Celebrating National Girls & Women in Sports Day

February 5th was National Girls & Women in Sports Day, unfortunately I did not find out about it until after the fact and while working on a different Blog post, I figured late is better than never discussing this important day.  People may think I always write about what is wrong with youth sports and while that might seem true its not youth sports that I feel are the problem, but what they have become is the problem, a huge unregulated money-making operation that seems to benefit the needs of the adults and not the kids.  If you have read my blogs you’ll see that I am totally for the actual “youth sports” part of youth sport: kids running around, getting exercise, learning teamwork and how to win and lose on the field of play, learning teamwork and leadership…skills that they will carry with them throughout their lives.  These are the things that I learned while playing youth sports and things that I carried with me throughout my life.

Seeing the Facebook post about  National Girls & Women in Sports Day on my friend Facebook page (thank you Liv….LOL) got me to thinking about the advantages of young girls and woman playing youth sports.  When my daughter was younger and playing youth soccer, it was much harder to research the advantages of girls playing youth sports and I mostly heard the advantages of girls playing youth sports at work conferences where the development of the juvenile brain was discussed. While poking around the internet I found that youth sports offer young girls many benefits that contribute to their physical, mental, and social well-being. Here are ten reasons why participating in sports is great for young girls, along with some sources that support these benefits:

·       Improved Physical Health

·       Increased Confidence and Self-Esteem

·       Development of Leadership Skills

·       Improved Mental Health and Reduced Stress

·       Better Academic Performance

·       Development of Social Skills and Friendships

·       Resilience and Perseverance

·       Gender Equality and Empowerment

·       Enhanced Motor Skills and Coordination

·       Increased Lifelong Health Habits

As with most lists that I put in my blogs, there are the very obvious advantages of girls and young women playing youth sports and this list covers them quite well.  For example, while improved physical health, improved mental health, and reduced stress along with enhanced motor skills and coordination are very important for young children, male or female, what youth sports does for young girls and women is it increases their confidence and self-esteem. This will help them develop a sense of achievement, which boosts self-esteem and confidence, especially as they improve their skills, additionally, they help young girls and women develop leadership skills as team sports, in particular, foster leadership and teamwork. Girls learn to communicate effectively, make decisions, and take responsibility in group settings.  Finally, youth sports help young girls develop social skills such as communication, teamwork, and conflict resolution. They also build lasting friendships.

Many years ago, when I was coaching my daughters Under 8 travel team, long before there was the internet and all this research on the advantages of youth sports, especially for young women, I could see most of what I stated above.  I watched 12 girls, all of whom had just started playing soccer and were not necessarily friendly with each other develop into a cohesive team that played well together.  Some of the girls stepped up and took vocal leadership roles while others led by example and were able to show their leadership to the others on the field of play.  As the team developed, some girls left the team and others joined and I noticed that as new girls came onto the team the existing members of the team rallied around their new teammates and made them feel as part of the team immediately.  This was all done on their own without any prompting from me or my assistant coach and I know for a fact that quite a few of the friendships the girls developed on that team many years ago are still active today and quite a few of the girls are now successful in their chosen field and they are also giving back to their communities by now coaching their own children and others.

When I read articles discussing the advantages of playing a youth sport I am amazed at the fact that  some 25 years ago youth sports coaches knew nothing about the advantages of youth sports and how they could help our children and I for one am happy that this information is out there for all to see and I am further happy to see that these benefits clearly illustrate why youth sports are essential for the development of young girls, both in the short and long term!

Summary of Sources:

1. American Heart Association (https://www.heart.org)

2. Women’s Sports Foundation (https://www.womenssportsfoundation.org)

3. National Girls Collaborative Project (https://ngcproject.org)

4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (https://www.cdc.gov)

5. American Academy of Pediatrics (https://pediatrics.aappublications.org)

6. National Institute of Health (https://www.nih.gov)

7. The Aspen Institute's Project Play (https://www.aspenprojectplay.org)

8. UN Women (https://www.unwomen.org)

9. National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) (https://www.shapeamerica.org)

10. World Health Organization (WHO) (https://www.who.int)