Karen standing in front of her many trophies.

Virginia's SportsGirl 2004
An All-around Super Girl

When the Women's Sports Foundation® and the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company wanted to find girls, ages 10 to 14, who were not only good athletes but leaders and activists in their communities, they knew who to ask: Girl Scouts!

When the 50 state winners were announced in July, eight of the girls had proudly declared that they were active Girl Scouts.

Just Call Her Light Foot

Karen, the winner from Virginia, has been playing soccer for as long as she has been a Girl Scout—nine years! She won her first soccer medal at a McDonalds's McSoccerfest 4-on-4 tournament when she was only five. After that, she consistently made the all-star teams in the recreational league and has played with her current team, the successful Chantilly Blast, since it formed as a U-9 travel team. Karen is a strong midfielder, a great marking defender, and even plays goalie in a pinch. So what does she like best about soccer? "Keeping fit, being with my teammates, and traveling to tournaments." Last year Karen helped coach a U-10 girls' team, teaching the younger girls some moves and working with them on their foot skills.

Finding Her Way

Besides soccer, Karen has also had great success competing in the map-and-compass sport of orienteering. While this sport appeals to many who are happy to leisurely hike through the woods looking for the controls that are marked on their maps, there are others, like Karen, who prefer to make the quest for controls a race. Each year the U.S. Orienteering Federation holds national championships and Karen has brought home the gold medal for her age group for each of the past four years! Besides helping out at her club's meets, she teaches compass skills to Junior Girl Scouts and helped teach a class on orienteering to Girl Scout leaders. So what does Karen like best about orienteering? "Winning!"

Karen has also had success in the sport of luge. Last year she participated in a slider search and was selected to train for two weeks at the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, New York. She did well and was asked to join the Olympic Junior Development Team, but chose to decline the offer because of the extensive time commitment away from home.

Giving Back

Girl Scouts continues to be an important part of Karen's life and a way for her to practice leadership skills, as well as to give back to her community. Her troop has done many service projects to help needy families, including: holding toiletry drives, making "birthday bags" for kids, and collecting fancy party dresses to be given to little girls at holiday time. Karen recently completed her Girl Scout Silver Award project, which was to design and build a cat tree for the county animal shelter, as well as to collect old towels for the animals at shelter. And what is the best part about being a Girl Scout? According to Karen, it's "being with my friends, meeting new people, and the fun trips that we go on!"

What's next for Karen? She'll continue with soccer and orienteering and will try two new sports in high school: field hockey and indoor track. Her Girl Scout troop is going to Our Cabaña in Mexico in 2005; she'll begin working on her Girl Scout Gold Award; and she'll continue to find ways to be helpful in her community.