Female Athlete: Seriously?

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Female athlete: Seriously?
As part of the Education Ammendment of 1972 title IX has increased opportunities and improved facilities and venues for female athletes. But has this caused them to be taken seriously by the general public. Not really...
Female athletes and parents of female athletes need to work to change that perception. The game of fastpitch is misunderstood by many outsiders who once... they see it, are amazed at the speed of the game and the athleticism of the participants. This is increasing by leaps and bounds and the "show up and play" days are becoming obsolete. Female athletes need to continue to take themselves seriously and train seriously to compete at the highest level to be taken seriously by others. Female athletes more than male athletes need to have a weight training program and diet that allows them to increase strength and performance to perform at their peak as they get into their teens. Males develop muscle mass naturally as they age due to testosterone, females will actually go backwards as they age if they don't increase their strength with a weight training program and a healthy diet. This is not intended to only be about weight training, but this is one of the keys to female athletes performing at their peak and part of what will help them be taken seriously. The other part of this is to stop viewing sports as "just an activity" she has chosen. All kids should be afforded the opportunity to play and each can decide how far they want to go, but if you want to be considered a serious athlete, than start by taking yourself seriously and committing to be the best you can be.

Keep working toward perfection!

Jack

 

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AMEN!

When my DD first got in to Softball at 6 years old I would joke that the only thing I knew about the game is don?t spill your beer on the base - HAR! HAR!

When she was 9 and joined a Fast pitch travel team and I realized what the game was supposed to look like - I fell in love with the sport.
It was all the things I had loved about Baseball but improved and faster...

I'm not sure why women's sports are not taken more seriously especially through Jr high when the girls are much better athletes then their male peers.

in our area Baseball is untouchable at that age level Boys get full uni's and a pristeen field - girls get crapy tee's and bad fields -


Part of the problem is there is no Mythical goal to reach - sure playing in college is cool but it doesn't compare to the opportunity to play in the majors... even if the Majors is a complete pipe dream for all but a few boys it still drives them because the opportunity is there - Girls know there is no gold at the end of the rainbow - Hell there is barely a rainbow - Girls play for nothing but the love of the game knowing the best they can hope for is maybe book money and a chance to work harder than they ever have to play in front of a few hundred parents and alumni... or if they are exceptional a chance to take a pay cut to play in the pro's for an amount that would make an A ball player laugh.


I am not sure why fastpitch is not a national sport, I'm not sure what is it about women?s sports that drives away the crowd.
Every weekend while I sit and watch my DD's team I try to figure out what everyone else is not seeing?
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I played baseball through age 17 and switched to slow pitch softball just to keep playing. I coached my three sons rec baseball teams, several years multiple teams in the same season. I even coached an American Legion 17U team. Then my DD was old enough to play and I almost put her in baseball. We lucked into a travel fastpitch team when she was 8. Now I am so very glad that my boys are all older than their sister because after being a part of the fastpitch softball family I don't think I could go back to baseball. Fastpitch is everything baseball is and so much more. The problem is getting people to give the game a chance, if they do they'll be hooked. I am working on a co-worker who loves baseball. His son played in college and coaches high school baseball. I know if he seriously watches a good game he will see the light.

Another problem is people see a 10U rec game or a bad high school JV game and think that represents the entire fastpitch community. Be picky when you expose someone to fastpitch for the first time.

 

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If you're going to introduce someone to fastpitch -- take them to a Racer's game in akron. It's inexpensive, the stadium food is good and there's not a bad seat in the house. Or take them to a high school tournament game, especially the final four, again in Akron. After 7 years of travel ball with my dd, I have become hooked on SEC softball and the Pac 12. Take a road trip to a UK game. Maybe even a Big 10 game, although as I get older, by the time the weather warms up enough, its NCAA tournament time.

 

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This applies to all sports for females...just because it is a 'girls' sport does not mean it isn't difficult or just anyone can play. All sports, male or female, take a lot of athleticism, skill, and brain. I hope that one day, people can accept a sport for being a sport and not based on who is playing it.

 

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I used to think that softball was just that slow and soft but boy was I WRONG. Some of these girls are just a athletic if not more athletic than boys there age and man do some of these girls have a gun. I told my son who is 12 to watch some of the 12u TB girls throw, hit and play D and he put his head down and said these girls a better than I am and he is a pretty good athlete himself. Tell all the girls to keep it up because they are amazing!