Girls & women in sports

[Ritterskoop]

I have come up with an idea for a book. If you have a story to tell, I'd love to hear it.

I am interested in stories about girls and women who do and don't play sports. The book will start with women who grew up in an era when high school sports were not available to them. The concluding chapters may be some local high school females who play on the male teams (golf, wrestling, and baseball).

I am also interested in hearing personal stories about boys or men who could not compete on a volleyball team, or like that. That's part of the picture.

Please PM me if you are interested. I will change names and places if that's helpful. Thanks.

[silvercamaro]

I'm in. I will send stuff.

[ulysses5019]

Clogging is not a sport.

[silvercamaro]

Clogging is not a sport.

Obviously, I wouldn't know.

[PlacentiaSoccerMom]

Is Zorbing a sport?

[ulysses5019]

Is Zorbing a sport?

It is if you do it on your front lawn with a naked clown.

[JBillyGirl]

Is Zorbing a sport?

It is if you do it on your front lawn with a naked clown.

The Zorb website describes Zorbing as a sport. However, at least at the New Zealand site, they did not provide naked clowns. Must have been an oversight.

[Bixby17]

I have come up with an idea for a book. If you have a story to tell, I'd love to hear it.

I am interested in stories about girls and women who do and don't play sports. The book will start with women who grew up in an era when high school sports were not available to them. The concluding chapters may be some local high school females who play on the male teams (golf, wrestling, and baseball).

I am also interested in hearing personal stories about boys or men who could not compete on a volleyball team, or like that. That's part of the picture.

Please PM me if you are interested. I will change names and places if that's helpful. Thanks.

I am not sure that I am in the category of people you are interested in talking to. Here's some silly sports memories relative to your topic.

I played basketball in junior high wearing Keds of all things. I didn't know that there was such a thing as a women's baskeball shoe.

My one year of playing coed soccer came to an end in middle school when the coach would only let the girls play more of the defender positions and no offense. The ball never came our way. Boring.

My junior year in high school, we had a choice in PE of either doing basketball or gymnastics. I chose basketball as I can't do anything but a somersault and didn't want to flunk PE. All the girls except me did gymnastics. I did basketball and felt like a big honking weirdo.

I was at the first WNBA game in Houston. It was odd. The play on the court was pretty rough because the all teams had not had much time together. Even so, it was cool seeing women playing at a high level--the speed of the womens game appears faster in person than on TV. I was at the first WNBA championship and it was surprising to hear the crowds louder than at a NBA playoff game. I figured it was because there weren't any corporate people there--that it was all people who really wanted to see women basketball players.

I am a big NFL fan because my mom and my grandma were. I just figured that's what you are supposed to do.

In law school, I was the only female that played pickup basketball with the guys in the first year class. It was no big deal, though it was absolutely hilarious the time that I stupidly was driving to the basket with a 6'4" foot something guy defending my way. As I was driving the basket, we both realized that I was in a position where I would have to shoot and he could stuff it so bad. At the last second he stepped to the side with a gentlemenly ole motion. I started laughing so hard I completely missed the shot.

In the corporate world, it was always good to know sports. Most of the executives with the company were male. and most of my clients were not used to dealing with female lawyers. Being able to talk sports and to participate in golfing events put them at ease gave them a way of thinking of me as something different than just female lawyer and more as their lawyer and someone that they could talk to about stuff. Sports talk was a way to assimilate into a majority culture that tended to treat females as outsiders.

I also played golf during job interviewing. I was once invited to go play at River Oaks Country Club, one of the most exclusive in town. They told me we would play on Wednesday morning. The hiring partner called back apologizing saying that we were going to have to switch courses because females weren't allowed to play at that time. He was embarrassed and his wife was mad about it.

The hiring partner, btw, was an unpleasant person to golf with, and I didn't accept his offer. A round of golf is a good way to get to know a person.

[Ritterskoop]

I am not sure that I am in the category of people you are interested in talking to. Here's some silly sports memories relative to your topic.

You are a female who is interested in sports, which is my category.

Your narrative starts the notes for the book. I'll contact you way later about permissions. Thanks.

[SportsFan68]

I don't know yet if I'll send anything to Skoop.

Probably.

I have a couple follow-up comments to Bix's post.

[Appa23]

I have come up with an idea for a book. If you have a story to tell, I'd love to hear it.

I am interested in stories about girls and women who do and don't play sports. The book will start with women who grew up in an era when high school sports were not available to them. The concluding chapters may be some local high school females who play on the male teams (golf, wrestling, and baseball).

I am also interested in hearing personal stories about boys or men who could not compete on a volleyball team, or like that. That's part of the picture.

Please PM me if you are interested. I will change names and places if that's helpful. Thanks.

There is a Freshman high school girl here who finished in the top 5 of her wrestling weight class, in the "largest school" class.

I guess that I could relate the difficulty in getting a new boys sport off of the ground at a school, as I had to get two new girl sports to start at the school before they would consider the idea of a boys soccer team.

[Ritterskoop]

There is a Freshman high school girl here who finished in the top 5 of her wrestling weight class, in the "largest school" class.

I heard a girl here made the state wrestling championships in the lowest weight class, and defeated her first opponent. He was stuck - if he won, well, he beat a girl. If he lost, which he did, he could not return to school, which I have to find out what happened there.

[AnnieCamaro]

I was unable to fulfill my dream of playing basketball because I accidently broke my legs in a million pieces. I am an excellent basketball picker, though, and thus sports brings joy to my life.

/:P\

[Appa23]

There is a Freshman high school girl here who finished in the top 5 of her wrestling weight class, in the "largest school" class.

I heard a girl here made the state wrestling championships in the lowest weight class, and defeated her first opponent. He was stuck - if he won, well, he beat a girl. If he lost, which he did, he could not return to school, which I have to find out what happened there.

The girl from Omaha North H.S. probably went 4-1 at the state tournament, and she had a very good record during the season as well. (North is one of the better "wrestling" schools in the state.)

[TheConfessor]

You are a female who is interested in sports, which is my category.

Will there be a chapter about sports who are interested in females?

Good luck with the book!

[SportsFan68]

I'm one of those kids who didn't have sports available in jr. high, or high school for that matter. There was no girls' volleyball, basketball, softball, track, or golf until there was Title XII, and by the time the funds circulated to Podunkville, it was too late for me. Unless I wanted to go on the eight-year plan at college, of course...

We used to play touch football in the street -- Mr. Martinez's front car door was one end zone, the tree in front of Miss Young's was the other. We did play baseball in the school yard, not wanting to risk any broken windows.

I played co-ed City League soccer for three or four years, and the Rec Supervisor who later went on to become superintendent of schools at a neighboring school district instituted a great rule from the beginning -- for a goal to count, a women had to handle -- footle? -- the ball after midfield. The first year I played, our best striker was a woman -- she was fabu! I played halfback, and we played on opposite sides of the field. My passes got to be pretty good, but I never did score a goal. Then she got pregnant and retired from soccer -- great lady. My last game, I pulled a calf muscle and walked funny for three days and retired. I played City League volleyball for a long time, both women's and co-ed, and the same Rec Supervisor put the same rule in for co-ed volleyball. We won the co-ed league championship three years in a row because our women were as good as our men at sets and dinks. We had only one guy who could sizzle the pits.

Like Bix's family, everybody in mine was a big NFL fan. I was so young when the Broncos were born, it seems like they've always been a part of my life. I distinctly remember our first winning season and the year that Elway came to town.

Bix wrote: Sports talk was a way to assimilate into a majority culture that tended to treat females as outsiders. Still true.

Bix wrote: A round of golf is a good way to get to know a person. True story, and I'll tell you one of my best golf memories, a round a long long time ago which put Bix, Pea, and me against Ren, BDM, and Fishie in a scramble. Barb was spectating. It was getting late, and we were the last people on the course. I once mentioned that everything I do, I do better than I play golf. Nevertheless, we came to an early hole, and Bix, with the sweetest swing of the six of us and probably of everybody who'd been on the course all day, laid out my instructions of how best to play it. What a teammate! The best player on the course, encouraging the worst player on the course and making me think I had something of value to contribute. Then when I parred 16, or maybe it was 17, we screamed as if we had just won the Super Bowl.

It's not often that you're 86ed off a golf course. No, not because of the screams -- it was because by the time the women were finally victorious, daylight had failed. The course manager by that time was a tad grumpy, no doubt late for his evening 33 -- I mean Rolling Rock. Or was it Coors. Nah, it was probably Scotch. Neat.

He probably woulda thrown us off before we finished, but Fishie could take him. Easy.

[Ritterskoop]

Thanks, Sprots. I like the equalizer of volleyball, that sometimes shorter players make the best setters and defensive diggers. I played some coed volleyball a year ago and had forgotten how much I liked it. I played six hours or more every Sunday in my early twenties, and later I played 2, 3, and 4 on a side on grass with coworkers (three was my favorite; six always felt like too many). That was my second favorite sport to play, behind tennis.

[Bixby17]

Bix wrote: Sports talk was a way to assimilate into a majority culture that tended to treat females as outsiders. Still true.

Bix wrote: A round of golf is a good way to get to know a person. True story, and I'll tell you one of my best golf memories, a round a long long time ago which put Bix, Pea, and me against Ren, BDM, and Fishie in a scramble. Barb was spectating. It was getting late, and we were the last people on the course. I once mentioned that everything I do, I do better than I play golf. Nevertheless, we came to an early hole, and Bix, with the sweetest swing of the six of us and probably of everybody who'd been on the course all day, laid out my instructions of how best to play it. What a teammate! The best player on the course, encouraging the worst player on the course and making me think I had something of value to contribute. Then when I parred 16, or maybe it was 17, we screamed as if we had just won the Super Bowl.

It's not often that you're 86ed off a golf course. No, not because of the screams -- it was because by the time the women were finally victorious, daylight had failed. The course manager by that time was a tad grumpy, no doubt late for his evening 33 -- I mean Rolling Rock. Or was it Coors. Nah, it was probably Scotch. Neat.

He probably woulda thrown us off before we finished, but Fishie could take him. Easy.

Nice. Fun memory.

I remember my first time on a golf course like it is yesterday, so I just want to pass on the courtesy. Besides, scramble golf is funny--you never know whose shots you are going to use.

My first time on a course was as a summer clerk and I had never had a lesson and had no idea what I was doing. Fortunately, I played with a group who was very supportive, and they actually did use one of my tee shots.

It was shortly after that fun, but mildly embarrassing experience that I took lessons. Golf lessons were the most important course I took during law school. (it was one of those off campus courses through the rec department).

[Beebs52]

I'm the least athletic person in the world. But, for a few years in grade/junior high school I swam on the Y swimteam and was actually okay. Then I quit. I need to think about the whys and wherefors if you're interested.

What's odd is that my mom was a HUGE football fan. My brother swam, ran track and cross country and my sis probably did what I did and that was minimal. Until she grew up and became a seriously good tennis player-maybe not so much lately, but still. It was during her childrearing, corporate wife-being years.

I seem to be the odd man out.

[Ritterskoop]

I'm the least athletic person in the world. But, for a few years in grade/junior high school I swam on the Y swimteam and was actually okay. Then I quit. I need to think about the whys and wherefors if you're interested.

Yes, please ponder this in your spare time. I will call you sometime and we'll chat. The book is about telling stories, though I guess there is an element of sociological research about it, but I am not bound to any rigorous model of a particular interview set. I should make one up, though.

You may have quit because other things became more interesting. That's fairly common at that age, I'd think.

[Appa23]

There is a Freshman high school girl here who finished in the top 5 of her wrestling weight class, in the "largest school" class.

I heard a girl here made the state wrestling championships in the lowest weight class, and defeated her first opponent. He was stuck - if he won, well, he beat a girl. If he lost, which he did, he could not return to school, which I have to find out what happened there.

The girl from Omaha North H.S. probably went 4-1 at the state tournament, and she had a very good record during the season as well. (North is one of the better "wrestling" schools in the state.)

I found this link to an article:

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=1 ... d=10208807

Being ranked #4 in the state as a Freshman is pretty darn good. The guess is that she will have at least one title before she graduates.

[Ritterskoop]

Thanks.