Dr. Ally Howe speaks as Clara Brown and Amber Bretton, right, listen during a panel discussion at Women in Sports Night at the Portland Sea Dogs game. (Derek Davis/Staff Photographer) Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

PORTLAND — Once you realize you’ve become a role model, you have don’t have a choice. You embrace it completely and do everything with the knowledge that somebody is watching and learning from everything you do, and just keep doing what you’re doing.

Thursday, the Portland Sea Dogs celebrated Women in Sports Night before and during their game against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies at Delta Dental Park at Hadlock Field. Fans who arrived to the ballpark early had the opportunity to hear from women who know they’re role models, and who are ready to set the path for the next generation of women in sports to follow.

The panel discussion held in front of the ballpark prior to Thursday’s game was moderated by Madison Spencer, the Sea Dogs manager of ticket sales and events. It included Emma Tiedemann, the Sea Dogs director of broadcasting, Dr. Ally Howe, the head physician for Team USA hockey’s women’s national team, Clara Brown, who won the bronze medal in road cycling at the Paralympics in Paris last summer, and Amber Bretton, a Gorham native and member of the University of Connecticut softball team.

It was a chance for the women to talk about their journey, offer advice, and continue to inspire.

Taking up three rows, the Massabesic High field hockey team watched the discussion unfold. They didn’t take notes, but they soaked it all in.

“I liked the stories of how they got to where they are today,” said Addison Rogers, a sophomore midfielder.

The stories told how they got to where they are, but the women were really offering a map. A blueprint for other women to follow. Opportunities may not come at the exact right time, Howe said. She noted that her first opportunity to work with the national team meant she would leave her family and young children the day after Christmas. That was hard, she said, but with the support of her family, she did it.

“I said ‘I’ve got to make this happen.’ Always say yes. You will make your own path. Just keep saying yes,” Howe said.

Carrie Earls, who works for the Maine Celtics and previously coached girls teams at Waynflete, hugs her daughter, Morgan Earls, who is a ball girl for the Portland Sea Dogs and a lacrosse player at Roger Williams University, after throwing out a first pitch. Nine women engaged in women’s sports threw out a first pitch before the Portland Sea Dogs game on Women in Sports Night. (Derek Davis/Staff Photographer) Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

Brown, who is training to compete in the 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles, couldn’t stress enough how important it is to lean on the people willing to help you.

“You can’t ever do it alone. Dream big,” Brown said. “As athletes, we learn so many skills that are beyond the field of play. Set goals and have confidence with the team around you… When I hear no, I seek out resources to prove them wrong.”

Have fun, the women said. Calling baseball games for an entire season can be a daily grind. Tiedemann, who has called a Red Sox game on NESN each of the last two seasons, doesn’t let it become a chore.

“I’m lucky. I friggin love this job,” she said. “Every game is different. Monotony has never once crossed my mind.”

Bretton’s advice has been repeated by and to athletes at every level for decades, but it can never be overstressed. Put in the work. Even when you don’t want to, do the work.

“Sometimes you want to stop and take a break and not try anymore. But it’s so worth it,” Bretton said.

Tiedemann didn’t set out to be a trailblazer, she just wanted to call ballgames. Howe didn’t set out to be Team USA doctor. She took the MCATs and went to medical school on a dare, a challenge from a college professor who saw potential in her she didn’t know she had. Brown didn’t set out to be a Paralympic medalist. She turned a chance encounter with a member of the U.S. Paralympics advisory committee into a life-changing opportunity. Bretton put herself in position to be seen by college softball coaches, creating her opening on a Division I roster.

Carrie Earls, who works for the Maine Celtics and previously coached girls teams at Waynflete, throws out the first pitch to her daughter, Morgan Earls, who is a ball girl for the Portland Sea Dogs and a lacrosse player at Roger Williams University. (Derek Davis/Staff Photographer) Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

If the young women watching the discussion learned anything, it was this. Opportunity needs to be created, then grabbed.

To Massabesic senior Paige Stephenson, it was Bretton’s story of her recruiting process on the way to UConn that resonated the most. Joining a travel team and playing out of state as much as possible. Catching the eye of a coach at a showcase tournament.

“I think it pretty amazing. I went through a similar recruiting process. It related to my experience,” said Stephenson, who will play college field hockey next year at Central Michigan University.

Keep at it, role models. They’re paying attention.