Participating in sports encourages physical activity, improves mental health and teaches teamwork. It’s important to insure that every gender has an equal opportunity. Some people might think gender-segregated sports teams send the wrong message to kids by keeping boys and girls separate. Gender-segregated sport teams propose the belief that female athletes don’t play as well as males. This being so, why not play on a co-ed sports team?
Many schools and sport leagues have separate teams for males and females. Federal Title IX regulation prohibit gender discrimination in educational situation and allow females to play on male teams if no teams exist. Co-ed sports teams create an environment where everyone gets to play and each gender is considered equal.
It shouldn't matter how you look, it should just matter on your skill. For example, take Dawson Horton. She used to play on an all-girls team in her High School. According to Chrissy Rincon, AP sports writer, in the high school there was an all boys team too. Unfortunately, the high school was too large and needed to transfer 18 students to a different school. With that, the all girls and boys team lost a lot of their players. “The girls were in trouble and so were the boys”, said coach Ed Robertson, “It wasn't that we saved the girls program or the boys, but we were able to help out both programs by combining both teams and making a co-ed basketball team. By combining both teams, this High School is now winning all of their games- with Dawson being one of the best players. “We're not out as girl basketball players, we're just here as basketball players,” she said. “We want to play the game. We're not asking you to play us differently”. Owning a coed team will provide all types of skills instead of just one or two from the same gender.
Co-ed sport leagues are more social, more popular and costs less money. Unlike an all-girls team or an all-boys team, co-ed leagues represent both genders and are more representative of the society. Popularity grows within the team. In a small town there might not be enough players or money to have separate teams. By combining girls and boys on a co-ed team, it would give everyone an opportunity to play. Co-ed sport teams even welcome the genders who don't identify themselves as a girl or a boy, they’ll just play on the team, without having to confirm their gender. Whereas on an all girls team or an all boys team, they would have to pick which gender they are, which might be uncomfortable.
Did you know that co-ed Leagues are in average cheaper and less expensive than men or women leagues and that means playing on a co-ed team costs less money towards the league. It also costs individuals less money to play on the team too! For example, a couple who play together in a high school co-ed league or save money while carpooling to games or practice. Why wouldn't individuals want to play on a team that is social, popular and is less expensive?
Some people might feel uncomfortable playing a sport against or/and with a different gender. Yes, co-ed teams are a mixture of boys and girls, but, maybe stepping out of one's comfort zone is a better thing. Co-ed teams are a great chance for boys and girls to make friends and work on getting along together. Plus, it's a fact that players of the opposite gender behave more responsibly and perform less aggressively than if they were playing with players of the same gender. More friendships and less injuries!
In conclusion, one now knows some of the many reasons why playing on a co-ed sport team is more valuable and more preferable. Co-ed sports teams mixes all the skills together that are from different genders, which forms a very strong team. They welcome all genders (including the ones that don't identify) and trains them to become better athletes together. Co-ed sport teams are more society friendly, popular and less expensive. Don't feel scared or shy to play on a co-ed sports team just because you're afraid of aggression or trash talk. It's true that players do behave more responsible and show less aggression toward the opposite gender when playing against him/her on the field. If you’re a parent, having a brother and sister play on the same team costs less money for you. It could also improve the attitude towards each other as more positive than negative because they’re experiencing working together on the same team. In all, co-ed sport leagues/teams are more equal to all genders (instead of gender-segregated teams that make individuals feel as if female athletes are not as good as male athletes) and are more cohesive towards society.
