On Jan. 23, the Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) Media Center hosted Head Coach of the Dragons’ track and field program Carol Leandro. The speech highlighted the importance of proper fueling, training and tips about injury-prevention for female student-athletes. 

The presentation was part of an installment in a speaker series hosted by Foothill Tech that introduces guests from an array of athletic and coaching backgrounds to expose student-athletes to new training and mindset information. Previous speakers in the series have included Karina Garcia and Mark Schmidt.

Leandro began her presentation by shedding light on the disproportionate quitting percentage in sports between men and women, with an estimated 40 percent of girls quitting by the age of 14 and that number rising to 50 percent by 17. This statistic addresses the larger underlying problem of creating more inclusion within women’s sports.

To combat this issue, Leandro emphasizes the importance of uplifting fellow female student-athletes to help create a more inclusive atmosphere and generate more general participation in women’s sports.

Later in her speech, Leandro attests to the role the menstrual cycle plays for female athletes and the negative connotations society often associates with it, “We have to stop looking at it as a limitation, I think society is getting better about that, but it’s still often talked about in a negative way. ”

Leandro broke the menstrual cycle into two phases, outlining the distinctions between the low and high-hormone phases of a woman’s cycle. With the ‘low-hormone’ phase lasting roughly the first 12 days, she recommended potentially harder workouts due to increased energy during this part of the cycle.

However, a common struggle many female athletes experience during this time is heavy cramping, which, as Leandro explains, is caused by a fluctuation of hormones.

 “When your hormones drop, your body releases prostaglandins, which help shed the uterine lining, but that can cause contractions that result in pain. The cool thing is with exercise your body can actually release natural pain killers,” Leandro said.

The second half of a woman’s menstrual cycle spans from about day 12 until a woman’s period. Leandro emphasized that energy levels can fluctuate significantly during this phase and highlighted the importance of prioritizing recovery through this portion of the cycle.

Overall, Leandro’s talk offered insights into training, recovery and fueling, while emphasizing the importance of understanding internal hormonal changes and the role they play when competing in sports. Her speech encouraged female athletes on campus to advocate for both themselves and one another to promote inclusion.