How Sweet It Is: Fill The Stands Gives Boost to Girls’ Sports

By David A. F. Sweet Growing up in the Milwaukee area, Elizabeth Sweet loved playing all sorts of sports, from basketball to soccer to cross country. She dreamed of playing varsity basketball at Homestead High School in Mequon. She achieved that goal – but few watched their games.

Elizabeth Sweet's Fill The Stands helped girl athletes attend a pro women's soccer game recently. “We had a big field house, and 200-300 watched the boys. For us, it was just parents and the band,” the Lake Forest resident said. “It was deflating.” She visited a few years ago to see if more people watched girls’ sports at her alma mater than watched her team in the early 2000s. Even though Caitlin Clark was filling the stands at the University of Iowa, nothing had changed at Homestead High or in girls’ sports in general.

On National Girls & Women in Sports Day in 2025, Sweet (no relation) launched Fill The Stands. The non-profit focuses on boosting attendance and creating more energy for girls’ middle-school and high-school sports. The Fill The Stands website features a playbook for female student-athletes, showing how to enhance girls’ games. The first event took place last year at Lake Forest Country Day School, where Sweet coached the girls’ sixth-grade basketball team. Fill The Stands brought in a DJ to energize the crowd. In February, her group enlivened the LFHS Gymnastics Invitational, which featured 12 schools. “When I came across Fill The Stands, I thought what a perfect time and perfect initiative. Gymnastics is decreasing across the state,” said Brittany Moccia, head gymnastics coach at LFHS. “The DJ kept the momentum going during a really long morning. They’re warming up with no one there for four hours. Then, the stands were packed for the event. We had 50 percent more people than the year before. It was exciting for the girls to compete with so many fans, and we brought in students on a cold winter day who typically hadn’t watched gymnastics.” Another important feature of Fill The Stands is the Fill A Seat campaign, where young female athletes who rarely have the means to do so attend a professional women’s game for the first time. On Aug. 23, thanks to many donations of $19, nearly 120 tickets were raised. All were distributed to girls who love sports, along with their loved ones, so they could attend the Chicago Stars match at Martin Stadium in Evanston. “They had a great time, and as a special experience, those interested were able to go on the pitch for the National Anthem,” Sweet said. “They were so lit up by the entire experience. They were so grateful. It’s a simple ask that makes a huge difference.” Press Pass is another initiative designed to help girl athletes. Sweet – who has written for The Wall Street Journal and who has a bachelor of arts degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin – is the write mentor for the project. “Several girls on this committee are interested in sports journalism,” she said. “If they promote the games, it gives them experience of writing stories and interviewing.” Also armed with a master’s degree from the Savannah College of Art and Design, Sweet uses what she learned to boost Fill The Stands. “Interior design is experiential – how you’re affected by your built environment,” she said. “A gym is a different kind of living room, but we have to figure out the best space to put the DJ to give fans a jolt of enthusiasm. I would love these girls to feel an NFL experience -- that they’re celebrated at the same level as Friday Night Lights.” 

Sweet’s mother and father help run the non-profit, and she counts on volunteers from the Junior Athlete Committee – mainly comprised of girls who play high-school sports in the Chicago suburbs and Wisconsin -- to offer advice. She hopes to add swimming and diving to Fill The Stands’ repertoire soon.

Her ultimate goal? It may sound crazy at first, but it is to make Fill The Stands obsolete.

“Right now it serves a very important purpose, but I’d love for it not to be necessary,” she explained. “Girls deserve attendance. It’s linked to confidence. Those impacts show up later in life when they believe they’ll crush the speech in the boardroom.

“I want girls competing now to feel celebrated. It’s professionally fulfilling for me to use my skills for good. And I’m growing alongside the athletes.”