Players with Tampa’s first professional women’s soccer team use platform to discuss body image

As the Tampa Bay Sun FC gets ready for their first game of 2025 this Saturday, the team is also inspiring positive conversations about body image ahead of National Girls & Women in Sports Day.

Tackling body image issues

What they're saying:

Over their careers, some of the players told FOX 13 they’ve experienced incidents of body-shaming in the past. 

"I had an instance where, when I played in Germany, I had gained some weight, and I came back, and I got a lot of ridicule from not only coaches, but fans as well," midfielder Erika Tymrak said. 

Wednesday marks National Girls & Women in Sports Day, so the Bay Area’s first professional women's soccer team is using its platform to talk about body image this week. 

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"I feel like a majority of female athletes struggle with body image at some point in their career," Tymrak told FOX 13. "And it's something that's not talked about a lot. It's like a little taboo." 

They’re hoping all the young soccer players in the Bay area will hear their message. 

"If I asked one of the little girls, what are you not good at in soccer? Or what do you not like about yourself? They can just rattle stuff off," head coach Denise Schilte-Brown said. "But if I ask them what they're good at, they're going to struggle to figure that out. They hesitate."

Why teen girls quit sports

By the numbers:

A 2023 study by Dove and Nike found that 45% of teenage girls said they quit sports due to body image concerns. 

"Interestingly, we're seeing a lot of different concerns in our young females and males related to their body image," Dr. Jennifer Katzenstein, director of psychology, neuropsychology & social work for Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital, said. "In our athletes specifically, we tend to see that control over their exercise and calorie intake really become very prominent."

Advanced technology certainly doesn’t help either, she added. 

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"The impact of what our influencers and other public figures put on their social media and the amount of potential Photoshop or adjustment to those photos is what our teenagers and young adults see," Katzenstein said. 

National Girls & Women in Sports Night

Local perspective:

But this week, the Tampa Bay Sun FC hopes these teenagers and young adults will see their talented players shining brightly. 

"We have all different kinds and sizes of bodies here, but these women are strong and powerful and confident," Schilte-Brown said. "And they’ve risen to the top of their game."

During Saturday’s game, the Tampa Bay Sun FC will celebrate National Girls & Women in Sports Night and will highlight local female sports figures in the Bay Area. The game at Riverfront Stadium begins at 7 p.m.

The Source: This story was written with information gathered by FOX 13's Ariel Placensia. 

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