Keeping Girls in Sport
The Respect Group in partnership with Canadian Tire Jumpstart, the Coaching Association of Canada, and Canadian Women and Sport have created an online learning program Keeping Girls In Sport. Part of this program is learning how and why girls play so that as sport stakeholders (coaches, parents and admin), we can help every young athlete stay in sport, reach their full potential and remain active for life.
Through a survey, they identified the top reasons why girls say they leave sport and the top factors that made sport fun.
The four main reasons why girls say they leave sport:
Too much time
Too much money
Injuries
It’s not fun
As well, the youth athletes identified reasons for leaving sport related to coaches, mentors or leaders:
Lack of fun
Outdated attitudes toward gender
A lack of understanding of what success means to a girl
As identified by the youth athletes, the top three factors that made sport fun:
Positive team dynamics
Trying hard
Positive coaching
Below are some descriptions from the surveyed youth athletes on ways to achieve the top three factors that make sport fun! Achieving these as a coach could be the difference between a girl staying in sport or leaving.
The #1 reason girls stay involved in sport - Positive Team Dynamics
Being supported by my teammates
When players respect the rules, themselves, and others
Getting help from my teammates
The #2 reason girls stay involved in sport - Trying Hard
Trying your best
Being strong and confident
Setting and achieving goals
Playing hard
The #3 reason girls stay involved in sport - Positive Coaching
A coach who allows them to make mistakes while staying positive
When a coach participates during practice
When a coach treats them with respect
To learn more about how to keep girls in sport- register for the online learning module, Keeping Girls In Sport!