During the big game, Dove will air an ad bringing awareness to this program co-developed with Nike to create tailored coaching for girls 11 to 17. According to the brand, 45% of girls globally drop out of sports each year, citing low body confidence as their primary reason.
This partnership is especially meaningful for Kelce, who remembers using Dove while she was a student athlete playing field hockey at Cabrini University in Wayne, Pennsylvania.
“I grew up using Dove, it’s a brand that I’ve always supported and still support to this day,” says Kelce. “I was an athlete myself and I coach field hockey now for a high school team, so every single day I am trying to do the things that Dove is now trying to achieve. It is an outstanding resource for not only athletes, but coaches and how we can address the topic and make sure that we are keeping girls confident enough that they stay in sports.”
Standing at 5’11”, Kelce’s height made her prone to feeling self-conscious. However, she began to view her tall build as a superpower when she saw how it helped her game.
“A lot of people might think that my height would negatively impact a young girl, but there are two things that helped me move past that and see it as a positive asset to myself,” she says. “First of all, my dad is 6’9”, but also the fact that my height in field hockey was a positive asset. I had a better reach, I had a stronger hit because my stick was longer. There were so many ways that my height helped me in field hockey.”
This realization—finding confidence and fulfillment through love of the sport—is what Kelce wants young girls to take away from the spot on Super Bowl Sunday. “I hope they draw the connection between sports and feeling good about themselves,” she says. “That sports are an enjoyable and positive experience and having those positive feelings then translates to making sure they continue with it.”
Ahead, Kylie Kelce talks about raising three young girls in a football family, her thoughts on starting a podcast with her mother-in-law Donna Kelce, and her husband’s surprising hidden talent.
Glamour: A big part of the Body Confident Sports campaign is making sure young girls have female coaches and influences they can identify with. Who are some women past and present that you admire and look up to?
Kylie Kelce: When I was younger, I was very much in the age of the Mia Hamm women’s soccer team. That entire team of women, when Brandi Chastain pulled her jersey over her head in celebration, those are the memories that have instilled in my brain in a positive way that I remember being like, “Gosh, they are so cool.” I recognized that these women were in the public eye and very much doing it in a positive way and being applauded for their strength and skill and their finesse—all these things that now I try and make sure that my girls are putting emphasis on.