Kylie Kelce joined best-selling author Liz Moore for a conversation about women in sports

Dozens of young girls filled the Old Pine Community Center in Society Hill, surrounding Mac Casey and author Liz Moore. For the most part, it seemed like just another typical practice day for Skilladelphia members. However, the one thing — or person — that stood out amongst the crowd was Kylie Kelce, host of the popular Not Gonna Lie podcast.

Kelce, also the better half of former Eagles center Jason Kelce, joined Skilladelphia’s first fundraiser to discuss women in sports alongside Moore, the author of best-selling books The God of the Woods and the Philly-set novel Long Bright River. As part of the conversation, Kelce praised Skilladelphia for its work.

“[The Skilladelphia] athletes are learning something that’s very important,” Kelce said. “Which doesn’t always mean that they’re going to be a basketball star, but they should still stick with it, and they should still enjoy the intensity of sport but not necessarily the pressure.

“I think there is this idea that colleges are going to call at midnight on the night that recruiting starts. Yes, it’s exciting but it’s not going to be everyone’s truth and that’s okay. And as young athletes, we shouldn’t shy away from that. We shouldn’t shy away from sports just because we’re not going to be that top-recruited Division I field hockey player. You can still go Division III and enjoy the heck out of your experience and win conference championships and go away with some of your best friends in life.”

The event raised money for the non-profit organization which offers low-cost or no-cost basketball and lacrosse training to girls and nonbinary people at all levels. Moore and her husband Casey founded Skilladelphia in 2013 with a mission to keep girls in the sport longer, provide accessible sports education that doesn’t prioritize competition but instead prioritizes fun and safety, and provide remunerative work for fair compensation for women coaches.

Having Kelce as a special guest for Thursday’s event felt like the perfect way to kick off their first fundraiser.

“We’re not even calling it a fundraiser,” Moore said. “We’re calling it a celebration because I think a lot of the purpose of this is sort of just awareness building. Kylie Kelce represents the city of Philadelphia so well. Obviously, she’s a huge advocate for girls and women in sports. So, we’re just incredibly grateful for her support.”

Throughout the event, Kelce discussed the importance of women in sports, and talked about her history as a college field hockey player and coach.

“I feel really strongly that if your kids are in the right place and there are the right coaches around them that they are about to get something from those coaches that they will not get from you,” Kelce said.

“[As a coach,] I want them to walk away with the understanding of what team sports can do for them. That if you are a team player and you understand what it is to be part of a team, then you can go on in life, you can work in an office, you can work in a team setting.”

After her conversation with Moore, Kelce was gifted a Skilladelphia hoodie and took some questions from the crowd. One of the Skilladelphia athletes asked: What sport do you secretly hope your daughters play?

“Field hockey,” Kelce said. “But I hope at least one of them plays basketball. Because I do feel like if they’re my height, it’s a waste.”

And when it came to the significance of women-only spaces in sports, Kelce used Unrivaled as the perfect example.

“I recently had the absolute honor of getting to go to Unrivaled,” Kelce said. “That room felt like an exciting warm hug. It just felt like it was meant to be that way. And there were obviously men who came to watch but they were clearly in on the fun. And that is a good example of women supporting women ... We have to love each other in a way that we understand each other.”