A girls’ track team ditched traditional running uniforms for skorts and found they did better in their sport. The Dunbar Crimson Tide Girls’ Track team decided to try the new uniform thanks to their coach, Marvin Parker. He said he started to notice that many girls, not just on his team, seemed self-conscious in the traditional track uniforms of short shorts or spandex briefs, called spankies.
He talks about a girl he saw give a false start, intentionally, and leave the track in tears. He saw a few boys making rude comments and pointing at her. Other girls seemed uncomfortable in the spankies. “I started paying attention for the rest of the meet and a lot of the girls were uncomfortable with bending over. I decided that we’ve got to do something different for girls.”
He had Buddy Crutchfield, the owner of Rockville-based LightningFitnessWear, design the special running skorts. They are compression shorts with a mini-skirt over them. The girls are much more confident and have gotten compliments on their uniforms.
“You look good, you run good,” Destiny Phillips, a co-captain, said. “It makes you feel different when you’re out on the track, like no one can come get you.”
Added teammate Manaiza Kelley: “I feel classy in it. I feel like a woman.”
What do you think about the ability that a piece of clothing has to give confidence to these young athletes?
