Physical Health Education, JSS 3, Week 3
TOPIC : Why Girls Drop Out of Sport
Content
- Reasons girls drop out of sport
- Reasons they need to participate in sport
Reasons Girls drop out of sport
By age 14, girls are dropping out of sports at two times the rate of boys. The Women’s Sports Foundation has identified key factors which contribute to this alarming statistic.
- Lack of accessibility: Girls have 1.3 million fewer opportunities to play high school sports than boys have. Lack of physical education in schools and limited opportunities to play sports in both high school and college mean girls have to look elsewhere for sports –which may not exist or may cost more money.
- Girls sometimes don’t receive the support they need from their family. The primary place where girls learn about gender roles is the family. Families still tend to engage, perhaps unconsciously, in gender stereotyping, conveying to girls the message that girls are not meant to be found in sport or they call t rough play.
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Poor coaching: study as to why they dropped out of sports, the fourth highest was that coach was a poor teacher; number nine was that the coach played favorites. Coaches who berate and belittle girls turn sports into such a hurtful, harmful experience that dropping out becomes for many a way to avoid further damage to their self-esteem.
- Teenage girls experience a crisis of confidence: Studies confirm what women know from their own experiences as teenagers: that girls suffer a severe crisis in confidence and larger drop in self-esteem during adolescence than boys (who gain self-confidence as they mature). As a result, girls are more likely to quit sports and other challenging activities than boys because they don’t view themselves as being good enough.
- Social Stigma: Girls in sports may experience bullying, social isolation, negative performance evaluations, or the loss of their starting position. During socially fragile adolescence, the fear of being tagged “gay” is strong enough to push many girls out of the game.
- Lack of positive role models
Reasons they need to participate
Girls need to participate in sport because of the following reasons:
- Participation in sport and physical activity positively impacts physical and mental health, and reduce the probability of young people engaging in risky behaviors such as unsafe sexual activities and drug use
- Girls will learn important life skills such as teamwork and conferences
- Participation in sports can give girls the skills and confidence to break down barriers and achieve goals throughout their lives.
- Girls active in sports during adolescence and young adulthood are 20% less likely to get breast cancer later in life.
- Sports can address gender issues and promote gender equality on a global scale.
- Are better at organizing, setting priorities, and budgeting time – Playing sports adds to – not detracts from – a girl’s time, energy, and commitment to schoolwork and increases the desire to attend college.
- It helps to enhance self image/esteem, increase the level of confidence and reduce inferiority complex
- Girls’ involvement with sports is related to higher levels of family satisfaction, in both single-parent and dual-parent families.
- Fewer chronic illnesses – Girls who play sports have stronger immune systems and run a reduced risk of chronic illnesses later in life such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, endometrial, colon and breast cancers
- Girls who play sports have a more positive body image and experience higher states of psychological well-being than girls who do not play sports.
- Girls who play sports learn team work and goal setting skills – Working with coaches, trainers and team-mates to win games and meet goals is a great practice for success in life. Being a team player makes it easy to work with others
- High school female athletes have more positive body images than non-athletes.
- Healthier menstruation – Girls who play sports have lighter and more regular periods and experience less cramping and discomfort.
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