Women, Girls and Sports

June 21, 2011

On June 21, 2011, just days before the 40^th anniversary of Title IX, women came to TheMotherhood to discuss issues surrounding girls’ participation in athletic activities – and the beneficial impact sports can have on their lives.

Leading the chat was Nancy Hogshead-Makar, Women’s Sports Foundation’s senior director of advocacy, Olympic champion, law professor and mother of three.

“This is exciting to know that we are all coming together and talking about this important aspect of our daughters’ lives,” said Lorrie, one of the Talk participants.

Read on to learn more about girls and sports!

How sports can impact a girl’s life

Nancy pointed out that Title IX is a federally funded piece of legislation making sex discrimination in athletics illegal, and those tax dollars spent on sports are well allocated.

“Think of sports as an important investment in a kid’s future, the same way you think about math or writing class,” she suggested. “Sports give kids a toolkit for success,” with benefits including improved physical and emotional health, better grades and more education.

“As you know, there’s a huge obesity crisis on our country, and a HIGH SCHOOL sports experience is the #1 best prevention tool out there,” Nancy added.

“We’ve done team sports rather than dance, and I think my girls have gotten a lot of benefits out of it – physical, social, emotional,” said Deb, Mom of 3 Girls.

Agreed Diane, MomoFali, “My daughter has played organized sports for seven years and she gets great grades! You learn how to be a member of a team, to act as an individual in conjunction with the team, how to handle defeat and how to be graceful. Such valuable life lessons!”

“I was a world class athlete, but the best thing I got out of sports wasn’t gold medals – it was those life-long lessons!” said Nancy.

Encouraging participation in sports

You can urge your daughter to try new things until she finds a sport she really enjoys. You can also encourage her by making athletics a “buddy” activity or a more social event.

“I have a son and twin daughters, and I’m always looking for great coaches for them. I also find it’s better if I can get them signed up with their friends,” said Nancy Hogshead.

“Our AYSO (soccer) program lets first-year players request to play with friends – definitely helps those kids who aren’t as likely to want to play otherwise, I think!” agreed Deb, Mom of 3 Girls

“Friends are a great influence. It is like having a workout buddy,” said Sarah, Sarah and the Goon Squad.

Parents can be a great influence, too! “I wasn’t encouraged to ‘keep at it’ by my parents and I only ran track for a few years,” said Stacy, My Life of What-Ifs. “I wasn’t passionate about any sport. My daughter is almost 11 and she LOVES soccer. I am excited for her.”

Watching girls’ sports or getting to know older girls who play sports might also have an impact on your daughter when it comes to getting involved in athletics.

“Seeing older girls play sports is such a great inspiration for the younger girls,” said Carolyn, This Talk Ain’t Cheap.

“It’s all about a culture that tells girls that – THEY BELONG HERE. They’re not invading someone else’s turf,” agreed Nancy.

Girls’ sports by location

Regardless of desire, however, geographic location does make a difference when it comes to sports opportunities for girls.

“Iowa, Nebraska and Maine are much better than Florida and D.C. Florida has just 30% of its kids playing sports, whereas Iowa has almost 100%. Girls in Maine have almost twice the opportunities that boys Florida do,” noted Nancy Hogshead.

“In NY where I live, outside the city, most girls are connected to at least one sport. I think that parents make a real effort to get them involved and see the benefits,” said Holly, The Culture Mom.

Nancy acknowledged, “It’s true – when there are SO MANY girls playing sports, it isn’t stigmatized, isn’t like they’re doing a male activity.”

“I also imagine there are major differences as a result of socio-economic differences. My kids are fortunate, I work from home so I am available to take them to after school sports. I imagine in many areas of the country, and where moms work, these opportunities are not available. It then becomes critical for schools to implement more sports and other after school activities for the children,” lyz pointed out.

To address that issue, “The WSF has a program called GoGirlGo! that is about getting millions of girls active,” said Nancy Hogshead. And lyz is “on the board of an organization called Jeremy’s Heroes, which has implemented after-school programs in NYC public schools which do not have organized sports activities.”

Co-ed v. Single-sex teams

Sometimes, the only organized sports that are available are boys’ or co-ed teams. In other locations, sports are strictly male- or female-only.

According to Nancy, “Sports is the only place in all education where we sex-segregate. Boys go one place, girls go another.” How we treat them when they get into these separate areas can influence the rest of a girl’s life, and there is still a lot of work to be done.

“My 8yo did a soccer camp last year where they didn’t separate boys and girls – it was her first time playing with boys. And she did amazingly – really helped increase her skills too, I think. Boys play more aggressively than girls from what I’ve seen, and that encouraged her to play to their level,” said Deb, Mom of 3 Girls.

“I have boy/girl twins, so I see the sex segregation clear as day. Fortunately, at seven, they are still able to play on the same tee-ball and baseball teams … My kids love the co-ed teams. I am sad that for basketball we have to be segregated,” added Sarah, Sarah and the Goon Squad.

In some places, though, sexes are not segregated for certain sports, where co-ed teams become the norm. It isn’t the best fit for all girls.

“They do not separate soccer in our town. My daughter is petite, but a very good athlete, and she stopped playing after two years because the boys were twice her weight. We have since switched to gymnastics. I think single sex as they get older is better for both boys and girls,” said lyz.

Agreed Emily McKhann, TheMotherhood, “I found much the same for my girls, that they’ve done better on single sex teams. They also like the camaraderie among the players and missed that dynamic when there were boys and girls.”

Being the girl on a boys’ team

When it comes to co-ed opportunities, one of the hardest situations is being the only girl – or one of the only girls – on an all-boys team.

“My daughter is struggling with wanting to continue playing golf. She’s the only girl on the team,” said Diane, MomoFali.

“If you want to play with the guys, that’s great, go for it. BUT be prepared to call the guys out on some sexist remarks. At least, that was my experience in HS shop class,” said Monica, Paper Bridges.

“I had the same issue – there were girls on the team, but I didn’t work out with them. And on Every Single new team I could expect to be sexually harassed. (I would have called it “being a jerk” as a teen.) But soon they flipped and respected me as an athlete – it just took awhile,” encouraged Nancy Hogshead. “But I hear you – it’s tough – but she’s not alone, and this is really good fodder as she moves into the professional world.”

Nancy also suggested to “mix it up a bit! Get another friend on the team, work with different coach or at a new course.”

There is more work to be done

Despite the progress that has been made, boys’ and girls’ sports are still unequal. As Nancy pointed out, girls’ sports receive $186 million less in athletic scholarships each year.

“As a mother of three young daughters, I find the lack of sports opportunities for them disturbing,” said Carolyn, This Talk Ain’t Cheap. “All of the sports teams we have in our town are either boy-only or co-ed. We don’t have any all-girl athletics and my girls don’t want to play with the boys.”

“In my town, there is plenty for young girls but I keep hearing the opportunities dwindle as soon as they hit middle school,” said Emily McKhann, TheMotherhood.

“Girls on the Run focuses on middle school girls. You may want to check that out,” suggested Monica, Paper Bridges.

“Become an advocate for your daughter or your school! Go to our (brand new!) website and click on ‘Advocacy.’ There you’ll see ‘Playing Fair – A Title IX Playbook for Victory’ – provides specific step-by-step directions. And you can call our Advocacy dept!!!” concluded Nancy Hogshead.

Links

Billie Jean King on Good Morning America, mentioning Nancy while talking about the 40th Anniversary of Title IX: http://video-cdn.abcnews.com/110620_gma_king.mp4

Follow the Women’s Sports Foundation on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/womenssportsfdn

Like the Women’s Sports Foundation on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Womens-Sports-Foundation/107750079247827

Call the Women’s Sports Foundation with your advocacy questions: 1-800-227-3988

Thank you to Nancy, the Women’s Sports Foundation, and our amazing blogger co-hosts!

Carolyn, This Talk Ain’t Cheap

Courtney, One Bored Mommy

Deb, Mom of 3 Girls

Diane, MomoFali

Gina, My Very Last Nerve

Holly, The Culture Mom

Jamie, Crunchy Cupcakes

Joanne, PunditMom