Ive been coaching co-ed youth soccer in Pine Bush for 16 years now. Ive coached every division in our league from kindergarten up to senior year in high school. There is a beauty about the sport that lends itself to a co-ed environment inasmuch as the games simplicity - a ball controlled and played off ones foot - allows both males and females to play alongside each other harmoniously on every level. Not unsurprisingly, for a host of different reasons - some within the confines of how the game is played, and others influenced by they way females are perceived and treated in our society - it is often the young women who display superior talent on the field. With regard to the societal aspects influencing behavior in the sport, I have seen firsthand how their own perceptions about their place among males often dictates a distinct willingness for the females to more often share the ball by passing it to another player (as opposed to hogging it to themselves) which is exactly what the sports effective strategy requires. Soccer is a true team sport which demands continual passing and unselfishly setting the ball perfectly for a teammate to finish a shot into the net. Rarely is soccer played by physically plowing through the opposition. I saw an ad campaign last night created for the Always tampon company (dont stop reading now guys, tampons are ubiquitous in the world even if the most we ever have to do is pick some up at the supermarket and bring them home for our significant others) which addressed the way we - both males and females - are programmed to perceive gender in our society. It brought tears to my eyes because Ive seen the struggle and Ive seen the disparity and Ive seen the chauvinism and Ive seen the injustice on the field and it is something I have strived to fight against from the first moment I took up coaching. Watch this ad (directed by Lauren Greenfield) if you want to be made a little more aware of how we can continually improve upon ourselves and strive to empower the women - young and old - in our lives who deserve as much respect as the men , but who often find themselves fighting for their fair share.
Posted on: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 10:44:24 +0000
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