Game Changer
At just 9 years old, Allison Park’s Callie Cochran is turning her love of softball into a growing apparel brand—and encouraging others to use their voices, too.
For 9-year-old Callie Cochran, it all started with a simple question.
A softball player and fourth grader at Wyland Elementary, Callie was shopping for clothes when she noticed the boys in her grade had plenty of baseball-themed options to choose from. She liked the colors and designs and wanted some for herself. But when she and her mom started looking, they quickly discovered that many of the products were designed specifically for boys—and there wasn’t much comparable apparel for girls.
“I felt left out and I was also angry,” says Callie. “I thought it was really unfair that boys had all of these really cool options for clothes to show how much they loved the sport that they played, and I didn’t have that option.”
Callie wasn’t the only one who noticed. Her teammates wanted softball apparel, too.
Rather than simply accept the lack of selection, she and her mom first tried to encourage an established baseball brand to make clothing for girls. They created a video and sent it to the company, hoping Callie’s idea might inspire them to expand their offerings.
The answer was no.
But for Callie, that wasn’t the end of the idea—it was the beginning.
“If they aren’t going to do it, someone has to,” she thought. “So, I asked my mom if we could do it ourselves.”
And that’s how Game On, Girls! was born.
With help from her parents, John and Erica Cochran, Callie has been involved in nearly every part of launching the youth apparel brand. She’s participated in meetings, helped select fabrics, tried on samples and even joined her friends for a photo shoot for the company’s website.
For a 9-year-old, becoming involved in a business has been a learning experience—but it’s also been one of the most exciting things she’s ever done.
“It’s been really fun and really cool seeing designs that I came up with on actual shirts and sweatshirts,” says Callie. “Wearing the clothes has been the most exciting part.”
But for both her and her family, Game On, Girls! is about more than shirts and sweatshirts. It’s about making sure girls feel like they belong in the sports they love.
When she sees another girl wearing Game On, Girls! apparel, Callie says it makes her proud to know that girl has an opportunity to represent her sport and herself.
“I hope that Game On, Girls! inspires girls to be proud of themselves as athletes and gives them the confidence to be just as loud about it as boys are,” she adds.
Her parents have been an important part of making the idea a reality, putting countless hours into the business because they know how much it means to their daughter. Callie’s friends and teammates have also helped spread the word and proudly wear the apparel.
Now, Callie hopes the brand can grow beyond softball. Her long-term vision is for Game On, Girls! to represent girls in all kinds of youth sports, including basketball, soccer, volleyball and tennis.
And she has a message for other kids who notice something they think should be different: Don’t be afraid to speak up. “Someone has to do it, so why can’t that someone be you?”
Game On, Girls! apparel is available at gogapparel.com.
Comments