Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Three Reasons Girls (and women!) Should Play Sports

It's Wednesday and you know what that means. It's only 3 days until the weekend time for another Workout Wednesday (WOW) linkup hosted by Diatta Harris from Femme Fitale Fit Club, Sheila Simmons from The Frugal Exerciser, Natalie from Clean Eating Teen, Jenn from Comeback Mommaand yours truly! 

Before we start the party, I have some exciting news! I got the chance to speak to SELF Magazine recently about my experience as a female collegiate athlete on the 42nd anniversary of Title IX. And...I was quoted and pictured in an article on SELF.com talking about Title IX with 5 other former and current college athletes!


Talking to the SELF writer made me reflect on what my experience as a collegiate athlete meant to me as a woman in particular. So, in honor of the 42nd anniversary of Title IX, here are three reasons girls (and women!) should play sports.

1. Learning leadership skills
As Sheryl Sandberg famously pointed out in Lean In, while boys are normally praised for asserting themselves girls who take charge are often labeled bossy. All of this gender-role conditioning makes girls less interested in leadership roles by middle school, and may have something to do with the fact that only 5% of Fortune 1,000 CEOs are women. The court (field, track, etc) is one place where girls are encouraged and rewarded  for being assertive and taking the lead.

2. Getting comfortable with competition--and excellence 
Girls are also less likely to be taught to compete and tend to prioritize getting along. I saw a great example of this freshman year of college, when the fastest girl on our team would routinely run at less than 100% during sprint drills. When our coach called out her lack of effort, she explained she was trying to finish at the same time as everyone else. Well, you can bet coach put a stop to that. Playing sports teaches girls to want to win, and that it's ok to be the best and finish first. 

3. Building a positive body image
According to the Center for Disease Control and National Association of Eating Disorders, girls start to express concerns about their own weight or shape by age 6. SIX YEAR OLDs are worried about being fat, people! Playing a sport teaches girls to care about what their body can do instead of just how it looks. And studies have found that girls who play sports have higher self esteem and healthier body images.

While these are all important reasons for girls to play sports growing up, they're also reasons grown women should play. Men are more likely to continue playing recreational sports as they get older while women are busy fitting in work, childcare, and running the world. But despite our crazy schedules, finding time to get that sense of accomplishment, competition, and FUN with a group of other women is definitely worth it to me. My mom played volleyball all through my childhood and competed in the USA Volleyball National Championship in the 55 and over division (go mom!) last month! I hope to follow in her footsteps one day and to stay active in athletics as long as possible.

Ok, let me climb off the soapbox and get on to the party!


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23 comments:

  1. Great points! Playing sports has been such a great experience for my daughters. My oldest jumps horses (which has been great for her) but when she started volleyball she realized there can be instant gratification when scoring a point. Horseback riding is a bit more delayed.

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    1. So great that your daughters are so active. Love that your oldest plays volleyball too!

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  2. You made some excellent POINTS!!!! Congrats again on this article and let me try and talk my 12-year old daughter into playing some sort of sports to build her confidence. :-) #wowlinkup

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    1. Haha thanks Diatta! If it helps, I had 0 confidence when I was 12 and almost did not get out of the car for volleyball tryouts. My mom made me get out of the car and I'm super grateful to her for it :)

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  3. I agree 100%. I did cheerleading and soccer in high school and learned so much that I still use today. #wowlinkup

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    1. Ooh cheerleading AND soccer. Awesome combo! Thanks for stopping by !

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  4. OMG so many things: CONGRATS on the article- your quote is awesome and you look super buff in the picture! And go Mom, that is so cool! All of these are great points and I 100% agree. I am so afraid of having kids who don't enjoy sports, it was such a big part of growing up for me and is a huge part of why I am who I am now!

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    1. Thanks Lindsay! I know what you mean. There are so many different and great kids sports options. Fingers crossed any future kids find something they love!

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  5. It also helps with being a team player which is also an excellent skill to have. Congrats on being featured in Self magazine and visiting from the #wowlinkup

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  6. Love your 3 reasons! I also think it teaches girls to take care of their bodies and respect themselves as well. #wowlinkup

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    1. Thanks Deborah! Totally agree. I think that's probably one reason why girls who play sports are less likely to get pregnant in high school.

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  7. Awesome! Congrats on the article! #wowlinkup

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  8. Great points Amanda! Congrats on being featured in the magazine!

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  9. I played soccer as a teen, and might have continued into high school - but there wasn't a women's team (way back then!) It would have been hard anyway, as it seems you could only commit to one or two extra-curricular activities, as the obligations would overlap. I turned to music and drama and have just dabbled in sports since then.

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    1. That's lame that there wasn't a women's team! Great that you found other extracurriculars that you loved and awesome you still play a little today!

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  10. I never participated in sports...all part of my "what's the point of gym class" growing up. I'm so uncoordinated nobody would want me on their team now LOL

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    1. I feel you. But I highly recommend trying a sport you've thought would be fun anyways. I took tennis lessons for the first time at 25 and took adult swim lessons (with some "adults" in middle and high school!) for the first time at 27. Everyone has to start somewhere and trying new things is so great at any age!

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  11. I don't play sports anymore, but I work out HARDDDDD and that is definitely a confidence booster :)

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  12. Hi Amanda, thanks for sharing this great post. Btw the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends that children and teens get at least an hour of physical activity every day, as regular exercise improves fitness, strengthens muscles, promotes a healthy weight, and reduces the risk of problems such as diabetes and heart disease during adulthood...
    Helen

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