Solidifying Women's Athletics
As a female high school athlete today, it's easy to take the struggles of the athletes before me for granted. When I originally began this project, I assumed that female athletics always existed in Green. Green has always been an excellent school district and I expected nothing less than excellent in its history. Green, though, was still excellent in the eyes of the nation. It fit in with all of the norms of high school, even when it came to a lack of female athletics. Even if I expected more, Green contributed to the development of women's athletics in the history of our community, state, and nation.
After nearly a century on the roller coaster of female athletics, Green High School now offers an abundance of girls sports. These include Soccer, Tennis, Competitive Cheerleading, Cross Country, Volleyball, Basketball, Swim Team, Dance Team, Gymnastics, Bowling, Softball, Track, and most recently, Lacrosse. Green Middle School has added some female sports as well, including Volleyball, Cross Country, Basketball, and Track.
For all six years that I was given the opportunity to play sports in Green schools, I have taken the opportunity. I participated in Middle School basketball both 7th and 8th grade year, and softball all four years of high school: spending two years on the junior varsity team and two years on the Varsity team. Currently, I am a pitcher for our Varsity team. Despite our losing record, it is still a highly competitive season. All of the girls on different teams consider their seasons highly competitive as well. It is evident that we are all thankful for the opportunity of athletics, even if there is still minor discrimination.
I know that we don't face the discrimination that the women in the history of our athletics did, but minor discrimination is still evident. This discrimination does not necessarily occur among our peers, because we all grew up in a time where it was acceptable for both boys and girls to be involved in athletics. However, the adults grew up in the era of Title IX and were surrounded by both the praises and criticisms of the law. Many carry those thoughts and ideas into the present and continue to surround our athletics with them. It is not uncommon for football to be praised over volleyball by parents, simply by the boy/girl divide in the two sports. This also carries over into the funding of the two sports. When, for example, both a softball and baseball team both apply for funding for new uniforms, it is far more likely that baseball would receive the funding over softball. The girls sport would also likely have to do an abundance of fund raising to compensate for lost funds. Hopefully, the upward spiral of fortune that Title IX brought to women's athletics can continue and we can eventually reach a level of complete equality among both boys and girls sports.
Until then, I am very thankful for the opportunities given to me through Title IX and the long-awaited equality that it brought. Female athletics, despite minor discriminations that occur not only here but nationwide, have grown into a phenomenal activity especially at Green High School. I never thought I would be more happy that Green contributed to the history of The United States. I am grateful that Green is America.
After nearly a century on the roller coaster of female athletics, Green High School now offers an abundance of girls sports. These include Soccer, Tennis, Competitive Cheerleading, Cross Country, Volleyball, Basketball, Swim Team, Dance Team, Gymnastics, Bowling, Softball, Track, and most recently, Lacrosse. Green Middle School has added some female sports as well, including Volleyball, Cross Country, Basketball, and Track.
For all six years that I was given the opportunity to play sports in Green schools, I have taken the opportunity. I participated in Middle School basketball both 7th and 8th grade year, and softball all four years of high school: spending two years on the junior varsity team and two years on the Varsity team. Currently, I am a pitcher for our Varsity team. Despite our losing record, it is still a highly competitive season. All of the girls on different teams consider their seasons highly competitive as well. It is evident that we are all thankful for the opportunity of athletics, even if there is still minor discrimination.
I know that we don't face the discrimination that the women in the history of our athletics did, but minor discrimination is still evident. This discrimination does not necessarily occur among our peers, because we all grew up in a time where it was acceptable for both boys and girls to be involved in athletics. However, the adults grew up in the era of Title IX and were surrounded by both the praises and criticisms of the law. Many carry those thoughts and ideas into the present and continue to surround our athletics with them. It is not uncommon for football to be praised over volleyball by parents, simply by the boy/girl divide in the two sports. This also carries over into the funding of the two sports. When, for example, both a softball and baseball team both apply for funding for new uniforms, it is far more likely that baseball would receive the funding over softball. The girls sport would also likely have to do an abundance of fund raising to compensate for lost funds. Hopefully, the upward spiral of fortune that Title IX brought to women's athletics can continue and we can eventually reach a level of complete equality among both boys and girls sports.
Until then, I am very thankful for the opportunities given to me through Title IX and the long-awaited equality that it brought. Female athletics, despite minor discriminations that occur not only here but nationwide, have grown into a phenomenal activity especially at Green High School. I never thought I would be more happy that Green contributed to the history of The United States. I am grateful that Green is America.
Above is a slide show of the historic and current achievements of female sports at Green High School.
