At Girls on the Run, we often talk about the lessons girls carry with them long after a season ends: confidence, courage, kindness, healthy relationships, and the power of believing in themselves. But something equally meaningful happens along the way. The coaches who help bring these lessons to life often discover that the experience gives just as much back to them.

For returning coach and school counselor Carlie, that connection is at the heart of why she keeps showing up, season after season.

"Seeing that confidence and self-love grow in girls every year is my why and the reason I keep coming back," she shares.

It's a simple but powerful reminder that Girls on the Run isn't just about teaching lessons. It's about creating a community where girls and adults can grow together.

Finding Their Voices and Taking Up Space

One of Carlie's favorite lessons in this season's Girls on the Run curriculum, Bold Sharing, focuses on assertive communication, a skill she knows will serve girls throughout their lives.

As a school counselor, Carlie regularly helps students understand boundaries, advocate for themselves, and navigate relationships. Through Girls on the Run, she reinforces those same skills in an environment that celebrates each girl's unique strengths.

"I want every girl to know it is okay to take up space, to make their voice heard, and to communicate firmly and strongly," Carlie explains. "You don't have to be the loudest in the room to be the most effective."

For girls growing up in a world filled with expectations about how they should look, act, and behave, learning to speak up without apologizing can be transformative.

Carlie believes teaching assertive communication gives girls more than the ability to express their feelings. It helps them build healthy friendships, establish boundaries, and develop the confidence to advocate for themselves.

And the impact doesn't stop when practice ends.

Carlie sees these skills carry into the classroom, influencing girls' friendships, relationships, and even their academic experiences.

These are lessons that last well beyond a single season.

Learning to Be Kind to Ourselves

While helping girls find their voices is an important part of Carlie's coaching philosophy, she is equally passionate about helping them change the way they see and speak to themselves.

"I love teaching girls to be comfortable and confident in their skin, and grateful for the ways their body can move," she says.

For Carlie, Girls on the Run creates an opportunity to challenge the stereotypes and unspoken rules that can shape how girls view themselves.

She wants girls to understand that their value isn't determined by their appearance, but by who they are, how they treat themselves, and how they treat others.

One message she hopes girls take away is the importance of speaking to themselves with the same compassion they would offer someone they love.

"Teaching them to talk to themselves like they would a best friend. Communicate with kindness, grace, and love."

It's a lesson that resonates far beyond childhood.

After all, how often do adults need that very same reminder? To replace self-criticism with kindness. To recognize their own strengths. To give themselves permission to make mistakes, grow, and begin again.

These are the moments when the lessons become reciprocal. As coaches encourage girls to practice self-compassion, confidence, and courage, they are also invited to reflect on how they practice those values in their own lives.

A Safe Place to Grow for Everyone

Ask Carlie what she hopes her girls will remember about her as a coach, and her answer has little to do with running.

She wants them to remember that she was their biggest supporter. Someone they could turn to with any feeling, no matter how big. Someone who made them feel safe enough to be vulnerable, make mistakes, and keep learning.

"That we are all human, are still learning, and it's okay to be vulnerable and make mistakes. And that I am a safe space to land," she shares.

That sense of belonging is one of the most meaningful gifts a coach can give.

For girls, it creates the freedom to try something new, share an opinion, navigate a challenge, or discover a strength they didn't know they had.

For coaches, it offers something just as valuable. This experience creates the opportunity to witness growth firsthand and to be reminded of the power of encouragement, patience, and human connection.

When a girl finds the courage to speak up, celebrates a teammate, or begins to see herself in a more positive light, her coach gets to experience that moment, too.

And sometimes, those moments reinforce the very lessons adults need most: that showing up matters, that kindness makes a difference, and that none of us ever stops learning.

Lessons That Last a Lifetime

At Girls on the Run, every practice is an opportunity to build something bigger than physical endurance. It's a chance to nurture confidence, encourage healthy relationships, and remind girls that their voices and feelings matter.

Coaches like Carlie make those lessons possible, not simply by teaching them, but by living them.

And in return, the girls offer their coaches something extraordinary: the joy of witnessing possibility unfold, the reminder to approach themselves and others with grace, and the inspiration to keep growing.

Because when we help a girl recognize her strength, we often rediscover a little of our own.

That's the power of Girls on the Run. The lessons we teach girls today inspire all of us for a lifetime.

Carlie's story reminds us that the lessons we teach through Girls on the Run can shape lives on both sides of the coaching relationship.

In the next installment of our EmpowHER Hour-inspired series, we'll explore that connection even further, sharing why coaches choose to give their time, what keeps them coming back, and the unexpected gifts they receive along the way.