Why do girls need Sporting Chance?

Although 50% of girls in grades 9 to 12 played on a sports team in high school in 2000, and the number of female athletes is growing, too many girls still encounter roadblocks that leave them sitting on the sidelines instead of sprinting toward the finish line. When girls’ access to sports participation is limited, they miss the chance to develop skills that will help them succeed and habits that can keep them healthy throughout their lives. Girls Incorporated aims to make sports an integral part of girls’ lives and recognizes that girls have much to gain by early participation in sports. According to one expert, if a girl does not participate in sports by the time she is 10, there is only a 10% chance that she will be athletic when she is 25.

Research shows that children ages 9 and 10 who participate in sports rate higher on perceived physical competence and general self worth than those who don’t. In a study of high school students, young women who participated in sports were 40% less likely to drop out of high school and 33% less likely to become teen mothers than their non-athletic counterparts. Young women who participated in sports were also less likely to have smoked cigarettes than those who did not. In addition, girls who are athletes in high school are more likely to have higher grades and standardized test scores, and are more likely to attend college. Adolescent girls who exercise regularly can reduce their risk for obesity, coronary heart disease, and osteoporosis.

Sporting Chance

Girls Inc. Sporting Chance provides girls with opportunities to have fun; learn basic movement and sport skills; increase their coordination, endurance, and strength; consider the career opportunities connected to sports; and learn about successful athletes and the history of women in sports. They learn how to be both cooperative and competitive, and how to discipline their bodies and their minds. In the Sporting Chance program, older girls act as “Peer Coaches,” developing leadership skills, providing assistance to adult coaches, and gaining work experience. The program has two major age-appropriate components and one special project:

• Steppingstones is a motor skill development program for girls ages 6 to 8 that gets girls running, jumping, leaping, twisting, bending, and balancing as they utilize a variety of sports and movement-related equipment, including jump ropes, balls, scooters, bats, bowling pins, nets, hoops, and scoops. They begin to move more confidently and skillfully, get used to structured physical activity, learn about the positive connection between physical activity and health-related fitness, and accept sport as legitimate activity for girls and women. The movement skills that girls develop in Steppingstones may later apply to the formal movement in a variety of games, sports, dance, and fitness activities.
• Bridges is a sports and motor skill development program for girls ages 9 to 11 and picks up where Steppingstones leaves off, enhancing girls’ motor skills while introducing girls to the world of organized sports. Participants focus on the skills and strategies of four sports: softball (throwing, catching, and striking); soccer (kicking and agility); basketball (shooting and teamwork); and tennis (striking and individual competence). Girls learn the concepts of offense, defense, and teamwork, and develop skills in a progression that leads to game readiness. The four sport- specific skill sets can be applied to many other activities and provide a foundation for lifelong participation in sports.
• BoneZone is a special project designed to promote bone health for girls ages 9 to12. Specifically, the activities integrate the key message that, by increasing weight-bearing physical activity and calcium consumption, girls can reduce their risk of developing osteoporosis later in life. Through fun activities, girls learn about physiology and nutrition; explore the connections between bone health, sports, dance, and strength training; and engage in leadership and advocacy related to bone health.

During field testing, 92% of girls who completed Steppingstones improved their athletic skills. Among the skills these girls improved were running, throwing, jumping, and dribbling. Among girls who completed Bridges, 91% improved their sports skills in basketball, tennis, soccer, and softball. Nearly all Bridges participants (95%) reported an interest in participating in recreational or interscholastic sports. Seven out of ten Bridges participants (71%) felt that they could participate in sports without being embarrassed.