How to Motivate Girls to Keep Playing Sports
There are many sports options for girls to explore. Some of the most popular youth sports for girls include soccer, flag football, t-ball, basketball, and volleyball. Each sport offers its own unique benefits, but they all teach teamwork, discipline, respect, and foster a love for sports and an active lifestyle. Though, it’s not just enough to get girls started in sports, we must do better at creating an environment that encourages them to keep playing. Support through positive feedback, representation, and growing opportunities is key to fostering a love and desire to play sports long-term.
How to Motivate Girls to Play Sports
1. Show her positive role models.
Playing sports can be intimidating for girls, especially when they are the only girl on the team or the only girl they see playing that sport. Exposure to female athletes who have excelled in their respective sports can inspire young girls. Whether it be their own coach, or watching professional female athletes, girls need to see other females succeeding in sports.
Representation helps them find the inner motivation to believe in themselves. The increased exposure for women’s college basketball, and the creation of new professional women’s sports leagues in hockey, softball, and lacrosse is giving more girls the representation they need to believe that they too could one day be a professional if they stick with it.
2. Emphasize fun and friendship.
It’s important to remember the youth part of youth sports— remember that your young athletes are still kids. Kids are naturally more likely to stay involved in an activity when they are having fun and enjoying the experience. The focus of youth sports should be having fun and building connections alongside building athletic skills; this is what encourages young athletes to keep playing.
3. Support from family.
When girls feel supported by those around them, they are more likely to stay committed to their sports. Positive feedback is a great way to create an encouraging environment for young girls. Many young athletes already doubt themselves and their abilities because they are still learning. They have coaches that can correct their techniques in a constructive way, they don’t need more constructive criticism, they need an unwavering fan. As a parent, be their unwavering fan and their support system when they are facing challenges.
Youth sports leagues help girls develop resilience, discipline, and the ability to handle both success and failure in a way that many other activities can’t. Girls that play sports are more likely to succeed in school and their future careers than their counterparts. Youth sports experiences can empower girls in ways that will benefit them throughout their lives!
Find a Sport Near You
At i9 Sports®, we offer a variety of youth sports leagues, camps, and clinics for boys and girls ages 3-14. Our youth sports programs are designed to focus on building life skills alongside athletic skills. We want to build great people, not just great athletes. Find your local i9 Sports® and choose from soccer, flag football, t-ball, basketball, and volleyball, and more!
