Kylie Kelce wants to keep girls in the game. The field hockey coach, podcaster and girl mom of four is continuing her partnership with Dove in pursuit of an important mission — helping girls build body confidence.
With 1 in 2 girls dropping out of sports during adolescence, largely due to body image issues, the mom and athlete shares that she hopes to drive home the message that all bodies belong in sports.
“I think it’s a matter of making sure these girls know that they can appreciate their body for what it can do instead of what it looks like,” Kylie tells PEOPLE.
“You’re not going to be a cookie-cutter. If we were cookie-cutter, that would be really lame. It would be a sad, boring world if we all looked the same or were built the exact same. So I think it’s the most obvious, in sport, that your body can do amazing things and that it doesn’t necessarily have to look a certain way to do that.”
This year, Kylie has led by example, pushing herself out of her comfort zone as the host of the Not Gonna Lie podcast. While she admits it can be “terrifying” to open up her life to others this way, the 33-year-old says she beats the uncertainty by knowing she’s taking control.
“My main focus is the theme that it’s always been, which is if you’re going to have to talk about me, you should talk about things that matter. So it’s so exciting to have the podcast. I’m so excited to make the connection with women, with women in sports, with moms,” she explains.
“I feel so fortunate to be in the position that I’m in, but I’m super happy that I get to do things like partnering with Dove and still doing work with the Eagles Autism Foundation and doing things that really truly speak to my soul and my heart,” Kylie continues.
“I want people to know that it’s all fun and games to talk about the Kelces, and it might be the hot, clickable item, but if I’m involved, I would prefer it have to do with things like the Body Confident Sport Initiative,” she adds.
“Those are the things that matter and those are the things that should be taking up space and those are the things that should be in front of everyone, so that’s what I’m going to continue to do.”
