Women’s sports have traditionally been marginalized in the United States, but there has been a lot of change over the last 25 years. Women are now playing professional soccer and basketball, while others play high school football or even lacrosse. This post is to explain women’s involvement with sports and why more women should be encouraged to participate in these activities.
The top sports played by women are soccer, basketball, softball and volleyball.
Soccer
Soccer is the top sport for girls in 17 states with everyone’s favorite professional team- The United States Women’s National Soccer Team (USWNT). They won the World Cup back to back years in 1991 and 1999. A lot of these female athletes go on to play professionally and their top leagues include the NWSL (USA) and WPSL (International).
Soccer is also a top sport for women of color. This includes Latina players such as Marta Vieira da Silva, Carli Lloyd who was born in New Jersey but has Haitian parents, Alex Morgan whose mother is from Chile, and Christine Nairn whose mother is from Trinidad.
Basketball
Basketball has been top on the list of women’s sports for a long time now. The American Basketball League was founded in 1996 to be an alternative professional league to the National Womens’ basketball Association (NWBA) which began two years earlier.
Some schools that have top women’s basketball players are University of Connecticut, Baylor University and the Stanford Cardinals.
Softball
Softball is top on list in 13 states with top schools including Louisiana State University (LSU), Cal-State Fullerton Titans, UCLA Bruins, The Univeristy of Florida Gators, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and Ohio State Buckeyes among others. The top two professional leagues for women to play softball are National Pro Fastpitch and Women’s Major Softball League.
Volleyball
Volleyball has been top on the list of female sports in many states including Hawaii, North Dakota and Utah. The top schools include Penn State University, Nebraska Cornhuskers and Washington Huskies among others. It is top on the list of female sports in top schools because it is a good option for women who want to stay active but not play basketball.
The top two professional leagues for volleyball are Women’s Professional Volleyball and AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour among others.
In Conclusion
There should be more encouragement at all levels- high school, college and professional for women to get involved in playing top female sports like soccer, basketball, softball and volleyball. All of these top athletes should be role models for girls and young women who want to play the top female sports but aren’t sure if it is an option or not.
Coach Linda Castillo has been coaching of a girls’ volleyball team for more than a decade. Along with it, she decided to form a community in Louisville for all women who are interested in sports. That way, it will be good way for them to bond and do various sports activities.