Meet Sonia Epstein! She just had to go out and get herself a headband after watching Lizzie and The Mighty Cheetahs. Too cute!

“An audience member, who is a sports sociologist at a Canadian university, mentioned to me afterward that he thought that Kick Like a Girl was a fabulous portrayal of not just the players, but the parents as well. We appreciate Jenny sharing Kick Like a Girl with us.”

-Russle Field with the Canadian Sports Film Festival

   I am happy to announce I am being featured on Todays Mama!  Todays Mama provides personal, professional and parenting resources designed to foster a greater sense of identity, empowerment and connection for women and mothers everywhere.

Todays Mama is all about people dreaming big:

Mamas are known for cheering on their children, their husbands, their friends. But when was the last time you gave yourself a pat on the back? Put yourself in the spotlight with women who can appreciate the joy of what you’ve done whether you completed a marathon, lost 20 pounds, or just cleaned out that scary garage.

Here is a snippet from my interview:

Where did you find inspiration to get started?

My family has been incredibly supportive and I have a wonderful husband who really encouraged me to follow my dream and do this career change. The real inspiration, however, comes from the people I get to interview for my films. Their life stories and points of view are fascinating, and I am honored to be able to tell their stories.

Click here to learn more about me as the “Featured Mama” on Todays Mama!

“I loved the trailer! I would totally watch the film!”

~Alan, 23, Las Vegas
“The movie is totally killer! I loved it!” Chiara, 21, Salt Lake City

Most people know the gist of Title IX, that it has something to do with female athletes receiving equality in sports. But there really is a lot more to it. According to the Women’s Sports Foundation: “Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is a federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in any educational program or activity at any educational institution that is a recipient of federal funds.” Did you realize that educational programs not only include sports, but drama, band and other extracurricular activities as well?

So what does this mean for athletic programs? Title IX requires:

1) That women be given an equal opportunity to participate in sports
2) That female athletes receive athletic scholarship dollars proportional to their participation (e.g., if there are 100 male athletes/100 female athletes and a $200,000 scholarship budget, then the budget must be split $100,000 to men/$100,000 to women, according to the Women’s Sports Foundation)
3) That women receive equal treatment in the form of additional benefits like travel and allowance, coaching, practice facilities, etc.

An article was recently written by Erik Brady in USA Today about James Madison University in Virginia. This particular school had a total of 28 teams—13 men’s and 15 women’s. All together the athletic programs have a budget of $21 million. This may seem like a lot, but football in and of itself received $4.2 million. Obviously football was receiving far more than any of the other sports.

In order to meet the regulations of Title IX, JMU cut seven of their male teams and three female teams. Now the teams are unequal in numbers, but they are proportional with the percentage of female and male students. The students are 61% female and 39% male, and according to Title IX, these numbers must match with the percentage of students attending the University. After it cut these programs, the leftover money was put to female athlete’s scholarships.

So I want to hear your thoughts. What do you think about Title IX?

“Kick Like a Girl was a wonderful component to the newly formed children’s component at the Foursite Film Festival.”

Scott C. Halford, Director - Foursite Film Festival

“We are proud to say that the film “Kicks Like a Girl” played to a capacity crowd at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. With its compelling story, interesting people, and thoughtful direction, it was no wonder that it did so well. But what I think made its mark to viewers of all ages, was the powerful message that the strong desire to succeed can overcome the stereotypes society heaps upon us.”

- Mike Takeuchi, Apple Box Programmer Santa Barbara International Film Festival

“Dribble and shoot like a girl!”

Jenny Mackenzie and her daughter Anna coached a u11 “Jr. Jazz” basketball team.  Anna is a freshman in high school and plays on her high school team.  She and her mom were a fabulous coaching team and the team had a 8-1 record!

Well, one 4 1/2 year old in this household likes this film.

Rowan is Lizzie most of the day now and “tell her that Rowan likes Lizzie.” We do the Mighty Cheetahs’ cheer at least 4 times a day. Rowan is now hot to play soccer so it will be added to the list of activities. I think she can do indoor now so i may wait until the outdoor season starts. We also love the “I know we are Democrats!”

MM, Seatle