Just a few decades ago, girls who were interested in sports stood on the sidelines – usually in cheerleading uniforms. Today, while cheerleading itself has become more athletic, most girls are more interested in being the athletes playing the sports, not the ones cheering for them.
Gil Reavill, co-author of How to Raise Our Athletic Daughters (Random House, 1999), calls the 1972 legislation Title IX, which was designed to foster equality in academic research and resources, “social engineering at its finest.” According to Reavill, it “resulted in a boom in women’s sports, and had a trickle-down effect to change what’s ‘cool’ in high schools and junior highs the country over.” He adds, “What we’ve seen over the past three decades in this country is nothing short of a revolution in how women perceive themselves.”
Athlete in the making
What can we do to steer our daughters toward an athletic lifestyle? How can we encourage them along a path that includes a lifelong passion for sport? “Teach your daughters to throw overhand,” says Reavill. “The overhand throw is the basis of so many sports, from baseball, softball, football, tennis (where the forehand serve has similar mechanics) to volleyball. Generally, teaching her to throw involves the larger process of encouraging our daughters to learn basic athletic skills in a relaxed, fun environment.” Easy enough, right? And yet we still say people “throw like a girl,” which really means they have never been taught how to correctly throw a ball. Reavill calls it “athletic illiteracy.” “Throwing a ball, kicking a ball, running, jumping – these are all elements of ‘Sports 101’ that it is our responsibility to teach our grade school children, just as much as the ABCs.
“Encourage your grade school daughter to play in mixed-gender groups,” Reavill adds. Keep athletics gender-neutral and point out women athletes to your daughter whenever possible. “Make as big a deal out of [golfer] Michelle Wie and [soccer player] Briana Scurry as you do about [football player] Brad Johnson and [baseball player] Justin Morneau,” he says.
Finally, Reavill encourages parents to role model healthy behavior to their children. Make fitness a daily must-do, like brushing your teeth or getting enough rest. Don’t just tell your daughter that it’s important to get and stay fit, show her through your actions.
Minneapolis resident Cindy Lybeck is doing it all – and her 4-year-old daughter, Clara, is likely to benefit. Lybeck enjoys working out – she and her husband have qualified for the Boston Marathon more times than they can remember, and Lybeck has run through almost three pregnancies (baby number three is due in early June). Lybeck admits that running is a passion she refuses to give up. “I work out for myself,” she says, but she also acknowledges a wonderful side effect: “I know I’m setting a good example for my children – particularly my daughter.”
And she’s right. Studies have shown that children of active parents are more likely to have a positive attitude toward sports. Watching her parents run and bike on a regular basis makes Clara more likely to hit the trails when she gets older. Girls like Clara grow up knowing that fitness is an important part of healthy living. Reavill says they are more likely to remain active throughout their adult lives, too.
As a child, Lybeck remembers her dad’s passion for athletics. “My dad coached my little league basketball team growing up,” she says. “At night, we’d go outside and shoot hoops together. I don’t know if I would have played many sports if it weren’t for my dad encouraging me.” Once she became involved in athletics, her parents rarely missed a basketball game, cross-country race, or track meet.
Lybeck tries to influence Clara in the same ways. The energetic 4-year-old has attended more races and local high school sporting events than she can count, literally. She’s logged more miles in the jog stroller than the average adult can run. “Now that she’s getting older, Clara likes to run with her dad and me,” says Lybeck. “We usually let her run a couple of blocks with us at the start of the run or just before we finish up.” Clara has even participated in a few fun runs with her parents. Ask her if she’s a runner and her face lights up with a resounding “yes.”
Tough cookies at a tough age
Most young kids, regardless of gender, love running, playing catch, and just being active in general. But unlike their male classmates, a higher percentage of adolescent girls quit sports in the junior high school years than do boys.
While social pressure has something to do with this, childhood experiences also play a role. “If they have a solid grounding in athletics,” says Reavill, “if their experiences in sports have been fun, positive, and encouraging; if their parents, guardians, and caregivers have demonstrated support by attending their games; if they have been taught basic skills early on so that athletics represents a familiar and welcoming territory for them, then they are more likely to get over this ‘hump’ that occurs during ages 12-16.”
B.J. and Bill Kranz have always made fitness a family priority. They encouraged daughters Courtney, 16, and Claire, 14 to pursue athletics from a very early age. “We have always been members at the YMCA,” says B.J. “Going to the gym was a normal family activity from the time they were very young. We enrolled both girls in organized athletics as soon as they were old enough. From there, we encouraged them to pursue whatever they were interested in, steering them toward what they could be most successful at.” Six-foot, two-inch Courtney plays volleyball and basketball, and Claire participates in volleyball, basketball, and softball.
According to Kranz, athletics do more than just keep her daughters healthy and physically fit. “Sports balance and organize their day; athletics have taught them a discipline that complements their academic lives as well.”
Courtney says her parents have always encouraged her to play sports. “Even before I played organized sports, my parents took me to the park to play catch and run. I learned more than just the fundamentals of athletics, I learned that sports are fun.” Now a high school junior, Courtney realizes that physical fitness is an important part of being healthy. “I definitely plan on staying fit even after I’m done with organized sports,” Courtney says.
More than fit
“The single most tangible benefit that athletic participation gives our daughters is helping them avoid a whole range of risk-taking behaviors,” says Reavill. “The statistics are very clear on this: girls who participate in sports have lower rates of alcohol and drug abuse, for example, are less likely to use tobacco, less likely get pregnant, and less likely drop out of school.”
Of course, it’s unclear if sports attract high-achieving, highly functional young women, or if athletics foster those behaviors. In the end, though, it doesn’t matter as long as our daughters are doing things that help them stay away from risky behaviors. “The good news is that these benefits kick in most effectively just when girls are most at risk: during early adolescence,” says Reavill. “The key is to start your daughter in sports early.”
Laurie Kocanda is a Minneapolis-based freelance writer, athlete, and mother of two young girls who she hopes will one day run alongside her. H
