Students at Dana Hall School received a double dose of inspiration on Monday, February 4, as they gathered in Waldo Auditorium to kick off National Women and Girls in Sports Week. Twins Emily Record and Liz Record Svedlund ’90 stood before the crowded auditorium to speak about their time at Dana and how the School impacted their athletic careers.

“Coming to Dana from a co-ed school where we had to fight for field time was great,” Emily said. “Dana Hall had such a beautiful campus and the main fields were for girls. We weren’t playing in the back field or the field behind the parking lot or behind the gym.”

In addition to excellent facilities, Emily and Liz credited the Dana Hall coaching staff. The twins agreed that coach Janet Sullivan was a driving force in their athletic careers. Through rain or shine or snow, Sullivan pushed them to their limit. She assisted them in making videos for college recruiters, and she believed in them.

“She believed we could go on to play for a great school,” Emily said, “and because she believed, we believed too!”

Undoubtedly two of the greatest athletes to come through the Dana Hall athletic program, the Record twins were EIL All-Stars in soccer and lacrosse, captains of the soccer and lacrosse teams their junior and senior years, and both hold Dana Hall athletic records that stand to this day. They went on to play soccer at the University of North Carolina and trained for the first women’s World Cup team with soccer-legend and fellow UNC alumna Mia Hamm.

Emily and Liz spoke about Title IX and how instrumental it was in giving girls the chance to compete. (Title IX mandates that no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving Federal assistance.) They also gave the students a glimpse of what it is like to play a sport in college, including the sacrifices they had to make and what they learned from the discipline it required. They also took questions and met with some students after the presentation. 

Liz left those assembled with a few words of inspiration: “I am proud to say, I kick like a girl, I shoot like a girl, and I throw like a girl.” She encouraged the girls to take pride in themselves both on and off the field.