By Laura Pappano

Because we can all benefit from hearing serious young female athlete voices, we connected with three talented basketball players who just finished nine days at the summer academy run by the non-profit SportsChallenge Leadership & Education Alliance in Washington, D.C. Director Molly Hellerman (a former college athlete and pro soccer player for the Houston Tornadoes and the Chelsea Ladies FC) says the organization uses soccer and basketball to explicitly teach leadership and getting-along-with-different-people skills. “Sports offer girls the opportunity to practice being leaders,” she says.

Diamond Santana-Williams (top left, 12th grade, NYC, small forward) started playing basketball in 5th grade but “didn’t really take it seriously until I reached high school.” Now, she says, “I play with more heart than most players.” Katie Gallagher (top right, in background, 12th grade, Philadelphia, PA, guard) started playing when

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