At long last, a great sport movie to watch with your daughter
In the summer we published 10 great sports movies to watch with your kids and not one of them is a movie about female athletes. It’s not easy to find a quality family sport movie that features a girl as the star, in a role other than “the girlfriend”.
When we think of female athlete role models with an uplifting storyline in cinema, we often think of Hollywood sport movies, either on baseball (A League Of Their Own), soccer (Bend it like Beckham), martial arts (the Kill Bill series), and even boxing (Million Dollar Baby), but we never thought a women’s surfing movie documentary could be inspirational to our non-surfing daughters.
Then Netflix Canada surprised us all with something radically different this summer: Lakey Peterson: Zero to 100. It is the story of girl who decided to focus on one sport at the age of 12 and went on to win the largest surfing competition in the world at 19. She is now ranked in the top 10 on the surfing world pro tour.
This inspiring one-hour movie documents Lakey’s multi-sport roots as a kid and the ups and downs of her rookie year on the world pro tour while inspiring us to push boundaries, change lives, and make dreams come true.
Lakey Peterson: Zero to 100
Director: Aaron Lieber
Cast: Lakey Peterson, Bethany Hamilton, Stephanie Gilmore
Year: 2013
Studio: LIEBER VISION
Format: DVD, Digital download via Netflix or iTunes
Run time: 60 min
MPAA rating: N/A
You do not need to be a surf addict to appreciate this movie. It illustrates beautifully all the fundamental concepts of physical literacy, for females or males:
- Lakey played a plethora of ball sports as a kid (multi sport).
- She enjoyed water and skateboard acrobatics (multi environment).
- She played on mixed teams (no gender barriers).
- She is quoted to having said as a kid: “ It’s not that the boys are slow, I’m just fast” (confidence from physical movement).
- She chose to focus on one sport at the age of 11 or 12 (late specialization).
- And had a supportive family who introduced her to different opportunities of physical activities.
- The beautiful scenery accompanied by a killer soundtrack is a bonus.
Be forewarned, though. If your daughter watches Lakey Peterson: Zero to 100, make sure you have a pool or water park day planned soon after because she will be itching to get in the water while dreaming of achieving sporting greatness, endless waves, and exotic travels all over the world.
Watch the full movie on Netflix Canada while registering for a free month, rent it on Itunes for $6.99 or buy the DVD online for approximately $30.
Surf Lakey’s website.
I would also recommend The Heart of the Game. A fantastic documentary about a female high school basketball team.
Those are great suggestions, Alison. Thanks for sharing them.
Without a doubt it is not easy to think of movies (sports or otherwise) that are appropriate for children and feature positive messages and female role models. I would not dare to show my kids KIll Bill to highlight this message but there are films out there. A little research is needed but you can find examples such as Ice Castles & National Velvet. For older girls, possible Girlfight or Love & Basketball.
I watched Soul Surfer on NetFlicks this past weekend, and while Bethany’s perseverance and desire to return to surfing is inspiring, I know that my own daughters (6 & 8)would find it scary as they are very sensitive to people becoming injured. My daughters would not be able to appreciate the movie as inspiration until they are much older.
Of course, Janice, each parent will have to determine whether their children are old and mature enough. But there isn’t anything about the film that is graphic in nature, or thematically for adults only. My 6-year-old daughter didn’t have a problem watching and enjoying the film.
I guess you have never heard of the movie Soul Surfer. A true story about how a female surfer overcame seemingly insurmountable odds.
She loses her arm to a random shark attack just at the point where she was set to take the female surfing world by storm. She now has to learn to do a lot of things differently.
Even with this obstacle she is able to get back onto the surf board and make a name for herself. I guess you failed to mention this one because it was predominantly christian in is theme.
Soul Surfer is one we didn’t know about, Kevin. Thanks for the suggestion. It’s a film based on the life of Bethany Hamilton.
If you watch the Lakey Peterson documentary, you’ll see that Bethany appears. She and Lakey are friends.