{"id":7446,"date":"2023-09-15T21:10:42","date_gmt":"2023-09-15T14:10:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=7446"},"modified":"2023-09-15T21:10:42","modified_gmt":"2023-09-15T14:10:42","slug":"what-it-takes-to-keep-them-in-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=7446","title":{"rendered":"What It Takes To Keep Them in Sports"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p> <span class=\"drop-cap__first text-dropcap \">T<\/span>here\u2019s no arguing that it\u2019s an exciting time for women\u2019s sports.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this year, the FIFA Women\u2019s World Cup saw <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/sport\/football\/66517612\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/sport\/football\/66517612\">record-breaking attendance numbers<\/a>\u2014and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/sports\/soccer\/womens-world-cup-2023-facts-statistics-2023-08-20\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/sports\/soccer\/womens-world-cup-2023-facts-statistics-2023-08-20\/\">a record-breaking number of goals scored<\/a>. The popularity of both the Women\u2019s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and National Women\u2019s Soccer League (NWSL) seem to be reaching a fever pitch. Ultrarunner Courtney Dauwalter had even non-runners watching in awe via social media as she <a href=\"https:\/\/www.trailrunnermag.com\/races\/courtney-dauwalter-wins-utmb-in-grand-finale-to-historic-summer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.trailrunnermag.com\/races\/courtney-dauwalter-wins-utmb-in-grand-finale-to-historic-summer\/\">won three iconic 100-plus mile races<\/a> in just 10 weeks this summer. And just a few weeks ago, the University of Nebraska volleyball team played a match in a football stadium and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/college\/2023\/08\/30\/nebraska-volleyball-memorial-stadium-sellout\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/college\/2023\/08\/30\/nebraska-volleyball-memorial-stadium-sellout\">filled it to the brim<\/a>, setting the world record for attendance at a women\u2019s sporting event.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<hr\/>\n<p>But to be someone who cares about women\u2019s sports is to be constantly celebrating these victories while lamenting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/effects-title-ix\/\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/effects-title-ix\/\">how far we still have to go<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/winsidr.com\/2023\/05\/the-gender-wage-gap-in-basketball-is-bigger-than-ever\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/winsidr.com\/2023\/05\/the-gender-wage-gap-in-basketball-is-bigger-than-ever\/\">WNBA<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/clicks.trx-hub.com\/xid\/leafgroup_ca5e0_wellgood?q=https%3A%2F%2Fgo.skimresources.com%3Fid%3D104860X1561639%26xs%3D1%26xcust%3DSTMSLS-1113179%26url%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.espn.com%252Fsoccer%252Fstory%252F_%252Fid%252F37629373%252Fnwsl-landmark-cba-big-wins-players-lingering-questions-future&amp;p=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wellandgood.com%2Fnike-coaching-girls-guide%2F&amp;event_type=click\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/soccer\/story\/_\/id\/37629373\/nwsl-landmark-cba-big-wins-players-lingering-questions-future\">NWSL<\/a> players, for instance, still make a fraction of the salaries their NBA and MLS counterparts bring home, and <a href=\"https:\/\/niemanreports.org\/articles\/covering-womens-sports\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/niemanreports.org\/articles\/covering-womens-sports\/\">women\u2019s sports stories make up only four percent of media coverage<\/a>. But what\u2019s perhaps most alarming is that girls still drop out of sports at double the rate of boys by age 14, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.womenssportsfoundation.org\/do-you-know-the-factors-influencing-girls-participation-in-sports\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.womenssportsfoundation.org\/do-you-know-the-factors-influencing-girls-participation-in-sports\/\">according to the Women\u2019s Sports Foundation<\/a> (WSF). Those girls aren\u2019t just missing out on the fun of sport, or the chance for college scholarships or a career as an athlete; playing sports is also related to better body image and self-confidence, higher levels of family satisfaction, better health outcomes and life skills like teamwork and leadership, WSF reports.<\/p>\n<div class=\"related-content \" style=\"\" data-module-init=\"related-content\" data-module-immediate=\"\" v-cloak=\"\">\n<div class=\"related-content__wrapper \" v-cloak=\"\" :class=\"{'is-loaded':isLoaded}\">\n<p> <span class=\"inline pr-6 text-seafoam-dark\">Related Stories<\/span> <\/p>\n<p> <related-content class=\"related-content__links\" parent-article-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/nike-coaching-girls-guide\/\" current-title=\"To Keep Girls in Sports, We Need Better Coaches. Here\u2019s How Nike is Helping\" current-image=\"ANN27130.jpg\" v-on:parsely-posts-loaded=\"onPostsLoaded\" start-date=\"2023-03-15\" tag=\"div\" inline-template=\"\" url=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/nike-coaching-girls-guide\/\" secret=\"w5ztterVB03LGZJLfXS0hf3EvQBuFFIWew9hmVQxthU\" apikey=\"wellandgood.com\" limit=\"3\"> <\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"related-content__card mb-[10px] sm:mb-[20px]\" :class=\"{'related-content__card--full':posts.length === 1}\" v-for=\"(post, key) in posts\"> <a v-on:click.prevent=\"trackLinkGA($event, key)\" :href=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/nike-coaching-girls-guide\/post.url\" data-url-source=\"related-content\" class=\"related-content__link\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"\"> <\/p>\n<div class=\"related-content__card--image bg-tan\" :style=\"{ backgroundImage: 'url(' + post.image_url + ')' }\"> <img decoding=\"async\" :src=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/nike-coaching-girls-guide\/post.image_url\" :alt=\"post.title\" class=\" js-inline-lazy-load\" src=\"\"\/> <\/div>\n<p> <\/a>  <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> <\/related-content> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Some of the most common barriers to sports for girls are obvious: The lack of opportunities, social stigma, fewer role models. But one that you may not guess? The dearth of good coaches\u2014and in particular coaches who have been specifically trained to keep girls in the game.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA coach can make or break you, especially for women,\u201d says <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/marianalopa\/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/marianalopa\/?hl=en\">Mariana Lopa<\/a>, the managing director of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/girlsgotgameph\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/girlsgotgameph\/\">Girls Got Game<\/a>, a Filipino nonprofit that aims to empower young women through sport by surrounding them with powerful female coaches and role models. I met Lopa on a recent visit to Manila with Nike, as part of their work to increase girls\u2019 access to sports\u2014both by providing them with more spaces to play, and better coaches to facilitate that play.<\/p>\n<p>The Philippines has a fervor for basketball, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/06\/05\/sports\/basketball\/nba-playooffs-basketball-philippines.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/06\/05\/sports\/basketball\/nba-playooffs-basketball-philippines.html\">to say the least<\/a>, and yet, there is no professional women\u2019s league, and at neighborhood courts where local stars are born, women and girls are often either implicitly or explicitly unwelcome, or forced out.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are so many courts in the Philippines\u2014problem is, everyone loves to play basketball,\u201d says Lopa. \u201cSo to get time on the court, my experience was that I had to be there right after lunch, or else the boys would arrive after school, and you get eased out.\u201d Other players I spoke to said it\u2019s common for girls and women to arrive at the courts at the crack of dawn just to get some playing time in.<\/p>\n<p>Nike\u2019s answer to this problem? <a href=\"https:\/\/about.nike.com\/en\/newsroom\/releases\/courtyard-basketball-court-manila-philippines\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/about.nike.com\/en\/newsroom\/releases\/courtyard-basketball-court-manila-philippines\">The Courtyard<\/a>, an epic, colorful space in one of Manila\u2019s most vibrant neighborhoods featuring two and a half courts made of recycled Nike sneakers. The Courtyard is home to a program called Her Hoops, dedicated time where only girls and women are allowed on the court. \u201cFor Nike to create The Courtyard and have specific hours for girls is huge, because nobody can interrupt our playing time,\u201d says Lopa. Nike is also working with Girls Got Game to run free basketball camps for girls of all ages at the Courtyard, because you can give girls free reign of the court, but without supportive coaches to foster their skills and love of the game, they\u2019ll still be left at a disadvantage.<\/p>\n<p><figure id=\"attachment_1113199\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1113199\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1113199 js-inline-lazy-load\" alt=\"Girls playing in Nike's coaching girls basketball program in Manila, Philipphines\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0G4A3330-600x400_falsexfalse_true_70.webp\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1113199\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Her Hoops at The Courtyard in Manila. Photo: Nike<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<p>Of course, it isn\u2019t just in the Philippines that girls deserve more from their coaches: Nike\u2019s recently-published <a href=\"https:\/\/clicks.trx-hub.com\/xid\/leafgroup_ca5e0_wellgood?q=https%3A%2F%2Fshop-links.co%2F1819695467388783686%3Fu1%3DSTMSLS-1113179&amp;p=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wellandgood.com%2Fnike-coaching-girls-guide%2F&amp;event_type=click\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.nike.com\/pdf\/coaching-girls-guide.pdf\">Coaching Girls Guide<\/a>, created in partnership with the <a href=\"https:\/\/chjs.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/chjs.org\/\">Center for Healing and Justice Through Sport<\/a>, lays out guidelines intended to keep girls playing sports, and has already been used to train more than 17,000 coaches worldwide. Here\u2019s what I learned about coaching girls from the guide and from my time at The Courtyard.<\/p>\n<h2>It\u2019s key to understand *why* girls need what they need from their coaches<\/h2>\n<p>When we say that girls need something different from their coaches, we run the risk of perpetuating dangerous stereotypes about girls and sport, like that they aren\u2019t as naturally gifted as boys, so they need more help, or that they\u2019re somehow delicate or overly-sensitive, and need to be coddled.<\/p>\n<p>These stereotypes are not true. But, the fact that they still exist speaks to why so many girls drop out of sports in the first place. Even coaches with the best intentions may accidentally send the wrong message. What girls<em> actually <\/em>need are coaches who actively resist these ideas by focusing on girls\u2019 talents and skills, and showing them how physically and mentally strong they truly are.<\/p>\n<p>When coaches are intentional about modeling that girls belong in sport just as much as boys, they can make a powerful impact, especially on young players who haven\u2019t yet digested as much stigma. \u201cWith these girls, it\u2019s fresh\u2014they have no preconceived notions of what basketball is,\u201d says <a href=\"https:\/\/enc.ph\/author\/la_mumar\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/enc.ph\/author\/la_mumar\/\">L.A. Mumar,<\/a> coach of one of the Philippines\u2019 top women\u2019s college basketball programs at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ateneo.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.ateneo.edu\/\">Ateneo de Manila University<\/a>. \u201cThey think, this is normal, I can play ball.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Girls bring their full selves to sport<\/h2>\n<p>Because girls aren\u2019t always supported in their love of sports in the way that boys are, personal connections between coaches and players are all-the-more important, Nike points out in its guide. Lopa says that, in her experience, this looks like understanding that girls often bring their whole selves to practice. \u201cWhen you have a coach that has a good enough relationship to the player, they can say, <em>Hey, I know you\u2019re going through this, but can I have your attention for 40 minutes?<\/em>\u201d she says. \u201cAnd then after 40 minutes, let\u2019s talk about it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><figure id=\"attachment_1113201\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1113201\" style=\"width: 1170px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1113201 js-inline-lazy-load\" alt=\"Girls cheering at a Nike coaching girls event in Manila\" width=\"1170\" height=\"780\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0G4A3396_falsexfalse_true_70.webp\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1113201\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: Nike<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<h2>Language matters<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cWithout meaning to, we are all responsible for perpetuating a culture of masculinity in sport through language,\u201d reads Nike\u2019s Coaching Girls Guide. It may seem obvious or unimportant, but even referring to girls as \u201cguys\u201d can feel unwelcoming. (One study cited by Nike found that in a classroom where teachers called all the students \u201cguys,\u201d girls were significantly less likely to raise their hands because they thought the teacher wasn\u2019t talking to them.) Name-dropping women\u2019s professional teams and role models across the gender spectrum is also key, according to Nike.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt makes girls feel more comfortable,\u201d says Lopa, who regularly uses Nike\u2019s guide to train Girls Got Game coaches. \u201cIt makes them feel like, oh, this program is specifically for me. And I\u2019m gonna keep wanting to go back.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>The stakes are different for girls<\/h2>\n<p>In the United States, girls who love sports can dream of a career in a pro league like the WNBA or the NWSL. Yet even then, they\u2019re unlikely to make enough money for it to be their full-time job. In many countries like the Philippines, even that\u2019s not an option. \u201cIt\u2019s so easy for girls to quit because there\u2019s nothing to look forward to,\u201d says Lopa. \u201cIt\u2019s so easy to say\u2014I\u2019m done, I\u2019m just going to study.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With athletes who can&#8217;t dream of becoming the next Lebron James in the way that boys can, girls\u2019 coaches must work twice as hard to keep girls playing\u2014and to demonstrate the many benefits of staying in sports that have nothing to do with someday making it as a pro.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async defer src=\"https:\/\/platform.instagram.com\/en_US\/embeds.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1675549\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There\u2019s no arguing that it\u2019s an exciting time for women\u2019s sports. Earlier this year, the FIFA Women\u2019s World Cup saw record-breaking attendance numbers\u2014and a record-breaking number of goals scored. The popularity of both the Women\u2019s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and National Women\u2019s Soccer League (NWSL) seem to be reaching a fever pitch. Ultrarunner Courtney Dauwalter &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7447,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7446","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7446","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7446"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7446\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7447"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7446"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}