The Shocking Truth: Why Girls Are Dropping Out of Sports and What We Can Do to Save Their Dreams!
Photo Illustration by Lozafina x DALL-E
Countless little girls worldwide stare at female athletes - like Caitlin Clark, Simone Biles, or even the Nebraska Husker Volleyball team - on their TV and smartphone screens struck by awe at their endurance. Perhaps, they admire their talent, their confidence, and or their ability to defy odds. One thing is for sure, these female role models ignite athletic aspirations in young girls.
Unfortunately, there is one major issue impeding such dreams. By age 14 BSN Sports reported that girls are twice as likely to drop out of sports in comparison to boys. For some reason, girls stop playing.
Further, research shows that this is due to girls feeling unwelcome in sports as well as girls feeling like they no longer belong as they endure both physical and emotional changes throughout puberty. Another leading cause is low body confidence, as reported by Dove and Nike, which conducted a survey revealing that low body confidence is the reason 45% of girls drop out of sports.
“This is very disturbing and sad because I know when I peel that onion back, it is going to be for reasons that are unrelated to talent and desires on the part of the young lady,” EPIC for Girls Executive Director Kimberly Thomas said in an emailed interview. “Harassment and gender expectations play a huge role in why girls drop out of sports. Those rates continue to increase as you add intersectionalities of race, poverty, geography, etc. Girls are getting left behind in sports because of 'others' feelings toward them and their lack of interest and investment in their development.”
Photo Illustration by Lozafina x DALL-E
Due to this, Thomas among many others believes the interest of girls in sports needs to be emphasized. Girls need to feel welcome in sports and need their confidence boosted at an early age, she said. When girls continue to play sports, many benefits come along with it.
“Young women participating in sports are more likely to have positive role models, do better in school, advocate for social justice issues, have better health outcomes, and more,” Thomas said. “Communities do better when girls participate in sports.”
Additionally, girls develop crucial skills like communication, leadership, and teamwork when they play sports.
However, one of the biggest benefits is increased confidence in girls, admits Omaha middle-schooler Kiersten Lloyd, 13. She experienced this first-hand with track as she is a shotput and discus thrower Lloyd says her inner confidence shines through when she is in the throwing ring.
“Sports have helped me build my confidence because I used to be in my shell a lot and sports have helped me come out of my shell. So, now I’m more talkative and I’m more confident in sports,” Lloyd said.
Similarly, Alieris Cruz Nieto, a 17-year-old setter on the Omaha Bryan High School Volleyball team, found confidence on the court. Cruz Nieto recalls a specific moment when she felt unstoppable and on top of the world.
“During the summer, we played a Bellevue league and we had won one set… We won another one and we were winning the third set that I was serving and I got some aces for my team,” Cruz Nieto said. “We just had everybody cheering and everything.”
Cruz Nieto has found what personally helps her to get into this confident mindset.
“I have just taken care of my mental health and I usually do a ritual before games,” Cruz Nieto said. “I listen to music and just like to be in my own space and tell myself good things so I can play good and I’ll have confidence in this game and won’t let a mistake get in my head.”
In her professional coaching blog, Erica Suter explains other techniques that can lead to increased confidence. This includes positive self-talk, journaling your strengths, setting goals, and the repetition of a specific task until it is mastered.
On a larger level, several organizations are working towards the increase of confidence of young girls in sports. For instance, the Dove Self-Esteem Project began working towards providing one million youth each year with tools to help them boost confidence in their sport.
Additionally, EPIC for Girls works to provide equal play and inspire confidence within girls’ sports in Omaha. One way they do this is by partnering with leagues across Omaha to provide affordable and accessible opportunities to play sports as well as address inequity and increase confidence.
“I believe my greatest contribution has been listening and using my voice to advocate for them,” Thomas said. “I am especially proud of the internship programs we have created, specifically Girls Ref the World and Girl Talk. We do our youth a huge injustice when we fail to nurture the next generation. Knowledge is power and sharing your skills so the next person can do better is powerful.”
As confidence is restored in young girls, hopefully, the restoration of dreams will follow.
Katelyn Fryzek, 18, will be attending the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as a journalism major. She is currently interning for EPIC for Girls’ Girl Talk Sports Marketing Internship and works as a content curator for Lozafina Marketing and Public Relations.