Start with the environment around the conditions that help girls feel safe, connected and heard.
Kang Women's Institute
herLENS STARTER KIT
Every girl deserves a soccer environment designed intentionally for her.
Understand her. Support her. Keep her in the game.
The herLENS Starter Kit builds coaches' knowledge and confidence across five key topics environment, puberty, menstrual cycle, nutrition, and injury prevention so every coach can support the unique experiences, development, and needs of girls in the game.
Explore the starter kit
Explore five evidence-based topics designed to support girls’ health, wellbeing and experience in soccer. Start anywhere and learn at your own pace. Each topic brings together practical learning, player stories and actions you can apply.
Understand how the body and mind changes through puberty, and what those changes can mean on the field.
Explore the menstrual cycle, what’s typical, and how to help players understand and manage their individual experience.
Learn how fueling supports growth, health and performance, and how to build positive habits around food.
Understand what influences injury risk and the practical steps that can help players stay healthy and in the game.
Born from the womens game
From the culture and strategy embedded within the U.S. Women’s National Team environment and founded by Head Coach Emma Hayes and her team, herLENS is grounded in a powerful principle: designing intentionally for girls and women in soccer, not adapting from a male default.
"We cannot simply adapt the system from a male default, we must design intentionally for women and girls”
Watch
These short videos introduce key concepts from the Starter Kit in a simple, visual way. Watch them to build your own understanding or share them with your players to support learning and conversation.
Learn from herlens game changers
Hear from researchers and practitioners working at the forefront of female health and performance.
Why this matters
Girls experience soccer differently, and there are clear pinch points where she's likely to drop out. With the right knowledge, every adult around her can reduce the risk of the factors driving it most
REDUCING BURNOUT
Girls who feel supported, have fun, and are self-motivated they are more likely to enjoy the game, stay involved, and continue developing through adolescence.
BUILDING CONFIDENCE
Small changes in how we communicate, coach, and support girls can have a lasting impact on confidence, motivation, and wellbeing.
CREATING POSITIVE EXPERIENCES
Every interaction matters. Informed coaching and supportive environments help girls feel safe, valued, and excited to keep playing.
READY TO BEGIN
Start with Environment and explore how the people, culture and systems around a player shape her experience in the game.
Pioneering organizations
The work doesn't stop here. These organizations (and many more) are doing incredible research and creating resources that support coaches, parents, and players worth exploring for anyone looking to go deeper.
BRAS FOR GIRLS
Bras for Girls donates new, high quality sports bras and breast development education booklets to girls in need, ages 8-18.
Football for Her
Provide a safe space for those who identify as female or non-binary to play football (some may know it as “soccer”), offering mentorship and professional resources that may not otherwise be available.
Coaching Her
Transformative coaching resource designed to help sport coaches challenge conventional norms and rethink what it means to coach girls.
Positive Coaching Alliance
A positive approach helps youth get the most out of sports, which is what coaches, parents, and the athletes themselves want.
The center for healing and justice through sport
National nonprofit organization working to ensure that more young people and athletes have access to sport experiences that are healing-centered, inclusive, and work to address issues of systemic injustice.
Women's Sports Foundation
For more than 50 years, the Women’s Sports Foundation has worked to expand access, advance opportunity, and strengthen the future of women’s sports.
