Sports For Girls

©copyright ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2012

A true champion is someone who wants to make a difference, who never gives up, and who gives everything she has no matter what the circumstances are. A true champion works hard and never loses sight of her dreams.

~Dot Richardson

There are numerous reasons for girls to participate in sports. Most people will argue that the number one reason is exercise and while exercise is very important, it's only one piece of the puzzle.

Facts About Girls in Sports

• Girls who participate in athletics do much better academically than girls who don't. It seems as though it should be the other way around since athletics take away from study time however, spending time conditioning your body and de-stressing the brain allows more time to actively focus on the tasks that are important.
• Girls who engage in sports have more self confidence, are more likely to make good choices and are less likely to become depressed.
• By actively taking part in at least four hours of exercise each week, girls can help reduce the risk of breast cancer by 60%. Currently breast cancer affects one in every eight women in the US.
• Sports help teach teamwork, confidence, goal-setting and teaches children how to set and pursue goals. Additionally, girls learn the importance of sportsmanship which will benefit them when they enter the workforce. Additionally athletics helps girls learn to control their emotions, fears and nerves.
• Errors in sports are inevitable when athletes try new things. The important lesson to learn is not to make the same error twice, not to dwell on the mistake and not to take the correction or criticism personally.
• Learning to be loyal to a team is critical for a cohesive bond. Each player has a role to play including the athletes who may not be "high scorers". It's important that every player champion the strengths of one another and encourage each other through difficult times and mistakes.
• Girls who participate in sports are less likely to become pregnant, more likely to get better grades and more likely to graduate.

Women who have never been on a team and don't understand the unwritten rules of teamwork are at a disadvantage. They cannot sense the bonds of "sisterhood" that happen when you spend 6 months, 1 year or 10 years on a team working toward a common goal together. It's not a phenomenon that 80% of the female executives at Fortune 500 companies were formerly athletes.

Choosing Teams

In grade school you chose people to be on your kickball team based on who was your best buddy however, in the real world teams are chosen much differently. Professionals are searching for the best candidate based on a person's strengths, competence, experience, confidence, knowledge and ability. If you interview well and you have the skills they are looking for, it won't matter that you are the queen of red-rover-red-rover...send Susie right over.

Practicing Confidence

It's no secret that boys are taught from a very early age that crying is not okay. Oppositely girls are allowed to show every single emotion that flutters through their aching hearts. Unfortunately, emotion has an IQ of zero and about as much logic as a mushroom. As such, being overly emotional will not land you a job. Athletics helps teach girls to control their emotions and to use logic and problem solving in order to face difficult situations. Sports require a great deal of confidence to perform and the longer girls stay in sports, the stronger their emotional control will be. Athletics also requires discipline and organization which are two excellent skills to have for life, for a job and for parenting.

Living and Learning

When engaging in sports with a team, errors will be made and teammates or coaches will likely point out those errors. The athlete is expected to fix the problem and continue playing or competing without taking the criticism or correction personally. This correlates perfectly to real life because when a woman gets a job and makes a mistake, her boss or coworker may give her a correction or criticism and she needs to be able to fix the problem and continue working without becoming emotional and feeling as though she is being picked on or that someone is angry with her. She should not take it personally. Her ability to work and refrain from becoming emotional will make her an asset to her team and to the company.

"Somewhere behind the athlete you've become and the hours of practice and the coaches who have pushed you is a little girl who fell in love with the game and never looked back...Play for her." ~Mia Hamm

Loyalty To The Team

Women in work settings have been known to spend a great deal of time minding the business of their coworkers as opposed to minding the work on their own desk. It's not uncommon for women to complain about their female associates and their weaknesses. Women who behave in this manner are often regarded as disloyal. However if a woman has experience with teamwork and leadership, she will understand the importance of recognizing the strengths and weaknesses of each person on the team and how to redistribute the "players" so that the team is as effective as possible.

I Think I Can, I Know I Can

Women who are raised without athletics often enter the workforce feeling as though they need something tangible such as a certification, training or a degree that makes them "qualified" to have the confidence to apply for a job. Often times they don't feel they can meet the requirements of a new occupation because they are unsure if they can meet the new challenge ahead of them; the fear of the unknown.

Athletics is about trial and error, failure and success, triumph and loss. If a woman is never exposed to the challenges of learning as they go, they may not be able to meet the demands of applying for, interviewing, starting and working a job.

I have a double degree and a double minor. I did five internships and wrote an undergraduate thesis that was the length of a book. I can still recite to you the exact definition of "probable cause" - verbatim... and yet, It's true, "Everything I know I learned on the job,"

The Boss is The Coach and The Employees are The Players

When a woman is part of a team she learns to understand the hierarchy of a team. She recognizes that the coach gives the orders and the players follow the orders. This is wonderful knowledge to have when you are moving into the workforce because the boss will make the decisions and the employees will follow directions. Whether a woman has had a male coach or a female coach, having the experience of being on a team, taking instructions, putting those instructions to use and working effectively as one unit is critical for the success of the team.

It's also important for women to learn the differences in how men and women make decisions and solve problems in order to operate successfully in a work environment. Women are more likely to discuss issues in a business setting whereas men typically maintain the hierarchy standard and give instructions which are expected to be followed without asking for anyone's opinion. Both ways are successful but it's good to be flexible enough to work well with both styles of management.

You Win Some, You Lose Some

Sports allow women to learn that even with your best effort, you might not win, but you must maintain a good attitude and be a good sport. In a job, if you were to make an error or to fail at a particular task, you would recognize your mistake and correct it without blowing the situation out of proportion. It's very important that women understand how to maintain self control at all times, regardless of the outcome. Crying in sports - during competition, is inappropriate just as crying at work is inappropriate. The important thing that each woman must remember is that making a mistake does not make you a worthless person.

"If you want to compete...Practice. If you want to win...Practice Harder." ~Unknown

Competition and Winning is Fun

In sports and in the work setting there is constant pressure, high demands, deadlines and competition. On a daily basis there may be more or less of each characteristic depending on the situation. Sports have the ability to teach girls to perceive these situations as exhilarating rather than stressful and frightening. Most businesses prefer to hire employees that enjoy and thrive in competitive situations.

No One Is Left Behind, This Is a Team

Participating in a team sport teaches players about work ethic and the role they play on behalf of the team. Every person has a job to fulfill to make the team successful even if the job is simple and small, it's important that the job be done to the best of their ability. Repetition, practice and constant hard work are the means to a successful team. Athletes know that when they are tired, they can lean on a teammate for support and stamina. This attitude is a wonderful tool to carry into the workplace. Additionally, if your teammate or coworker needs help, then you can step in and lend a hand. That's how teamwork is successful.

PERFECT Practice Makes Perfect

When you practice you must practice perfectly. Paying attention to every single detail is absolutely critical. Constantly studying your position - your job, and knowing what your position is, you must perform it to the best of your ability every day. This is what makes you an asset to the team. The best employees and players are the ones who are constantly studying their position, continuously learning and getting better every day. Always remember that there is knowledge to gain.

By the time girls are 14 years old they are six times more likely to drop out of sports than boys. Girls don't receive the same type of reinforcement to stay involved in sports that boys do. If you look at television and what is being promoted in the media, you notice that a large portion of the athletics that receive notoriety are men's sports. In school, boys are almost expected to participate in sports and are often shunned by other students when they don't sign up for football, baseball or track.

The only time that women receive equal coverage by the media in athletics is during the Olympic Games. When women do well at the Olympics, the media will begin to cover more female collegiate sports and new female professional sports. One of the best things about the Olympic Games is that there is always an explosion in the participation of youth in girls athletics.