-wide equipment drive and founded the Athletes Giving Back Club at Glen Allen.
“You kind of see the power that community can have, and just kind of bringing people together to support like a larger goal. And for that it’s been collecting equipment to allow under-resourced youth to experience the benefits of youth sports," she said.
Sicat will be moving to Massachusetts in August and attending Williams College, where she plans to study economics and will play on the women's soccer team.
