It has been brought to the attention of many that girls around the world are rapidly quitting their sports. The large portion of those who have or want to quit is attributed to low body-confidence. Dove and Nike recently partnered up launching the #KeepHerConfident campaign, with the goal to spread awareness and share resources for female athletes around the world.
According to the campaign, 45 percent of girls quit their sport before the age of 14 due to lack of body confidence. Other sources attribute girls quitting to a lack of confidence all around. With the overuse of social media, it is easy to compare ourselves to others. One might say to themselves, “Those girls look better in that uniform,” or “Those girls are getting recruited and I’m not,” and even, “Those girls are having fun and I’m not.” Social media often shows only the best parts of people’s lives, which are carefully selected to look a certain way.
Dove has partnered with very influential athletes and coaches such as Kylie Kelce, Venus Williams, and Steve Young. They have also shared the stories of young athletes in hopes of inspiring others and showing girls that they are not alone. The campaign has resources for coaches, parents and girls who may be struggling on how to build up confidence and handle related situations.
Other factors leading these girls to fall out of love with their sports is school work pressure, being sidelined, and/or a fear of being judged by others. It’s important for all the members of these teams to help make a positive environment for everyone else. There needs to be a circulation of respect including coach to player, player to coach and player to player. With that being said, everyone needs to take a step back and remember that sports are meant to be fun. Many get caught up in the competition and put too much pressure on themselves and forget why they started in the first place.
Another huge factor is loss of interest is the types of coaches these girls are exposed to. A coach is supposed to be a role model and a person to lean on. A good coach has qualities such as communication, personability and proof that they care beyond just winning. It is important for coaches to earn the trust of their athletes as well as their respect. It’s hard to believe in yourself without knowing someone has your back. Athletes have a hard time enjoying their sport when they can sense favoritism. There is a shift in the culture and it becomes unmotivating and a lot of the time causes athletes to lose their spark. Before any given season, there should be no predetermined amounts of playing time as well as assignment to positions. All of that should be decided solely based on skill and performance.
Moving forward the goal is to resolve lack of confidence and loss of interest. The campaign will remain to speak out against these issues and promote positivity to help keep girls active in sports.
Ella’s Story:
I have had a wide variety of experience in my ten years of playing softball. Every time I had to step away from a team it had to do with the coaches. In a sport where you fail more than you succeed it is hard to maintain your confidence. Furthermore, when you are in a bad atmosphere it makes it that much harder. I have had coaches that were blatantly mean, and they would speak to my teammates and I with language that is not appropriate for the school paper. I’ve also had coaches who were bad at communicating and playing favorites. The coaches that promised things at the beginning of the season are usually the ones who can’t live up to them.
