Today begins the 22-23 edition of the LF Endesa, The season was presented just a week ago, a meeting at Endesa’s headquarters in which legendary basketball players met with those who are now active to chat about the present, look at what has been covered and, above all, look to the future.
Some of the veteran faces that met there were María Planas, Wonny Geuer, Anna Montañana and Laia Palau, all leading female figures in basketball, along with 16 players from each of the teams that make up the Endesa Women’s League such as Marta Canella (Barça CBS), Érika de Souza (Hozono Global Jairis), Cecilia Muhate (Innova TSN Leganés), Anna Palma (Embutidos Pajariel Bembibre) or Alba Torrens, named the ‘Best Player in Europe’ in 201 and 2014, and Valencia player Basket.
Effort is a non-negotiable element in sport
Planas, who was the first female basketball coach in history, wanted to support the players who were there by giving them, above all, the best advice: “Effort is a non-negotiable element in sport. Spanish basketball has taken a big step in terms of improving work structures”.
For her part, Torrens, on whom all eyes were on for her arrival at Valencia Basket, where she has been received at this historic club, has highlighted the importance of “knowing” that in any sporting route “there are difficulties and demands, moments of everything, but you have to push forward with everything that can be presented. You always have to join the team, for me this year is very special and I am very excited”.
Growth and momentum with the best support
And it is that all growth and momentum, without a doubt, require support over time. Endesa’s relationship with women’s basketball has been going on for a decade now and has only strengthened year after year with new initiatives. As María Lacasa, Director of Branding and Sponsorships at Endesa, explains, the company’s initial intention when it considered entering women’s basketball was to have the same role as in men’s: the rest of the commitment extends to all categories: “ We have been sponsoring basketball since 2011, we sponsor the Endesa League – the men’s regular league – and also all the basketball teams, the absolute ones, the formation, etc. We wanted to close the circle and support this sport in all its categories, including women’s basketball.”
A 360 degree alliance
But the fact is that, in addition, Endesa is also looking beyond the official competitions to put its eyes on the girls who play basketball in the small teams of the schools or in the high school playground. “For two years we have had a very nice project that we call Basket Girlz. An initiative that we have launched when detecting that adolescent girls drop out of sports in general at school in a higher proportion than boys”, says Lacasa.
After identifying this scenario, Endesa, the Spanish Basketball Federation and the Higher Sports Council launched a study with the psychologist and former basketball player, Mar Rovira, in order to find out the reasons why girls between the ages of 14 and at the age of 15 they stopped playing any sport, not just basketball. “Four out of five girls put it aside in their lives, so we asked ourselves the reasons and, after the study, we concluded that there were three main reasons,” says Lacasa.
The power of referrers
In the first place, the family environment, “since sometimes parents give more importance to studies than to sports, and they do not have to be exclusive, but we must teach them to combine it”. Secondly, everything related to friendships and school has a bearing on the decision to go or not to practice sports: “Girls, at an age, if their friends don’t go, they stop going, they get discouraged. However, sport for boys is something more social where they continue to have many friends”. And, finally, Lacasa details, “clubs and schools can also help a lot, since they complain that men’s sports are given more priority and, therefore, they often have worse schedules and facilities. They see differences and that discourages them.”
Looking for references for girls to continue playing sports, Endesa will soon premiere the emotional documentary ‘The Coming of Age’. “We have followed a team of 14 and 15-year-old girls who do have the illusion of playing professionally, but who have their fears, their happy moments and also complicated ones. We think that, in addition, if they see them, they can serve as inspiration for other girls and, with this, they want to continue doing sports. Support from below to continue growing upwards and not give up”, concludes Lacasa.
