Imagine getting excited to go to your new school, meet new people, and play your favorite sport again – only to find out they don’t offer it. For many high schoolers, sports are a place of belonging, fun, and teamwork, but not everyone is so fortunate. Girls’ sports in particular have a history of being overlooked, undersupported, and unpopulated. 

Since the 1970s, when girls’ high school sports began to increase due to Title IX legislation, the number of girls participating has increased at a rate still incomparable to boys’ high school sports (AAUW/Locke). This is due in part to “less media attention of women’s sports, fewer opportunities or resources for women’s sports” (Nuzzo). I can attest to this lack of support during my high school experience in my unsuccessful attempts to get a softball team at my school, which have led me to advocate for a more active supportive community for girls’ sports.

Today, the inequalities between boys’ and girls’ sports are startling: “Schools are providing 1.3 million fewer chances for girls to play sports in high school as compared to boys” (NWLC). It’s the same at Berkshire School in Sheffield, MA, where there are fewer options for girls’ sports, particularly in the spring season. Girls, who make up around 49% of Berkshire’s 425 students, have to fill in just ten sports, while boys (the remaining 51%), have 13 to pick from (Berkshire School). The problem happens when approximately 208 girls try to squeeze into mandatory sports that generally have about 15 to 20 positions available. Do the math for yourself! It doesn’t add up.

My proposition was to add a softball team to campus! Currently a junior, I’ve advocated for softball since my freshman year. I’ve played for years and truly love the sport. Baseball is historically one of America’s favorite pastimes, and now “softball has become one of the nation’s largest and fastest growing sports organizations” (USA Softball). When deciding to come to Berkshire, I knew about the lack of a softball program, but sincerely believed I could help get a team started within a year or two. I was expecting adults to be supportive and encouraging, for surely there must be some who wanted to bring a team back under the Mountain! If only I knew. 

I’ve now talked with students, teachers, and staff trying to raise awareness and support for a softball team on campus. Students generally tend to verbally support the cause while shying away from the brunt of actually supporting a team, and adults either do the same or attempt to shut me down with the most obvious issues a team would bring. I’m left to wonder if the director of athletics, who I’ve primarily taken my case to, really prioritizes girls’ sports. This is shockingly common: “there are still almost no girls sports games that get the same attendance, publicity, and support that so many boys sports games draw” (Kneer).  

Some adults in the administration believe that softball shouldn’t be prioritized as there are too many obstacles – finding a working playing field, coach, and enough teams to play is apparently too much to handle. However, these are all just challenges that shouldn’t be used as excuses to obstruct the creation of a team; they should fuel a deeper drive to find solutions to these problems, many of which I already have. Ultimately, the biggest obstacle isn’t the individual difficulties that come with a softball team, but it’s the lack of real support from the administration here that most significantly impacts my effort to start a team. I even went to the head of school himself, but he also repeated each of the setbacks and finished with a resounding “no”. Politely, of course. It was beyond frustrating to be told no and realize that there are millions of other girls who experience the same setbacks. 

I haven’t admitted defeat and I won’t stop trying to raise a team, but at this point I’m not sure what else I, a mere student, can do for the cause. So I’m altering my goal to support all girls’ sports, so that even if I fail to bring softball to Berkshire, maybe a young girl reading this will be inspired to speak out for a sport she loves. Maybe an adult will be persuaded to listen to and help the younger generation instead of cutting them down. Girls’ sports need to be promoted and not constantly swept under the rug. More than that, girls need to see actual support and substantial aid rather than just verbal encouragement – it’s their hopes, passion, and goals that are on the line in countless schools. “Never give up” – that’s what we’re told as children. Let’s continue to live by that phrase and start upholding girls’ sports for future generations.

This Article was edited by Head Editor Yusuf Eltom