Source: NYMetroParents
Between swimming, soccer, and softball, I have been involved
in sports for as long as I can remember. I was raised in a very sport
orientated family; I have two older brothers who were college athletes so growing
up, quitting athletics never crossed my mind. When I found out girls stop
playing sports twice as much as boys, I became concerned for my younger female
cousins who are becoming more involved in athletics.
Yes, there were times when I wanted to hang up my goggles and
walk away from the pool. There have been many races that have not gone as
planned and at times it did not seem worth it anymore. Now as a senior who is forced
to stop competing in three months, I cannot image what my life would be like
if I decided to quit swimming. Being an athlete has taught me self-discipline,
the importance of perseverance, and gave me confidence in my own skin
(especially because I am in a swimsuit every day). The feeling I get after a
personal best time in an event is indescribable. It is moments like this that
make every 5:30 am practice and the endless laps in the pool while starring at
a black line all worth it.
But how do you describe this feeling to girls who are
considering quitting a sport? I would have never experienced the highs and lows
of athletics if I stopped swimming in middle school. It’s not a coincident that
51% of girls stopped playing sports by the end of puberty (McNulty,
2016). Iris Marion Young discussed this phenomenon in her essay Throwing like a Girl. Young argues that
the way females learn to behave and move their bodies is
depicted in athletics. She states, “For many women as they move in sport, a
space surrounds them in imagination which we are not free to move beyond; the
space available to our movement is a constricted space” (Young, 1980). If you watch a girl through a ball, you’ll
notice she only throws with her arm will the rest of body is immobile. This is
not because girls are weak; girls are taught to take up minimal space so using
the whole body would be too invasive. In addition, as girls go through
puberty, they become less confident in their abilities and approach obstacles
with uncertainty and hesitation (Young, 1980). 89% of girls aged 16 to 24 feel
pressure to conform to the way girls are supposed to feel and act (Wallace,
2016). Because of this, girls quit sports since it is seen as not lady-like
and too dangerous.
Always, a feminine care company, created a #LikeaGirl advertising
campaign to encourage girls to play sports. The company conducted a Puberty and
Confidence Survey of 1,800 ladies aged 16 to 24 years old and found that seven
out of 10 girls quit sports during puberty because they felt like they did not
belong. In addition, two- thirds of the girls felt society did not support girls
who activity participate in sports. The
latest video, Keep Playing, encourages
girls to stay actively involved in sports even though they are consistently
facing criticism from others. One girl was told she could not be a rugby player because
she was a girl and another shot-put competitor was told she had to be girly and only do certain activities (Wallace, 2016).
Hearing these negative stories is concerning because of the positive
aspects associated with female athletes. Keeping young girls involved in sports
not only increases their self-esteem during high school but also influences
their future employment status. In 2015, a U.S. consumer data study showed that
women who play sports regularly were twice as confident as women who did not
play sports (McNulty, 2016). Additionally, girls who play sports are more likely
to graduate from college and find a job in male-dominated industries. A recent study conducted by EY found that among top senior executive business women, 94%
played sports and 52% played at the college level. 75% of the women said that a
candidate’s background in sports positively influences their application because of the strong work ethic associated with athletes (Brooke-Marciniak, 2016). The
life lessons and skills learned through sports are relevant for academic and
the workforce success.
As a current college senior, I have spent a lot of time
reflecting on my past swim seasons and my life as an athlete. Being an athlete
has shaped my life in many ways. I’ve learned the importance of goal setting
and hard work. I've learned to keep my head up after every loss. I gained valuable leadership, time management, and
teamwork skills, which are important in all aspects of life. If I did not
swim in high school and college, I know I would be a completely different
person. Therefore, I will #KeepPlaying #LikeaGirl, will you?
Brooke-Marciniak, B. (2016).
Here’s why women who play sports are more successful. Retrieved from
http://fortune.com/2016/02/04/women-sports-successful/
Wallace, Kelly. ( 2016). How to
keep girls in the game after puberty. Retrieved from
http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/28/health/girls-sports-puberty-likeagirl/index.html
McNulty, M. (2016). Why girls
should keep playing sports #LikeAGirl. Retrieved from
http://newsok.com/article/5508120
Young, Iris M. (1980). Throwing like a girl: A phenomenology of feminine
body comportment motility and spatiality. Human
Studies, 3, 137-156.
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