Girls Need a Chance
By: Emma Levy
Imagine this: Amanda, a soccer player in middle school, was about to sign up for the girls soccer team, but when she asked to sign up, there wasn't one! Due to a budget reduction, the team got cut. Amanda was a pretty good soccer player and loved the sport, so she decided to join the boys' soccer team. When she asked the coach, he said no, you will not let the boys play to their full extent. There are many benefits to girls on boys' teams.
The author of "Should My Daughter Play for a Girls' Team or a Boys' Team?" says that there are many benefits of girls playing on boys' teams. In the text one of the benefits are "because there are a higher number of boys' teams, there is access to more local competition, both in tristate or in neighboring states." That would mean girls would have a greater competition, and a bigger verity of leagues. Another benefit would be more options in coaching and player development philosophy. Girls would would get the chance to have a different type of coach and their development as a player would be different.
Girls can excel almost as much as boys can when it comes to sports. Anne Driscoll, the writer of the article "Giving Girls a Sporting Chance" has seen and talked to people who have experienced this happen. "A sixth-grade teacher named Dan Sullivan said he saw girls working just as hard, competing just as fiercely and achieving just as much as the boys did." The author says "there is no difference [between boys and girls] in the significance of the Sport being played."
Sometimes girls' don't get the same advantages as the boys' teams do. In the article "About Girls' Participation on Boys' Teams" the author helps us see this. Girls' get some disadvantages, like they are not getting as many materials as the boys do. "CAAWS recognizes that not all girls' teams receive as many resources." Sometimes due to budget reductions and lack of girls signing up, the girls team would be dropped. An example is, in the movie "She's The Man" the main character's soccer team got dropped due to the lack of girls signing up, so she decided to try out for the boys' team.
Some people may think girls are not beneficial or would not let the male players play to their full extent if girls were on their teams. However, there are several reasons to oppose this point of view. Most girls are hard working and determined, so they can help their team to victory. If girls can play to their full extent on either gender specific teams, why can't boys? Gender doesn't matter when it comes to sports.
There are many benefits to girls being on a boys' team. Girls get to experience different types of coaching methods and can excel more than they did on a girls' team. This is important. Girls don't get treated the same way boys do in sports. Some girls would try out for boys' teams but get rejected because of their gender. Girls should try out for the sport to show how good they are so they can finally have a chance.