Same Game, Different Gender

Same Game, Different Gender Michael S. Marshall Eastern Illinois University Sociology of Sport - SOC 3000 Instructor: Dr. Costas Spirou Abstract This paper explores the sociological issues of high school girls' basketball, and boys' basketball comparatively, over the past 3 years at Sullivan High School in Sullivan, Illinois. In many instances, high school basketball has been labeled as a community event, especially in the post season and as a family event for many players' relatives in a small town. Over the years, many relationships have been established between players and their coaches, along with their community. For some players, the sport has allowed them to further their education with scholarships to college. One Game, Many Observations As a parent of a female student athlete, I've noticed many things over the years about how girls' sports are viewed compared to boys' sports. My daughter is now a senior in high school and has been involved in numerous sports each year, including basketball, since the sixth grade. The attention that girls' sports receive is considerably lower than that of boys' sports, and basketball is no different. Sport perpetuates male dominance through defining sport as a male activity; by controlling sport, even women's sport; by giving most attention to male sports in the media and through community and school budgets, facilities, and the like; and by trivializing women's sports and women athletes. (Eitzen, 2012, p. 7) To sit back and observe everything that goes on at a high school girls' basketball game is quite a task. Besides watching the players play the game, there are many other social interactions that take place while the game is being played. There are spectators in attendance, coaches on the sidelines, players on the bench, referees officiating and the announcer calling the game over the sound system. For boys' basketball games, there's even more going on by adding cheerleaders interacting with the crowd, the pep band playing or music played over the speakers, news cameras, and radio hosts broadcasting the game live. Social Interactions In the span of just a couple of seconds at a time, there are many social interactions during a high school girls' basketball game. Players As the season moves ahead, teammates choose their leaders on the team within themselves. Most of the upper classmen are leaders while the underclassmen are followers. The girls are a tight-knit squad that have become very close with each other over the past couple of years. Although the incoming freshman are new to the team, they have adjusted well and have become an important part of the small team of twelve players. From warm-ups to game time, the girls are ready for work; they practice like they play. Each team member knows what their role is in running an offense and playing defense. They move around the court with precision, setting picks, and assume their teammates will do their part for the play to work. The girls communicate verbally and non-verbally, using hand gestures for plays. On defense, verbal communication is very important for guarding players and switching coverage. Teammates sitting on the bench pay attention to what's going on in the game and encourage the players playing. Players also communicate before and after each game with their opponents. Good sportsmanship is shown by telling an opponent player and coach "good luck" and "good game", win or lose. There's not a lot of verbal communication between opponents during a game, unlike professional basketball where players "trash talk" each other. When speaking with Brittin, a senior, about what she liked or learned about basketball, she stated, "I've been playing basketball since sixth grade with the same girls and we've all become very close friends. On the court, we know exactly what each other is doing. It's taught me to become a better person and team player. Basketball is going to allow me to go to college with a full scholarship" (B. Boyer, personal communication, December 7, 2015). To gain a player's perspective about the differences she sees between the crowds at girls' games, versus boys' games, I asked Alyssa, also a senior, what her view was. She replied, "I actually wish we had more people come out to watch us. It's kind of disappointing to see that we don't have the same kind of support at the boys. We've had great past seasons, doing better than the boys, but it seems people just don't care as much" (A. Carter, personal communication, December 7, 2015). Coaches The Head Coach and assistant coach are known to be part of a winning team themselves, both winning the State Championship on the same team in 1991 with a record of 35-0. The players and coaches have an amazing relationship. The coaches care about each player individually as a player, as well as a person. During games, the coaches have had instances where they become very vocal, sometimes yelling at players. Most of the time it appears that it's out of frustration because the players are not doing what they are told or they're doing something wrong. The girls look to the coaches to call the play each time on offense. During play, the coaches tell players many things, like who's open under the basket, where to pass the ball, and who is supposed to be where for a certain play, to name a few. During timeouts, the coaches explain special plays by drawing the play on their clipboard. Regardless if the team is ahead or behind, the coaches find a way to encourage the girls to keep their motivation high. The players and coaches have a strong working relationship and many of them become friends off the court. This team wins together and loses together. The coaches occasionally invite the girls to their house for a dinner party and movies. When asked about her feelings about the team, Coach McCain stated, "We're like a close family, on and off the court. I care about each and every one of my girls. I care that they're successful on the court and in school" (S. McCain, personal communication, November 30, 2015). At the end of each season, the coaches have a hard time with the seniors moving on. Months of coaching the girls each season, which turn into years, make it hard for the coaches to let go. Coaches have a special bond with their players and hate to see them go at the end of the season. Spectators The crowds are smaller for a girls' basketball game than they are for a boys' game. Sometimes the gymnasiums appears to be larger and quieter since there aren't as many people in attendance. There are no cheerleaders on the sidelines yelling to get the crowd involved. Most of the spectators appear to be parents or relatives of the players and coaches. Many times there is a very small section of students that gather to cheer on the team, but nowhere near the amount of students at boys' games. During the last game, I asked Cindy, a student spectator, "why more students didn't attend girls' basketball games?" Cindy stated, "I guess a lot of students don't think they're as exciting as the boys' games. There's always a lot more people and things going on for boys' games" (C. Rieker, personal communication, December 3, 2015). Spectators are an important part of the game because they can encourage players by saying motivational things. Players are aware that certain people are attending their game and may give a little more effort since someone special to them is in the stands. Some spectators focus on bad calls by the officials and become belligerent in a hazing manner. Occasionally, spectators have been ejected from games by the officials for bad conduct. There are some spectators that attend games who are not related to players. When asked why he and his wife attended all the games, Dave Walker stated, "We started out watching our own girls play basketball, but they've been out of school for a number of years now. We love girls' basketball and it has become part of our routine. It gives us something to do and we enjoy seeing the girls progress through the years" (D. Walker, personal communication, November 30, 2015). Referees Prior to the game, referees meet with coaches and team captains to introduce themselves and to explain game expectations. At the beginning of each play, when the referee hands the ball to a player, the player responds, "Thank you, sir". This is an important thing to point out to show that players are showing respect to officials. Many officiating crews work together at games on a regular basis so they're familiar with each other and their officiating styles. Referees are professionals and they are also personable. While waiting for the game to start and during timeouts, some referees take time to talk to spectators on a personal level. Some have let kids hold the game ball while waiting on the sidelines during a timeout. This type of behavior indicates to the fans that the officials are people too and they're just trying to do their job as an official during the game. In rare instances, some officials let the crowd's behavior get to them and they end up focusing on what's being said in the stands instead of paying attention to the game. Once an official loses control of a game, the players and coaches suffer along with the rest of the officiating crew. Conclusion As a parent and spectator of a Sullivan High School basketball player, I have realized a duality between the two types of games over the years. The entire atmosphere in the gym is completely different between girls' and boys' basketball. Over the past 3 years, the girls' basketball program has won the Conference Championship all 3 times and played in the Regional Championships all 3 times, winning Regionals back-to-back and advanced to Super Sectionals in State for 2 of those years. During the same period of time, the boys' basketball program did none of those things. Girls' games have continued to have very few spectators compared to boys' games. Most of the spectators at girls' games are parents or family members of the players. There aren't any cheerleaders on the sidelines; the gym is not packed with fans and students; and the school's pep band in not in attendance to play live music. The gym is packed for every boys game. There is a huge student section where high school students gather and cheer with the cheerleaders. Students usually have a theme night where seniors dress accordingly to whatever theme they came up with. Music is always playing in the background over the loudspeakers or by the pep band during timeouts and halftime. The noise level from the crowd is extremely loud. The local news stations, with their cameras, are on the sidelines and the local sports radio station broadcasts live, sitting on the stage. Although the girls' basketball program has had better winning records and have gone further into the season than the boys' each year, the girls' continue to struggle to bring in the crowds that the boys' do. If people enjoy watching the game of high school basketball, why does it matter what gender is playing? It's the exact same game, besides gender. References Eitzen, D. S. (2012). Fair and Foul: Beyond the Myths and Paradoxes of Sport (5th ed.). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. SAME GAME, DIFFERENT GENDER 7 Running head: SAME GAME, DIFFERENT GENDER 1