Hurt Girls (NTTimes on another downside to Title IX)

Athletic women have better self esteem,feel better about their bodies,are less likely to get in abusive relationships,are less likely to get pregnant as a teen,etc.Anyone who doesn't think athletic participation has been a boon for females isn't paying attention Important point, here. I wish most of my women friends had played a sport growing up. I swear it makes you ten times tougher and more confident in what your body is capable of. Sports have given women much more than they've taken away, IMO.

I have read that title IX makes no mention of athletics at all so I highly doubt that "the point" is to coach girls as if they were boys. If the problem is that coaches are coaching girls as if they were boys it seems that the logical solution would be to coach girls according to their individual needs and abilities rather than to have less girls participate. I would say that all individuals should be coached in a way that minimizes injuries, regardless of gender. How eminently sensible. LBJ: Love the "knee jerk nanny-ism" comment!

Wow, this is a silly argument against Title IX and I don't even like the application of it. Actually I have read articles pointing out that all kids are getting more lifelong injuries because they are starting sport sooner, are specializing earlier and playing their specialty sport year round. When we have tots at 3 playing soccer....well nuff said. What happened to running around the playground in an unorganized fashion enjoying life when you are in elementary school?

What happened to running around the playground in an unorganized fashion enjoying life when you are in elementary school? Well put, Dorothy! Actually, I still practice this today! :D I once read an article in which a pediatrician suggested that parents would get quite the workout by simply getting down to floor level and following their infants around for a day, emulating their bahaviour. I think the vast number of injuries are caused by too much specialization.

Or is it because girls are tougher than boys and tend to train harder? My experience of having coached track on-and-off for over 33 years is that the women who tend to be serious about a sport ARE tougher than the guys. There is a certain Darwinism of having to overcome more hurdles to participate and it really winnows out the wanna-bes from the athletes. I think this was more the case 30 years ago, but still somewhat true. The first time I coached high school (Waterville, Maine 1975), the guys on the team were in awe of how hard the women would train. Me too. It also taught me that the women's locker room is far, far scarier than the men's. If women are getting hurt despite good coaching and equipment, well, it's the luck of the draw and I don't think that we should deny them the chance to compete out of knee-jerk nanny-ism. -LBJ

Actually I have read articles pointing out that all kids are getting more lifelong injuries because they are starting sport sooner, are specializing earlier and playing their specialty sport year round. When we have tots at 3 playing soccer....well nuff said. What happened to running around the playground in an unorganized fashion enjoying life when you are in elementary school? Living in the land-o-overachieving-parents&kids, I really see this effect in action! Kids of both genders are getting more serious sports injuries because by the time they're 12, the travel baseball kids (just picking a sport here) have baseball practice multiple times a week, private pitching classes, 2-3x/week plyometics drills, extra batting practice, etc etc etc. Somehow I think Title IX has nothing to do with that...

That's an example of parents wanting their child to be the next Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods (I've seen a youngster in this position before), or Michael Phelps. Yup... and the parents who are convinced their kid won't make the HS team if they don't start specializing and training the heck out of them before they hit middle school...

Yup... and the parents who are convinced their kid won't make the HS team if they don't start specializing and training the heck out of them before they hit middle school... And honestly, in my observation they probably won't, because the kids who survive the specialization ARE quite good. Perhaps by the end of HS they are burned out and injured, but the normal kid cannot go out for a HS sport for the fun of it anymore and expect to play or even make the team. The most fun I had was coaching my DD's slow pitch Junior High team. This league was the group of girls that did not want to play the uber competive fast pitch. They really could care less if they won or loss, but they did want to play for fun and learn, and they were a hoot. There is nothing like this for HS girls, so DD is no longer playing. She is not interested in the real competitive team, so she has now dropped the sport because unless she plays the adult league in town, there is no where to play.

I am in total agreement. We definitely shouldn't let weak, willowy girls participate in sports cause they might get injured like boys have for years. I agree in that we need to keep them confined to home ec and hopscotch classes.

Living in the land-o-overachieving-parents&kids, I really see this effect in action! Kids of both genders are getting more serious sports injuries because by the time they're 12, the travel baseball kids (just picking a sport here) have baseball practice multiple times a week, private pitching classes, 2-3x/week plyometics drills, extra batting practice, etc etc etc. Somehow I think Title IX has nothing to do with that... That's an example of parents wanting their child to be the next Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods (I've seen a youngster in this position before), or Michael Phelps.