Overview | Basketball | Volleyball | Softball| Dance

Overview
Although the number of female athletes is growing, too many girls still sit on the sidelines watching boys slam dunk or sprint toward the finish line. As spectators they miss the chance to develop skills that will help them succeed and habits that can keep them healthy. In a study of high school students, young women who participated in sports were 40% less likely to drop out of high school and 33% less likely to become teen mothers than their non-athletic counterparts. Young women who participated in sports were also less likely to have smoked cigarettes than those who were not active with sports. Research also shows that adolescent girls who exercise regularly can reduce their risk for obesity, coronary heart disease, and osteoporosis. They will be 60% less likely to get breast cancer. Girls who are athletes in high school are more likely to have higher grades and standardized test scores, and are less likely to drop out of school and more likely to attend college. Finally, girls involved in friendly sports have more self- confidence and higher self-esteem than their non-athletic counterparts.

Girls Incorporated of Monroe County aims to make sports an integral part of girls’ lives and recognizes that girls have much to gain by early participation in sports. Our sports program provides girls with opportunities to have fun; to learn basic movement and sports skills; to increase coordination, endurance, and strength; to consider the career opportunities connected to sports; and to learn about successful athletes and the history of women in sports. They learn how to be both cooperative and competitive and how to discipline their bodies and their minds.

For the younger members we focus on motor-skill development that gets girls ages 6–8 running, jumping, leaping, twisting, bending, and balancing as they utilize a variety of sports and movement related equipment, including jump ropes, balls, scooters, bats, bowling pins, nets, hoops, and scoops. They begin to move more confidently and skillfully, get used to structured physical activity, discover the positive connection between physical activity and health-related fitness, and learn that sports are legitimate activities for girls and women. The movement skills girls develop through this may later apply to the formal movement in a variety of games, sports, dance, and fitness activities.

For all girls, ages 6–18, we sponsor three leagues: basketball, volleyball, and softball. For each sport, we have a participation rule. While it is fun to win games, in our leagues, girls focus on the skills and strategies involved in each of the sports: softball (throwing, catching, and batting), volleyball (serving, bumping, and setting), and basketball (dribbling, passing, and shooting). Girls learn the concepts of offense, defense, and teamwork, and develop skills in a progression that leads to game readiness. These specific skills can be applied to many other activities and provide a foundation for lifelong participation in sports.