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Published on 08/10/1998 All articles from this issue

Girls in sports: opportunities and challenges

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By Susan Zaro

Special to the Town Crier

When considering the psychological and social issues associated with women's sports, it's important to reflect on the leaps and bounds society has made in the last 10 years in embracing women's athletics.

There are many female role models in sports today, including basketball star Jennifer Azzi, tennis standout Martina Hingis and soccer star Mia Hamm. Not long ago the only women athletes receiving regular media attention were tennis players and golfers.

More and more, research has been clearly highlighting the positive effects of athletic involvement on women. Key psychological findings by the Presidents Council of Physical Fitness and Sports in 1997 determined that:

Regular physical activity in adolescence can enhance a young women's physical health and may lower the risk or certain cancers and heart disease.

Exercise and sports can enhance mental health, improve self-esteem, reduce stress and depression.

Team/individual competition can aid in tangible experiences of competency and success.

Being in the competitive arena is a chance for women to develop a strong assertive self. Sports involvement can also be a great avenue to learn about individual and team achievement, develop self-confidence, identify goals and values and learn how to work in a team environment.

As the level of participation in sports increases, it's important to keep in mind that there are checks and balances to having a healthy sports experience.

What is a healthy sports experience? There are thousands of stories people can share about their successful sport moments. But this is vastly different than being able to discuss having a healthy sports experience.

Research shows the happiest, healthiest and most successful athletes are people who view their engagement in sport as a process - a path of growth and discovery of their abilities. They avoid looking at success and failure as an end in itself. They learn that skill and knowledge is a process and their participation is a way of gaining feedback.

Successful athletes do care a lot about winning and losing. But if the only focus is on winning and the motivation is coming from reasoning such as "I have to get an athletic scholarship to go to college" or "family and friends expect me to win," the athlete risks paralyzing herself with fear or the emphasis on sports can become all-consuming.

Studies show that the athlete who focuses on specific performance goals and realistic ways to obtain goals has increased motivation to succeed and less stress about the outcome.

Developing adolescent athletes, even at the high school level, can be a demanding activity that requires certain support systems. It's important to reflect on the process and begin to define goals during this developmental period because all is not paradise in this arena of opportunity. Young women may need to step back from the pressure and re-evaluate the sporting situation.

Every sport has stories of young women who were tremendous athletes at a young age but didn't have the mental, emotional and strategic skills to put the package together and burned out.

There are several studies out that correlate life stress and athletic injury. What greater time for life stress than adolescence, particularly for girls facing the many mixed messages of society.

But this doesn't mean competitive sports for women are a bad thing. The door of opportunity is wide open for female athletes. But with that come new demands and pressures for which coaches and parents need to help prepare the player. Coaches and parents have a responsibility to keep their eye on the "big picture." The athlete may be performing well but what about the rest of her life? Is she being involved in setting her goals and making decisions about where to put her time and energy?

One way to help the player mature for the choices ahead is to encourage her to look at her own short- and long-term goals - not the goals of parents and coaches. It's important for the young adult to take ownership of her choices and be encouraged to use high school as a time to develop skills, confidence and experience in many areas of life.

Not all girls will become college or pro stars. But they can have good sports experiences and build on them to continue using sports as a healthy tool throughout their lives.

Zaro is a licensed therapist specializing in sports counseling. A former college and pro tennis player, she has a private practice in Mountain View. To reach her, call 917-1167.