Raise your hand if you ever played a sport in your childhood. Now, raise your hand if that sport has led you to critique your body in a new and completely unhelpful way. According to a new survey, 41% of teenage girls in the U.S. stay away from sports because they lack body confidence, and more than half of them say they have been ridiculed, criticized, or bullied for their body size.

As you might imagine, sports can also be developmentally constructive, thanks to the camaraderie, assertiveness, and exercise associated with team sports. Still, it is undeniable that girls are staying away from sports at twice the rate of boys of the same age. To combat this, Dove has partnered with Nike (for the first time ever!) and launched the Body Confident Sports Coaching Program. And he got Queen Venus Williams involved. [In the world of sports, girls often face tremendous pressure. Pressure not only for performance and ability, but also for unrealistic expectations about their appearance. We are pleased to be working with Dove on this initiative to help foster self-belief and confidence in girls, foster a positive environment, and help shift the conversation from appearance to ability." Our shared goal is to make sports a more inclusive and welcoming space for girls everywhere."

The new online tool released as part of the collaboration also includes body confidence inspiring materials for coaches, which have been scientifically proven to improve self-esteem and body confidence in girls ages 11-17. Studies have shown that 76% of girls say they would stay in sports longer if they had a coach they could relate to, and 61% of girls say they would like to learn about body confidence education from a coach

. [Nike believes that all children should have the opportunity to play and is focused on expanding play and sports for girls, who are the least mobile. Globally, girls face complex cultural and social barriers that slow their engagement in and early exit from sports, and our partnership with Dove and our unique focus on coaching through Body Confidence aims to change this. This partnership is aimed at changing this situation.

For more information on this partnership (or to introduce the tool to your team!) ), check out bodyconfidentsport.com.