Sports teach us valuable lessons about failure.

Danette Leighton learned this crucial lesson firsthand. Her extensive career includes roles like the executive director of Stanford’s NCAA women’s basketball Final Four, vice president for WNBA and NBA, and chief marketing officer for Pac-12.

However, her most significant lessons were gained from playing softball as a girl in Southern California.

“Learning how to deal with losses helps you recover quickly,” says Leighton, who is now the CEO of the Women’s Sports Foundation, in an interview with YSL News Sports.

“You need that resilience. You have to be ready for the next game and recognize the importance of learning from your mistakes.”

Although she dropped out of middle school and stopped playing sports in high school, Leighton reflects on the vital skills she picked up from her sporting days—teamwork, coping with pressure, driving physical limits, and yes, accepting defeat—as essential to her later achievements.

“When you know how to fail,” she explains, “it teaches you how to win.”

This principle is central to the “Play to Lead” study by the Women’s Sports Foundation, which establishes a connection between girls involved in youth sports and their evolution into effective leaders.

Through a survey conducted by YouGov, the WSF gathered insights from adults aged 20 to 80, aiming for a representative mix of ethnicities and socio-economic backgrounds.

Interestingly, 49 percent of respondents credited the skills learned through sports for their leadership success in areas like their communities, schools, and workplaces, including in executive roles.

This supports the Women’s Sports Foundation’s foundational premise established 50 years ago. Founded by Billie Jean King in 1974 during an era when women faced significant barriers to financial independence, the foundation has continuously advocated for women’s rights, especially following the implementation of Title IX.

The organization continues to thrive, leveraging the support from Title IX, especially as girls’ participation in high school sports has only reached levels boys achieved back in 1972.

However, the empowerment gained from youth sports has been evident long before this point.

According to the WSF, “Experiences in youth sports equip women and gender-diverse individuals to become leaders capable of influencing our country and its democracy during times of both stability and crisis.”

Prior to “Play to Lead,” the Women’s Sports Foundation’s research primarily focused on skills acquired from collegiate and elite sports.

Here’s what they discovered regarding how engagement in youth sports can foster leadership qualities in girls:

Sports are essential for girls; you don’t need to be a star to gain their benefits.

The survey involved 2,886 participants, with 98.6 percent identifying as women in adulthood, who played sports between ages 5 and 26. The WSF collected data about their backgrounds in sports, along with the skills and leadership experiences they gained along the way.

According to the findings, 67 percent of women believe they have successfully transferred their skills from sports into their adult lives.

Over half of the respondents (52.6%), like Leighton, emphasized “learning from mistakes” as an essential takeaway from their sporting experiences that helped prepare them for leadership roles. Other anticipated results aligned with the expectations of the WSF’s CEO and her team.

“We’ve dedicated 50 years to affirming this model: sports aren’t just optional for girls; they are crucial. And you don’t have to be an elite athlete to benefit from them,” Leighton asserts.

Leighton’s introduction to sports began in childhood, thanks to her father, Bill Macri, who coached high school baseball and football in Simi Valley, California, and played at UCLA. Her younger daughter picked up a softball at a young age, playing in her father’s position as a second baseman.

Eventually, she decided to quit playing.

“If only I could articulate what was happening in my ninth-grade brain,” she reflects.

Both Bill and her mother, Lorchid Macri, accepted her choice without question.

“I’m incredibly fortunate to have parents who always supported my aspirations and encouraged my sister and me to pursue whatever we were passionate about,” she shares.

She later attended the University of Arizona, where she discovered her enthusiasm for intramural girls’ flag football.

Regret lingered for her decision to stop playing softball. When her own daughter, Olivia, was born, Leighton and her husband, Chris, ensured she participated in various sports throughout her childhood.

“We enrolled our daughter in numerous sports, hoping she would discover her passion,” Leighton explains. “Now, she’s a college student majoring in genetic studies, passionately engaged in STEM and science. She may not view herself as a top-tier athlete, but I am sure of the valuable lessons she’s learned from sports.”

Sports Teamwork is essential for leadership

Leighton did not play softball for long enough to determine if she was capable of competing at a higher level.

Today, much like the participants in the WSF study, she benefits from hindsight and understanding. While she learned the mechanics of catching a popup, she also realized that collaborating with others was often necessary to achieve an out.

When she faced the pressure of a bases-loaded situation, she felt a reassuring sense of support from her teammates, regardless of the outcome of her at-bat.

Her career, which began with a position in the ticket office at Arizona, unfolded in a similar manner.

According to the report “Play to Lead,” 73% of women stated that their biggest takeaway from youth sports was the value of teamwork.

“Every leader will tell you that teamwork is one of the most vital characteristics necessary for success in any organization,” she explains.

Leighton transitioned to the athletics department at Arizona, where Rocky LaRose, a former softball player at the university, held a prominent role.

“I encountered a woman in a position I never knew existed,” she notes. “That’s where my career really started to flourish.”

When she stepped into her initial vice president role with the Sacramento Kings in 2001, she recalls counting the number of women in similar positions at her first NBA league meetings on her fingers.

As the demographic of women in such roles approached a more equal ratio, she understood the significance of having allies, regardless of gender. This lesson is relevant to youth sports as well.

“It’s vitally important for both girls and boys to witness women participating in sports,” she asserts. “That’s the beauty of what is emerging today.”

She references the moment when WNBA star Sabrina Ionescu competed against Stephen Curry in a shooting contest during the 2024 NBA All-Star game.

Ionescu successfully made her first seven shots and nine of her first ten, finishing with a total of 26 points. Curry had to make nine out of his last ten shots to gain a total of 29 and win.

“I believe an event like tonight sends a powerful message to young girls and boys that shooting talent knows no gender,” Ionescu remarked afterward.

Sports help us navigate life’s challenges

In 1973, King triumphed over Bobby Riggs in the “Battle of the Sexes” tennis exhibition at Houston’s Astrodome. King has shared with Leighton that, while advocating for women’s equality, winning was imperative for her. That’s a tremendous amount of pressure to handle.

Pressure in youth sports can be a complex issue. When children are faced with excessive pressure, it can harm their well-being.

Nonetheless, experiencing pressure can be beneficial for kids if they have the right support and encouragement. Leighton recalls dreading the scenario of being up to bat with two outs and a full count in the final inning, but now appreciates the learning opportunity it provided.

“Overcoming those simple early life lessons teaches you that losing isn’t the end of the world,” she explains. “You simply start rebuilding from that point.”

More than half (50.9 percent) of women surveyed indicated that “handling pressure” was a significant lesson learned from youth sports, with 46.2 percent emphasizing the importance of “pushing physical boundaries.”

“Sports are about exceeding physical limits, but they also target mental toughness, showing that when you push boundaries, you innovate,” Leighton observes. “You adopt an entrepreneurial mindset, think creatively, and these skills translate to both life and business.”

Among women surveyed in “Play to Lead,” those who participated in sports during their formative years reported that 48% have taken on formal leadership roles in the workplace, and nearly 71% held positions like manager, director, president, or executive roles.

“The competitive spirit, resilience, and appreciation for teamwork that I developed were crucial for my advancement,” Leighton shares. “In every job I’ve had, while there was always room to learn the specifics of the role, the key skills that truly mattered were the intangibles. I firmly believe I wouldn’t have reached the vice president level or C-Suite without them.”

Sports pave the way for future leaders among girls and women

The WSF research reveals that the longer girls engage in sports, the more likely they are to assume formal leadership positions.

Leighton believes that extended play allows girls to learn how to cope with loss, navigate complex game situations, and build self-confidence.

The Women’s Sports Foundation continues to advocate for girls to have lasting sports opportunities.

Title IX outlawed sex-based discrimination in educational institutions. Yet, 52 years after its enactment, girls have over 1 million fewer opportunities to participate in high school sports compared to boys, according to WSF research.

“These opportunities remain at risk, and there are always aspects of compliance that are inadequate,” Leighton remarks.

Girls are leaving sports due to insufficient physical education in certain schools, limited opportunities in others, subpar facilities, or the pay-to-play model that can deter boys as well.

You can support them, Leighton suggests, by purchasing jerseys or tickets to their games or volunteering as coaches. This helps create a pipeline for nurturing the upcoming generation of leaders.

“We need to ensure that opportunities, which were once unavailable to girls, are safeguarded, similar to the historical injustices regarding mortgages and credit cards,” she emphasizes. “It’s unimaginable. My daughter wouldn’t even comprehend that. Our goal is to prevent history from repeating itself.”