Advertorial: We Play: Why Women Need to Keep Playing (And Reffing) Sports Well into Adulthood

by Lori Hamski, Green Reign Consulting, LLC

Too often, as women, we move through life feeling only half alive in a world that demands we be fully present and endlessly capable. In our effort to hold it all together, we step away from the very spaces that once taught us how to show up, reminded us of our strength and made us feel whole.

“Men are more than twice as likely as women to report playing sports in the past year,” according to the National Institutes of Health.

That gap doesn’t just exist in high school or college — it widens in adulthood and practically disappears for women by middle age. Men keep playing. Women … stop. And this stoppage contributes to both physical and mental health issues. Playing sports as an adult isn’t about holding onto glory days; it’s about something much bigger. Sports offer powerful physical and mental health benefits — things like improved heart health, strength, flexibility and lower stress levels.

But beyond the medical research — and past the sometimes-uncomfortable questions from our OBGYNs about how active we’ve been, especially as we move through the complex and too often unspoken transformation of age — there’s something even more essential to acknowledge. For women, sports offer far more than just physical health. They offer what we too rarely name: joy, camaraderie, confidence and connection. In a world that often demands we be everything to everyone, sports can be the space where we reclaim something for ourselves — something that reminds us we are whole, capable and alive.

So why do so many women stop playing — and what are we giving up when we do?

For many of us, sports were where we first felt bold. Where we learned to lead, to speak up, to push ourselves. They were where we made our first true friend, found our people, where we got to be fierce, messy, competitive, sweaty and fully alive. When we walk away from that, because of work, parenting, fatigue or the silent idea that sports are “for the young” and the middle and even later years are just about the kids or the career or the garden … we don’t just give up exercise. We give up a part of ourselves.

Maybe you played soccer growing up, but now you think, “I’m too out of shape, too old, too busy. Those shorts don’t fit anymore.” Maybe you were a volleyball player who loved the thrill of leaping higher and harder. Or a runner constantly pushing your limits.

But it’s been years.

So now what?

The fact is, there is a now what. It is still there and your people are out there, waiting for you to join their team. And no one cares how you look in the shorts. There is a welcoming locker room out there just waiting for you to step inside and a “bestie” waiting for you to show up.

Pick-up leagues. Rec teams. Hiking groups. Cycling clubs. Yoga, martial arts, hockey, floor ball, broomball, softball, paddle, pickleball, ultimate frisbee … There are so many ways to move, compete, laugh and connect again. You don’t have to play the way you did at 17. You just have to begin. Lace up. Show up. Try the thing. Find your people. And yes, there are teams for women who did not start playing hockey until 30 or 45.

We tell girls to stay in sports because of what it builds in them. But what about the women who had that once and lost it? The benefits don’t expire. Strength, confidence, connection, joy — those aren’t teenage things. They’re lifelong pursuits.

It’s time we stop seeing sports as something we age out of and start seeing them as something we grow with and into. Sports and activity are not just luxuries we should be gifted when there is finally a free moment and we are granted permission; sport is nourishment for our souls, lifeblood for our hearts, the jolt that reminds us to breathe. Sport grounds us, lifts us and returns us to the most honest, most alive version of ourselves. Live, no matter your age, to be most fully alive. It’s time to show up, for you.

Voices from the Field: Finding My Sport Again

Lori Hamski — Part-Time Athlete, Full-Time Educator

I grew up playing all the sports — and loving every one of them. Soccer. Basketball. Hockey. Track. Tennis. Golf. Softball. If it involved running, chasing, sweating or a scoreboard, I was in. Soccer was my thing, though; it was my identity.

But by my late 20s, adult league soccer started to feel … frustrating. I couldn’t hang with the 20-year-olds sprinting like they had something to prove (because they did, the older women on my team were ridiculously talented), and I didn’t want to sacrifice sleep and sanity to train like I once did. I needed to find my next thing — and more importantly, my people.

Enter: Broomball. Niche. Slightly absurd. Completely perfect. It gave me back the team, the laughter, the competition, the chaos. It reminded me who I was beyond motherly responsibilities and the mental weight of everything else life throws at women in their 30s and 40s. It brought me back to me — to neutral. And it gave me the permission I didn’t know I needed to still play.

A.T. Mracek — Retiree, Lifelong Athlete

The moment: a pickleball game against 84-year-old Alice and 27-year-old Bryce; they both played perfectly. Boom, I’m in! Show up as you are — young, old, in a wheelchair, athletic, non-athletic … the sport meets you where you’re at and teaches you confidence, personal power and humility. Step up to the net and hear the “one more game” chant from the surrounding courts, and you’ll feel how special and life-changing this game is.

Chris Lorens — Professional, Niche Sport Extraordinaire

I started floorball with coworkers 17 years ago because our company bought a Swedish company.

The sport, which is basically floor hockey in a gym, is very popular in the Nordic countries. And, 15 years ago, while in Ireland, I was introduced to their national sport of hurling (Camogie when women play). I started it at 47 and even played Worlds in Ireland. My advice is to always be trying new things and meeting new people!

Michelle Eberhard — Human Advocate, Joyful Rec Sports Enthusiast

The isolation of COVID hit hard, especially when team sports — my outlet for stress and joy — disappeared. That fall, I found myself in a ski shop, desperate to move. A friend introduced me to skate skiing, and by day’s end, I was gliding through the Star Loop, smiling wide.

For more information on where to play, check out Lavender’s 2025 LGBTQ+ Sports Directory.