Team sports for young girls.

[vigglewiggle]

This may have been discussed before, but it has just recently occurred to me that the majority of sports clubs open to youngsters seem to be in traditionally male sports. Boys in DD's class go to rugby, football, cricket etc and the girls tend to do dancing, swimming, gymnastics (more individual activities).

I know girls could probably go along to these clubs (and I will certainly be encouraging my DD's to try any sports), but I imagine girls would be in the minority which may discourage them. I'm just wondering why we don't have netball or hockey clubs for youngsters and I'm wondering whether it does have any bearing on the development of an early sense of competitiveness/ team spiritedness?

Probably because team sports (all sports really) have been traditionally played by men. I'm sure there must be a netball club you could find though; I know we have them locally.

Yes, a quick google has revealed several local netball clubs and a league.

What ages are you looking at? DD is 6 and I am certainly not aware of any locally and I have failed to find any on google. I'm in Yorkshire BTW.

There's hockey and netball (already been mentioned). My niece is in a girls football team, too. There's womens lacrosse and womens cricket and rugby clubs. Plenty to choose from.

At the age of 6, she should be concentrating on learning basic, transferable ball skills rather than any actual game so that probably explains the lack of such clubs. The ones I saw tended to start from about age 9. I'd llok more for some sort of ball skills type thing.

Sigmund - what ages do they start at though? My points about boys being encouraged into traditionally boys' team sports at a very early age ie 5/6 whereas girls are pushed more towards individual non-competitive activities.

It may be a result of parental choices - no demand and therefore no supply, but I just thought it was interesting.

Actually, boys shouldn't be pushed into team sports at such a young age. We seem to have a ridiculous obsession with football and so many boys are encouraged to play when they are far too young. It also stops them finding other sports they may be good at.

I don't know in all honesty, I think my niece was around 8 when she started football. I think (at least in my experience) that boys usually start joining sports clubs through the school at around 7ish.

It may also be, as you say, a result of parental choice and no demand.

But boys in her class are members of rugby and football clubs. I appreciate that the skills will be taught appropriately, but membership of a club/ team is the important bit. We play football in the garden and chuck the ball at each other, but I think boys are getting a head-start with the team aspect of things.

I really hope my ds doesn't become interested in football or rugby, it means standing around on pitches in the freezing cold because they're winter sports. I might try and 'guide' him towards cricket, tennis or swimming!

I know what you mean! Swimming involves very early morning training though (from bitter experience) and I've done more than my fair share of playing hockey in the hail!

I've always been very sporty and I'm confident that I will give my two DD's the opportunity to get involved in any activity that takes their fancy. I just feel that, for whatever reason, boys are being given a head-start in the whole competitive team-sports thing.

Viggle I think you are right that there is a marked difference in the activities (and associated skill sets) that are expected of young girls and boys. You may be surprised at how many girls play football at a young age now. In my area, toddler football appears to have as many girls as boys participating (v. Middle class London area though, don't know if that makes a difference).

Also, there are a lot of team building and competitive aspects to some of the girls activities you mention if you choose a group that attempts to be more than a pastime. Dance (any group performance activity really) has a lot of team building to put on a performance and also a great deal of competitiveness to get the prestige roles. In terms of skill building that will help in later life, this could be seen as a better proving ground. Gymnastics can also be a team sport, especially in the much derided Rhythm side of things.

I think it boils down to more parents, when looking for clubs for their girls, are looking for something social and don't really think they need to engage in competitiveness and team building the way they think their boys do. It's a great shame we don't acknowledge how competitive women and girls can be (or how uninterested in those things boys and men can be). I see it as another example of how we create a polarized manifestation of traits along gender lines through our culture.

You don't necessarily have to do team sports to train and compete in a team setting. Athletics and cross country clubs usually have juniors sections who train as a team: when you compete then it is partly individual competition but you also have the sense of competing for your club. And women's athletics is reasonably high profile too at the top level.

If you are in Yorkshire I bet there is a local Harriers group with a juniors section, but 6 is probably a bit too young.

I take your point Phyllis. But, having been involved in both club sports and team sports I would say they teach you different things about yourself and give different life-skills. I just think it is interesting to question why traditionally female team sports are not made as readily available as early as traditionally male ones.

Oh no I think it's a perfectly good thing to question. I was just trying to think of something that would be likely to be available in your area and might give some of what you are looking for.

I wonder if it's because if parents are looking for something for boys to do outside of school they are more likely to look exclusively at team sports - as being something that's perceived as very gender normative for boys - while girls perhaps do a wider range of things like dance and so on and so the demand is spread a bit more thinly, resulting in less provision for girls' sports.

And the three traditional girls' sports (hockey, netball, lacrosse) need a bit more investment in terms of kit or equipment and storage than something like football where you can just set up an informal club with a ball and a couple of jumpers for goalposts.

Our hockey club won't take children until they are Y3 but that's because it's a technical sport and the motor skills are unlikely to be developed enough until 7 or 8. But the tennis club starts at 4 and the swimming club starts from 3.

Basically there are a LOT more football and rugby clubs than hockey and netball clubs..

Hope you find something for your DD. Try the national governing bodies for the sports you are interested in, they will be able to point you in the right direction.

Yes I have noticed this.

DD is in recep and afterschool clubs start next year = football
This year we have had stuff home about things to do at easter and it was rugby or football
While I see no reason girls shouldn't play these sports, at 4 DD already knows that these things are "for boys" and although she'd get stuck in I suspect she'd be outnumbered and I think she is too young anyway.

It would be nice if the very young ones could do general sports / games rather than such specific things IYSWIM.

A mixture.
Yes that is a BRILLIANT idea
Then they can find out what they like as well.