Amanda Was Told Girls Can’t Play Football

18 Responses on “Amanda Was Told Girls Can’t Play Football”

1. gretchen

   Amanda – you are right that girls can play football if they want to play. The problem here is that there aren’t any girls football teams in high schools, but it seems as if more and more girls are wanting to play. It used to be this way in basketball. For me, in the 6th grade, I had to join the boys team in order to play basketball. I think if enough girls start joining the boys teams, we might start seeing girls football as a high school sport just like we now have girls basketball, girls golf teams and girls soccer. Find some friends who are willing to play and see what you can get started. Your efforts may not succeed on the first round, but I guarantee you can get the ball rolling. >-

2. Scott

   Fact of the matter is, most girl’s CAN’T play football…at least, not at the level boys can. It’s simple genetics. Girls, on the average, are smaller and lighter than boys. That’s not to say all are…I played high school ball with a girl that was one of our better players. She played receiver and also kicked our field goals and extra points. She, however, is the exception to the rule. I am not trying to be sexist or anything like that. I am all for girls playing football on a girls team. But girls on a boys team? I don’t believe in that, any more than I think the boy who sued (and won) for the right to play field hockey a few years back was right.

3. Ivy Heidenreich

   Alright, well I’ll tell you my story. I’m a freshman in highschool, and I played on the ‘boys’ football team at my highschool in Duluth, MN.
   I was told by my gym teacher, who was also the head coach for the highschool, that I couldn’t. So you wanna know what I did? I went right on and signed up, and guess what?
   I made the team, and started in special teams and played defensive and offensive tackle.
   I was the first girl ever at my school to play, and I know I’ll play for three more great seasons of the best sport ever made.
   Girls CAN do it, they just have to prove themselves.

4. Corey Renee

   Girls playing football on an all girls team is like guys cheering on an all guys team.
   Isn’t cheering suppose to be a girl thing, well if guys can cheer then us girls should be able
   to play football.

5. Scott

   Corey Renee, you’re way off base. Cheering and football have so little in common, physicality-wise, it’s not even amusing. And also, cheerleading is NOT meant for just girls, despite the stereotype. It is in fact a co-ed sport.

   While I don’t discount the athleticism needed for cheering (my wife was a cheerer in high school and in college, and she’s just as athletic as I am, and perhaps even more so as far as cardio goes), it’s just not the same thing. In cheering, yes, you can be injured. But not by someone hitting you and smashing you to the ground every 40 seconds or so for three hours.

   As I said back in March, it’s simple genetics. Let me put it this way. Girls, are on average, smaller and lighter than boys. Not opinion, fact. Now, picture an average sized girl getting hit by an average sized boy in a football game, over and over and over. Females are tough, I am not saying they aren’t – I mean, come on, you females give birth for crying out loud – but you just aren’t built, on average, to stand the brutality that is football. Not at a co-ed level, anyway. And as I said in March, I am all for all-girls football teams. Just like I’m fine with my daughter, now age 11, playing ice hockey on an all-girls team. I would be a million times more nervous about her safety on an all-boys team.

6. aly

   Oh my gosh!!! This is terrible!!!! Once a couch from the high school above my school came to us to talk about upcoming sports. When he started talking about football I asked him “Well can i sign up?” Then he said “No. Girls can’t and aren’t aloud to play football.” I think this ridiculous because boys can play girl sports such as volleyball and cheerleading but yet girls can’t play football. Obviously this is a disadvantage that girls can’t play football and at some schools; girls can’t play wrestling. WOW REALLY REALLY WOW. And I still want to play football, but yet, NO.

7. Gary

   Hey all,

   I started looking into this subject because my 10 year old daughter has stated that she wants to play football. My first reaction was to smile and figure she’d drop it. Nope. 4 weeks later and she is still talkin’ Gridiron Girl. As a former All-Conference HS football player and coach I can tell you that she could do it. It started with her wanting to watch her classmates play PeeWee football. Then we were playing in the hallway, with me trying to push her and she trying to push me. Guess who lost. Me! All 220 lbs of former football playing man got shoved back by a ten year old girl. (She is the biggest kid in her grade school) And, she gave no ground. Tomorrow she is wearing my old (and I mean really old) High School jersey to watch a game. I am not sure I like the idea of my sweat pea getting shoved and hit on a football field, but if she doesn’t give up the dream, I will have to deal with it. Lets face it, some boys cannot play football and some girls cannot. Our physical make up gives us advantages and disadvantages, both boys and girls. Boys would have an advantage of the testosterone factor when puberty kicks in, but speed, smarts, toughness and flexibility are also a factor. Safety is number one. If a kid is in good shape and can keep their neck protected and can endure the violence of the game, let them play, (boys and girls). I coached plenty of big guys who we wouldn’t let play because they would get creamed or couldn’t deal or take hits. As for the arguement, “if girls can play on a boys team, then boys can play on a girls team” does not float. Girls would have to play on a boys football team because there just are not any girls football teams. We as adults must be very calm and understand we are talking about long standing stereotypes and especially the feelings of a child. Careful thought must be a prerequisite and a little patience dealing with the few “meatheads” that can sometimes accompany the game of football. I know, I coached with a few. If you can play and be safe, you should play. Believe me, if the game is not for a particular girl, she would know in just a few practices. Killing the dreams of a kid is a moral crime. And Oh By The Way, if you doubt that girls can play, check out this article that just appeared on YAHOO…
   http://rivals.yahoo.com/highschool/blog/prep_rally/post/Female-cornerback-breaks-Florida-6A-football-gla?urn=highschool-272241 .

   Oh well. Arguement over. Aim high! The two most motivating words in the English language are , “you can’t”. Doubt is the starting point of most great stories.

8. gretchen

   Thanks Gary – that was very encouraging.

9. Gary

   You’re welcome.

   Remember, glass ceilings are meant to be broken. That’s why they’re made of glass!

10. divya

    hgirls r superior 2 boys…ohh srry srry girls r d best..they can play as gud as boys..u can take a competition….k any ways..all those who posted comments..nice guys…

11. Beva

    im playing football and im the only grl.. the coach was nice they were all nice but the line coach didnt let me try practicing line with the way bigger guys:( i want to quit so much but i wnt to prove everyone that im a grl tha can do anything a strong guy can so im not gonna qiut!! wish me luck everyone plzz im gonna need it!:))

12. Brit

    i played football for almost 4 year, i was good, started every practice. then when game time came around i never got to play a secound. i told the coach’s and they said they fix it but still game after game i was not put in at all. even when the guy in my position was hurt they put someone else in. it was so bad that it was either get a lawyer or quit. i decidede to quit, i didnt want to look like i was forcing them to play me. but now i miss it like crazy, i cant even watch it anymore,i dont know what to do it has been a year without it and i am dieing inside. i play softball but it isnt even close to football. can anyone help me i want to play again but i am in college, and to young to play the girls teams. i am thinking about playing for college but i am scared, i dont want to have to fight about it anymore but i cant live without it.

13. briyonna

    my cousin plays football and shes a girl but i live in florida where u cant

14. Annie

    I hate being a girl because I dont get to play Foootball

15. gretchen

    You don’t need to hate being a girl. Hate the fact that there is stil a stereotype that girls can’t play football. And then go out and find a league that will let you play.

16. tyler

    i asked my dad three times can i play basesball he laughed. i asked my mom two times can i play football she said ” girls cant play football” i look up at my school webasite and it says BOYS football BOYS baseball. What should i do

17. gretchen

    Just because it says boys, doesn’t mean you can’t play. I joined the “boys” basketball team in the 6th grade because their wasn’t a girls team at the time. If there isn’t a girls team, then you should be able to join the boys team. Check with your school administration.

18. Sarah

    In 5th grade, we had seperate P.E. classes. Boys gym, and Girls gym. I thought it was stupid as heck. I was friends with alot of the boys, so I would ask them what they do in Boys gym. They would always say they did something really fun and athletic. In girls gym we would always do something stupid, like dance, or stretch. I REFUSED to do most of it. On Fridays, both gyms would play dodge ball, which was very fun. Our Language arts teacher would always play dodge ball with the boys, but not the girls. Lots of girls would ask her why, and she’d say something like, “Boys can really play dodgeball.” or “Girls arent aggressive” I think Girls should be treated like boys, cause were both human.

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