Has anyone had their daughter play an all male sport? Would you?

[Illuminati_721]

So every year or so there is a story about a girl playing (American) Football on an all male team. So I guess it's not unknown, but still newsworthy. And currently there is a girl who plays on our all male high school hockey team. My daughter wants to play lacrosse, but while there several boys teams around, the girl's team folded.

Has anyone had their daughter play an all male sport? Would you let her? If so, how did it go? Any advice?

 

[TippyThomas]

If they were interested in scuba diving, the Navy Sea Cadet Corps, and didn't need new glasses I would.

 

[sam_gordon]

Our youngest daughter, when she was first starting travel soccer, played on co-ed teams. There weren't enough girls to form a team at that age (changed a year or two later).

I would let my daughter play on a co-ed team, provided I thought she was good enough to "hang" with the other players.

That being said, there technically isn't a boys/mens team in ANY sport. That's all "co-ed". A female can participate in any "men's" sport. However, the opposite is not (and shouldn't be) true.

 

[luv2cheer92]

I was the only girl in the little league baseball league growing up, loved it. Also had several girls on the football or wrestling teams in the area. I don't have a daughter, but I wouldn't even hesitate to do it.

 

[lovesmurfs]

I was the only girl in the little league baseball league growing up, loved it.

Me as well -- the days before softball for girls.

 

[EACarlson]

I don't have any daughters but played with a few girls playing football, baseball and wrestling growing up. I also referee youth hockey which is co-ed until checking starts, then most girls play on girls' only teams. I've never seen any serious issues, but I'm sure there were some. I don't know at what age lacrosse starts with the heavier body contact, but that would be my only concern. If she wants to play and is aware of the hitting, go for it. Good coaches and teammates are going to make or break that scenario. If they accept her I'm sure she'll have a great time, if they exclude her or make her feel like she doesn't belong, it's going to be a very rough year.

 

[leahgoogle]

I was the only girl in the little league baseball league growing up, loved it. Also had several girls on the football or wrestling teams in the area. I don't have a daughter, but I wouldn't even hesitate to do it.

Me too before I started playing travel girls' softball. My daughter played co-ed soccer until we found an all-girls league. She wanted to play flag-football (all-boys), but it conflicted with her basketball. I would have let her otherwise, no problem.

 

[soccerdad72]

Having watched my son play lacrosse this season, I don't know if I would want my daughter (if I had one) play it.

Girls lacrosse is so widely different from boys lacrosse because of the physical-ness of the boys sport. My son regularly came home with various welts, bruises and bumps from all the times he'd get hit by sticks.

 

[jimmymc]

When I was in high school, most hockey teams in our conference had a girl on them.

Girls lacrosse is almost a different sport than boys, as you can probably tell by the gear they wear. As long as she knows she'll be playing that version, I would be okay with it.

 

[DLgal]

I played in boys little league baseball when I was younger. This was before youth softball was a thing. I was the only girl in the league. Didn't bother me at all. The only thing I remember is that the boys were jealous of me because I didn't have to wear a cup.

 

[Lumpy1106]

So every year or so there is a story about a girl playing (American) Football on an all male team. So I guess it's not unknown, but still newsworthy. And currently there is a girl who plays on our all male high school hockey team. My daughter wants to play lacrosse, but while there several boys teams around, the girl's team folded.

Has anyone had their daughter play an all male sport? Would you let her? If so, how did it go? Any advice?

Where are you and how old is your daughter? Agree that girls teams can be hard to find, especially younger than middle school, but there are fantastic opportunities to play in High School and even college if she sticks with it. Both of my older kids (DS and DD) play in college and my youngest (DD 3rd grade) just got started and loves it. You might try getting a hold of the HS or even a nearby college coach and asking them where they are getting their players from. I have found that often times in more rural areas the college coach IS the coach for the local kids team.

 

[Poohlove]

My daughter did not play on any guys teams but a girl in her class preferred baseball to softball and played baseball up until she was a freshman and then she switched over to track (not uncommon in our small town). When I was a freshman in high school I played indoor soccer on a guys team, they needed players and there weren't any girls teams. It was fine, I held my own and the other teams seemed to get a kick out of it (pun intended)

I would be hesitant to let my daughter play contact sports with guys, especially as they got older. If not for any other reason than that she is so petite (5'2" tall and soaking wet weighs 100lbs).

 

[mjkacmom]

A friend of ours (the father of dd20’s bff) tried to convince my daughter to be the coxswain or the boys crew team since she was lightweight with very strong legs (from Irish dance and being the fastest female sprinter on the track team), but she wanted to stick with track and soccer.

 

[JaxDad]

A friend of ours (the father of dd20’s bff) tried to convince my daughter to be the coxswain or the boys crew team since she was lightweight with very strong legs (from Irish dance and being the fastest female sprinter on the track team), but she wanted to stick with track and soccer.

There were several women coxswains on men’s crews when I rowed in college. Having strong legs wouldn’t really matter for that position.

 

[Dan Murphy]

So every year or so there is a story about a girl playing (American) Football on an all male team. So I guess it's not unknown, but still newsworthy. And currently there is a girl who plays on our all male high school hockey team. My daughter wants to play lacrosse, but while there several boys teams around, the girl's team folded.

Has anyone had their daughter play an all male sport? Would you let her? If so, how did it go? Any advice?

What do your two sons think about their sister playing on a boys team?

 

[mjkacmom]

There were several women coxswains on men’s crews when I rowed in college. Having strong legs wouldn’t really matter for that position.

I think he wanted her for a girls boat too, his wife was a coxswain in college and still participates from time to time in adult competitions on a mens boat.

 

[Minnie1222]

My daughter was a coxswain for the boy's rowing team at her high school and that was the extent of it.

 

[Minnesota!]

Sure, I'd let her! My sons have had a few females on their teams over the years (currently have one on his flag football team...and a few in the league, overall).

 

[LuvOrlando]

Interesting, how are the traditionally male sports being adapted so women can win, take trophies and grab scholarships?

I'm sure schools everywhere are tripping over themselves to modify rules to make sure things are even handed and that for every female athlete who loses a win there is ALSO a male counterpart doing the same.

All the high schools I see in the news must have amazing thoughts on how best to change rules so we have have female college football scholarship winners & baseball college scholarship stars. Can't wait to hear all about it.... any day now...

 

[AppleDumpling]

Not sure about lacrosse. As others have said, boys and girls lacrosse are different games with different rules and equipment. We have teams for both here at the middle school and high school level.

If she is younger than 10-11 and plays on a boys team now, she may be forced to switch to a girls team later on. And once the boys go through puberty, they will be physically bigger and stronger, and she will get hit hard and be prone to injury. How dedicated is she to the sport? YMMV