Mariah Duran
Olympic skateboarder & mentor
1. What sports did you play during puberty?
Baseball, softball, basketball, and skateboarding.
2. Do you think playing sports during puberty helped you become more confident?
Yes. I believe sports definitely taught me to be more comfortable with failure and taught me how to overcome a lot of obstacles. And just by doing that it definitely helped my confidence in and out of sports. I’m more comfortable going into uncertainty, new places and new situations, meeting new people. With skateboarding you never know what will come next. There are so many variables, and it’s arguably 50% a mental game, so you just focus on doing your best to achieve your desired outcome. Now, when I’m thrown into situations I’ve never been in, I can more easily just go with the flow and show up confidently just as myself, knowing I’ll be able to handle whatever comes my way.
3. What skills did you learn from playing these sports?
Focus, accountability, discipline, progression and patience. I’ve learned more about what it takes to see results, and what it feels like to move through both internal & external obstacles. One form of patience I use is the practice of trial & error - giving myself permission to try again and again, till I get it.
4. How do you think these skills have helped you?
Having focus taught me that I can accomplish anything by putting my mind to it. Being accountable taught me to do the right thing when no one is looking. Being disciplined helps me to keep pushing forward even when I don’t want to. And having progression reminds me to always search for growth in whatever I do. I’ve learned to carry patience outside of sport too – allowing myself to be patient with others as they do their best in whatever they’re doing. And it’s important to me to always be growing, getting better, and learning, on and off my board. You need patience to get good at any new craft! I believe these skills have also helped me champion and advocate for others. You don’t have to be the best to inspire possibility for others, just seeing someone that you can relate to going after it, is enough. We all have a voice and I feel blessed to have a platform to try to help others. Sports and life can be very competitive and I’m so fortunate to have my best friends be skaters. Skateboarding has become more about comradery, it’s about doing your best and authentically hoping all your friends land their best runs too. I believe we can show the world that championing and advocating for others can be symbiotic with competition and even the Olympics.
5. Do you think society does enough to encourage girls to keep playing sports? What more can we do?
I feel like society encourages “kids” to keep playing sports, but at a certain age you just stop seeing as many girls playing sports. That’s why I think it would be helpful to visually see more women in sports in the media. I also think there needs to be more support & opportunities for girls who want to play a sport that historically isn’t known as a “girls sport”. It’s hard enough for any kid to start a new sport, but it is especially hard if society on top of all of that, tells you you’re not made for it or welcome to learn this new craft. Coaches and team managers can make all the difference in how boys, and girls, treat each other. Coaches and adults need resources and training on how and what to communicate - support, normalize and empower girls to stay in sport. What’s stigmatized needs to be normalized. There should be education for girls as well that they are not alone. I was lucky to have the opportunity and a safe environment to gravitate toward whatever sport I was interested in, including sports that society said girls can’t do. People should be open minded. If a girl wants to play football or skateboard, it should be about equity not just equality meaning they should have extra support and advice in how to play that sport.
6. What would you say to a puberty-aged girl that is thinking about quitting sports?
That any changes you go through during puberty are normal and should never stop you from pursuing something that you love doing! The sooner you accept yourself, the sooner you can make adjustments to enjoy and play your sport.
7. What is something someone shared with you when you were younger that you found helpful?
My mom told me that everybody goes through changes and that I’m not alone. Hearing that allowed me to accept the situation and understand that the only thing that’s going to stop ME from playing sports is ME.
8. Why are you excited to partner with Always to #KeepHerPlaying?
I really like the campaigns Always has done in the past, breaking down stereotypes of girls being athletes. Keeping girls in sports is very important to me because sports helped make me who I am today and has been a crucial part of teaching me how to navigate life. The only way to grow and normalize girls in a sport is to get more girls playing that sport. Yet twice as many girls as boys drop out of sports once they hit puberty, which I find shocking and extremely unfortunate. I feel like every girl should have the opportunity to see how far their potential goes. I hope that by knowing other girls have overcome situations that they’re going through, girls feel inspired to keep playing and keep pushing forward.
