By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
SALEM, Ore. -- As we continue to celebrate National Girls & Women in Sports Day this week, it's a good time to focus on one former Willamette University student-athlete who contributed to the women's tennis team in significant ways on and off the court. Rachel Kong ('19), from Hayward, California, competed for the Bearcats from 2015-16 through 2018-19. She graduated in the spring of 2019 with a major in Exercise and Health Science.
"In my senior year, I was a team co-captain for the women's tennis team with two of my teammates. We were responsible for running practice sometimes, setting a good example both on and off the court, and also looking out for the rest of the team," Kong commented. "I think during my four years on the team I did a pretty good job of being there for my teammates if they ever needed someone to talk to or just hang out with. As an upperclassman, I tried my best to support the younger players in any way that I could, whether it was chatting with them during practice, or bringing them snacks when they were having a bad day, or even just hanging out with them in the library."
In addition, Kong has taught tennis to youngsters and has umpired youth softball. In many cases, her efforts have helped "Lead Her Forward," which is the theme of this year's NGWSD celebration at Willamette.
"I've coached middle school kids in tennis and I also spent four years umpiring softball when I was in high school," Kong recalled. "I had a lot of fun umpiring and it was awesome to see the girls get better and become more competitive as they continued, but the best part was watching them fall in love with the sport."
Kong also found a way to use her senior thesis as a way to help special needs athletes.
"For my senior thesis I put together Special Olympics-Bearcat Sports Camps and worked with Special Olympics Oregon in Marion County and Willamette's athletic department," Kong said. "I was able to bring together special needs athletes, and with a lot of help from the WU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, the basketball programs, and the softball team I was able to raise about $1,200 to donate to Special Olympics Oregon.
"I brought the idea to Director of Athletics Rob Passage the summer before my senior year," Kong continued. "Once he agreed, I began to meet with him, Associate A.D./Senior Woman Administrator Leslie Shevlin, Sue Hill (Sports Manager of Special Olympics Marion County), and other coaches and administration people to figure out logistics for my events.
Kong proceeded to arrange the camps and to seek out ways to raise money for Special Olympics Oregon.
"I did a sports camp for swimming and men's/women's basketball," Kong added. "The Willamette softball team was kind enough to help out with a softball skills day for Special Olympics. In terms of the fundraiser that was mostly the work of SAAC and the basketball winter fundraiser. I met with Rob and a few other people about fundraising and they suggested using the basketball fundraiser and taking the money donated from that event and giving it to Marion County Special Olympics. I also met with SAAC to explain my whole project to them and ask them for their help and support.
"I had already had the idea of putting on sports camps for special needs individuals during my junior year. A baseball player who graduated the year before had done something similar. Over the summer of 2018, I was working at PT Northwest and one of the patients there was a Special Olympics athlete who told me about the lack of funding the organization was experiencing and that they were going to have to cancel fall and winter sports. That gave me the idea to not only provide them with a cool opportunity to interact with collegiate athletes, but I was also fortunate enough to have people willing to help me raise money to donate to the organization."
The camps added to Kong's list of experiences in leading other athletes, including her time on the Willamette women's tennis team, teaching tennis lessons, and umpiring at softball games. Kong explained how each generation of athletes in women's sports can contribute to the next generation and how important it is for that to happen.
"To me, 'Lead Her Forward' means having the opportunity to set an example for, and encourage, younger female athletes to participate in athletics," Kong said. "I have been lucky enough to have people support me and push me to play sports my entire life, and I am extremely grateful for that. Not every girl has the opportunity to try and pursue athletics. I think it is the responsibility of everyone in the sports community, but especially the females already involved, to continue to push for more options, representation, and equality. Being a woman in sports can be challenging and there are certain hurdles that men will never have to overcome, which is why it's important for the younger girls to have someone who used to be in their shoes to look up to, advocate for them, and support them."
Her various experiences as a student-athlete helped Kong develop friendships while learning that she could impact her teammates and her sport. She was able to become a leader and develop the confidence to succeed in many aspects of her life.
"Being a woman in sports has most importantly given me the opportunity to meet some incredible people and they have all influenced me as I continue to grow. Playing sports, especially in college, has also helped me realize that I do have the potential to make a change, I just need to be willing to sacrifice some things and put in the time and effort to accomplish it. I think being a female in sports has helped me to gain confidence and learn the skills needed to take on and be successful in leadership roles.
Many women helped Kong along the way. They contributed to her development as an athlete and made her feel important. Some were coaches and others were not. The impact on Kong may have happened slowly, but the overall result was significant for her.
"To date, I think I have only had two female head coaches, but I have had plenty of other females who I look up to within the athletics community," Kong explained. "My first two years at Willamette, I played under Becky Roberts on the women's tennis team, and without her, I would not have had the opportunity to play tennis at Willamette. She is the reason why I became the first person in my family to play sports in college. I will always be grateful to her and the team that she brought me into.
"Although Leslie Shevlin was never my coach, I have known her since I was a first-year at Willamette through many of the swim team members, but I only started working with her my senior year. She is someone who I was once intimidated by, but I've grown to not only respect her, I also greatly admire her, and she is a woman that I look up to."
