Where Have The Female Hoopers Gone?
By 1 measure, women’s basketball has never been more popular.
Last year’s Women’s Final 4 game between Uconn & Iowa was watched by more people than either Men’s Final 4 game. Caitlin Clark was Time’s Athlete Of The Year for 2024.
That would suggest the game is in a good place. At the highest level, that may be true.
But I think it clouds a deeper issue that is plaguing the game as lower levels. . . namely, participation!
My wife coached middle school basketball until 2013 in a school with approximately 325 students per grade.
During her tenure, they usually had 35-40 girls try out for the 7th grade team. They kept 2 teams of 10.
In the last few years, they’ve had between 11-14 girls try out and only been able to field one team.
In the Cleveland area, girls Freshman basketball is essentially dead. Only a few of the biggest schools still have a team.
As the dad of 2 girls who love basketball, this concerns me. Why is female participation in basketball declining?
Here’s a couple theories I’ve heard:
- The growth of other year round club sports, namely volleyball - JO volleyball is a beast. It gets girls to commit early to playing nearly year round. The JO season starts during basketball, making it hard for girls to do both sports.
- The difficulty of basketball - every sport is tough to master. However, basketball is among the toughest. The combination of athleticism and skill surpasses that of most other sports. It’s a physical and difficult sport. This might be pushing girls into other activities that can be mastered more easily.
Because of the financial investment involved, parents who are paying for JO volleyball are going to make it their daughter’s primary sport.
This could also be applied to club soccer, although not to the same extent.
- New sport options - some of the fastest growing sports are girls sports - wrestling, lacrosse, flag football. These are also relatively new options. Perhaps a decline in basketball is natural as female athletes are spread across more sporting alternatives.
- Lack of female coaches - representation is important. While many men do a great job coaching female athletes, there is something empowering about girls having a woman coach. There are a number of reasons why it’s more challenging for women to coach. This lack of representation could be a reason girls aren’t choosing to play basketball.
What do you think? Whether you are a girls’ coach, have a daughter who plays, or are just a fan of the game, why do you think girls' participation is down, and what can be done to reverse this trend?
Please reply with your thoughts!
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