Outside Topic The decline of girls basketball

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The decline of girls basketball - BostonCard - 09-21-2022

https://www.wsj.com/articles/girls-high-school-basketball-11663645280?mod=hp_featst_pos4&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

It’s now the fourth most popular girls sport in high school, behind track, volleyball, and soccer.

BC

RE: The decline of girls basketball - Softball Fan - 09-21-2022

I couldn't read the article so I don't know what reasons the author gave. IMO the girl's/women's side of the sport has gotten too physical. I can understand why girls don't want to constantly bang around under the basket and everywhere else on the court.

RE: The decline of girls basketball - BostonCard - 09-21-2022

Reasons offered:

Quote: Several forces are driving the decline. More athletes are sticking to one sport nearly year-round. Schools have added other sports for girls, which have lured athletes away from basketball. Some girls see basketball as too difficult to play, or even not “girly” enough, coaches say.

RE: The decline of girls basketball - CTcard - 09-22-2022

(09-21-2022, 08:58 PM)BostonCard Wrote: It’s now the fourth most popular girls sport in high school, behind track, volleyball, and soccer.

As opposed to what previously?

My own gut instinct from my own little window on the world is that soccer has long had more participation in high school than basketball, and probably track depending upon how one defines participation (in many high schools it is possible to ... lightly participate in track and field).

Volleyball may be rising a lot. It's profile at the NCAA level has certainly sky rocketed in recent years with the advent of conference TV networks.

RE: The decline of girls basketball - DenverCard - 09-22-2022

(09-21-2022, 09:51 PM)paloalto Wrote: I couldn't read the article so I don't know what reasons the author gave. IMO the girl's/women's side of the sport has gotten too physical. I can understand why girls don't want to constantly bang around under the basket and everywhere else on the court.

Speaking of physical, I was taken aback by the amount and intensity of the contact during the Stanford-Santa Clara soccer game. Gone are days in which women appeared almost apologetic when they took the ball away from another player. The Stanford-Santa Clara was a physical as men's team's games are.

RE: The decline of girls basketball - 81alum - 09-22-2022

Most high schools have made track a "no cut" sport so there is at least one sport that anybody can play. So of course track will be the most popular sport.

Soccer has the advantage of not needing a certain physical size to be able to play well, so it appeals to a wider group of girls. A short girl may feel she has a better opportunity in soccer than in volleyball or basketball.

As for why basketball is declining, my guess is it is inverse to volleyball. If a tall girl is going to focus on just one sport then she will have to choose between the two. As to why girls increasingly choose volleyball over basketball I haven't any idea.

All the talk about a sport not being "girly" enough is, in my opinion, a crock. My daughter and her friends would have been offended and turned off by that kind of talk when she was competing in high school. That said, I also think wbb has become too physical and that there are too many injuries. But I am not sure if all the ACLs in WBB makes it any worse than soccer or track, so I doubt that is a factor in the decline.

RE: The decline of girls basketball - BostonCard - 09-22-2022

(09-22-2022, 05:59 AM)CTcard Wrote:
(09-21-2022, 08:58 PM)BostonCard Wrote: It’s now the fourth most popular girls sport in high school, behind track, volleyball, and soccer.

As opposed to what previously?

My own gut instinct from my own little window on the world is that soccer has long had more participation in high school than basketball, and probably track depending upon how one defines participation (in many high schools it is possible to ... lightly participate in track and field).

Volleyball may be rising a lot. It's profile at the NCAA level has certainly sky rocketed in recent years with the advent of conference TV networks.

Until 2007 or so basketball was the most popular sport.

BC

RE: The decline of girls basketball - cardcrimson - 09-22-2022

(09-22-2022, 07:13 AM)BostonCard Wrote:
(09-22-2022, 05:59 AM)CTcard Wrote:
(09-21-2022, 08:58 PM)BostonCard Wrote: It’s now the fourth most popular girls sport in high school, behind track, volleyball, and soccer.

As opposed to what previously?

My own gut instinct from my own little window on the world is that soccer has long had more participation in high school than basketball, and probably track depending upon how one defines participation (in many high schools it is possible to ... lightly participate in track and field).

Volleyball may be rising a lot. It's profile at the NCAA level has certainly sky rocketed in recent years with the advent of conference TV networks.

Until 2007 or so basketball was the most popular sport.

BC

Think there might also be a lot more options than there once were. Lacrosse, rugby, and water polo are all gaining significantly. 60 girls tried out for my daughter's high school water polo team. Though primarily a CA sport, it's expanding across the country. Similarly, LAX, once a Northeastern prep school sport has expanded significantly, too. Surprisingly, my daughter's school even has a varsity badminton team, with 20 plus girls.

RE: The decline of girls basketball - BrevinsBest - 09-22-2022

My daughter is in public middle school on the Peninsula. I was astonished at how many girls tried out for the after school volleyball team. It's no cut, and much less serious than than some of the other sports she plays a bit more competitively. Travel volleyball on the other hand is incredibly expensive ($6k/season) but seems to be very popular in the area. Very few of her friends play basketball.

RE: The decline of girls basketball - Mick - 09-22-2022

I dated the best basketball player when I was in college, and she was absolutely committed to the sport, as is her daughter who plays for USan Diego now. My sister inherited my Dad's basketball genes (which avoided me entirely), and she played in college and separately on the All-Army basketball team, despite smoking like a chimney.

Volleyball is essentially the girls' version of football, the most popular sport. When my oldest was small, we went to the annual Junior Olympics for volleyball the one and only time it was held in Santa Clara County (1996, I think). The girls' volleyball was 95% of the convention center, the boys version was relegated to a tiny corner - literally.

My son dated a woman who played soccer in college -- she went to Stanford law school and is clerking for Breyer now. She was sidelined twice with knee injuries, an unfortunate by-product for women who are playing that increasingly more violent sport.

I went out for track, largely because the men's and women's teams ran together...and it was no cut.

The proliferation of other, violent sports like rugby and lacrosse are attracting a significant number of women's athletes.

RE: The decline of girls basketball - M T - 09-22-2022

It is interesting to think about why boys & girls (together or separately) choose one sport or another (or none). There are many factors. Are we talking about a participatory sport or one that is competitive? Individual (vs team) sports seem more likely to allow participation without all the negative feedback if you aren't one of the better ones in your group.

I think that you have to look at the introduction & development of the child to the sport. Why do parents sign their kids up in sports (social interactions, burn off energy, organized child-sitting, and, oh yeah, health)? Why do kids want to or not want to participate in a sport? (I personally think that the "I'm not good at this" feeling is probably all-important. I'd think bullying would be a factor in some situations.)

I'd think a sport that was easy to get into would be an important factor. I don't expect (non-water) polo to be popular. Golf is not an option for most high schoolers. Certainly there are lots of basketball courts around. But I found that while dribbling is not too hard, shooting is difficult, and is quite hard for the younger children.

It's interesting that no one has mentioned softball. Much of the time in baseball/softball is low effort and low impact. Certainly T-ball offers an entry that avoids one of the most difficult aspects of baseball/softball.

Gymnastics is a sport that is offered to young children. The talented/determined ones will succeed, but the other kids will not be able to compete when their body mass increases with age.

The social aspects of sport would seem to be a factor. I think many kids would want a sport where the boys & girls can play together if it can be at a relatively equal level, but I can understand that it isn't true for all kids all of the time. Certainly, as an adult, playing racquet sports offers co-ed opportunities, but they don't seem too available for kids.

What about non-traditional sports? Skateboarding, biking (racing, mountain, or stunt), or even e-sports. Those may not be offered in high school or college, but they are alternative interests for teens. There are others such as fencing, martial arts.

At some point, for a small fraction of children, the possibility that a sport might be worth a college education begins to become important to the parents and then to the kid.

RE: The decline of girls basketball - cardcrimson - 09-22-2022

(09-22-2022, 09:47 AM)Mick Wrote: The proliferation of other, violent sports like rugby and lacrosse are attracting a significant number of women's athletes.

Rugby and lacrosse? Pffft.

Ever watched a water polo game? My then 11 year old wanted to play a sport that would toughen her up. She's still only 5'6" and 118 pounds playing goalie. One of my favorite quotes from her "I have really pointy elbows, and I know how to use them." And she does. Another time, I think with her club team, an opponent struggled to get to the edge of the pool gasping and crying. I asked my daughter what happened and she told me "Oh, she was playing really dirty, so so-and-so kicked her in the chest. She deserved it." Not that I condone violence, but I had to chuckle at her matter of fact reply.

RE: The decline of girls basketball - lex24 - 09-22-2022

Chalk it up to todays “one-sport” mentality. I remember telling my daughter’s soccer coach that she was also going to be playing basketball. Practices overlapped a bit and thus, she’d miss a little bit of some of her soccer practice. The coach told me she needed to make a “commitment “. I looked at her and simply said - “she’s 6 years old.” Then walked away.

I coached girls hoops at all levels through varsity high school. Fact is, by the time a kid hits high school, with rare exceptions, if they aren’t “committed “ to one sport, they will be behind in each. Cause it’s now a year round endeavor. The exceptions are the truly gifted. We had a girl that played both (the seasons were at same time. ) She’d play a basketball game then go play in her soccer game. She split practices on a deal the coaches worked out. Both teams won the NCS. Had she concentrated on hoops, she would have been a Div 1 player. No question in my mind. As it was she was our 6th girl. Tough as hell. Great defender. Raw offensively, but no one got to the hoop quicker. And few wanted to challenge her when she put her head down and drove. As it was she played Div 1 soccer. Unbelievable athlete. Great kid to boot.

Club teams, travel teams, AAU carry the day. Kids play year round.

The biggest detriment to the one sport model - boys or girls - is health. You play, for example, basketball and baseball/softball you use different muscles for both Play just one and risk of injury goes way up.