The Decline in Female Sports Participation
Although sports has always been a big part of Riley culture, recently the nation has seen a decline in student participation in high school sports. Unfortunately, Riley has also been affected by this downwards trend.
In recent years the numbers for sports, especially female ones, have dwindled lower and lower. This isn’t just a Riley problem, but a problem nationwide.
51% of girls drop out of sports before they reach the age of 17. That’s about one or two years of playing in high school. Drama, lack of opportunity, and coaching are all key factors in the decline of female sports participation. On top of that, female athletes sometimes don’t feel as heard and seen as male athletes do.
Our very own Riley High School has experienced a drop in female participation in the school building recently. With males being a majority of the school population, females are already at a disadvantage in regards to the number of people participating in a sport. The last time that a female sport won a championship was back in 2012 when the softball team won their sectionals.
In the last 5 years, the numbers have dwindled greatly. The basketball team barely had enough for a varsity team in 2020, the softball program didn’t have a team in 2019, and girls golf only had 3 players this past season. When asked how to increase the number of student-athletes in the building, Coach Michael Poole had a lot of insight.
“I kind of like walking the halls, going to gym classes, and going to sporting events. I like trying to convince the girls to try out for basketball, or for other sports. Some of the girls at Riley already know what I am going to talk about when I head their way,” said Coach Poole.
This has proven to be true, as he has doubled the numbers from last basketball season, and was able to field a JV and a Varsity team this year. Additionally, he has 4 other coaches on staff: Coach AD, Coach Lewis, Coach Paige, and Coach Markie. All of the coaches have the best interest of their players in mind.
Another thing that Coach Poole tries to incorporate is being a listening ear to his athletes. He tries to listen to both sides of the story and he’s there if you need something. He is a person that you can go to if you’re going through a hard time or need to vent. Coaches that are more attentive to their players bring in more players that will want to play for them. “Harsh on the court, nice off the court,” some say. It’s a good balance for those players that really want to better themselves.
In total, there are only about 60 female student-athletes at Riley High School. However, Riley isn’t alone in this. Other schools such as Washington and Clay have similar numbers.
“This is a nationwide problem that hasn’t been properly addressed. There are fewer female athletes in high school every year. Riley has seen a large drop in numbers in the past couple of years. I believe that some of that has to do with COVID and such, but we collectively have to find a way to increase the numbers in schools. Athletics are a big part of Riley tradition, but our boy’s athletics consistently outshine the girl’s teams. They just have more numbers,” explained Poole.
Riley athletics will hopefully grow significantly in the next few years with coaches like Poole and Shawn Jenkins bringing in more athletes. Positivity and outreach will help the programs within the school grow. With the decrease of COVID in the next couple of years, we are sure that numbers will continue to rise.
