On Your Mark. Get Set. Where Did Everyone Go?

The stands at girls’ athletic events are constantly empty as compared to their male counterparts.

Heated+moments+at+last+seasons+Girls+varsity+lacrosse+senior+night.

Heated moments at last seasons Girls varsity lacrosse senior night.

A single cry of joy from a benched player’s parent is heard from the stands of the girl’s lacrosse game as the team scores their 15th goal.

Girls athletics at JD often have no support from the school at games, despite the athletic ability and entertainment that they can provide. More often than not, a crowd would much rather watch a boys game, even if they are on a constant losing streak. Yes, some sports are different when the genders are split, such as lacrosse, but even with or without the differences, both should be celebrated for the pure dedication that both athletes hold. But that does not seem to matter in the eyes of the student body.

In recent years, the girls’ teams have gone further than their male counterparts. Girls soccer went far into their playoff season when the boy’s team did not make to playoffs. Girls basketball constantly wins more games than the boy’s team. The girl’s lacrosse team won each playoff game by a landslide and won the Division II state championship, and yet more people came to watch the boy’s team lose nearly every playoff game before they finally broke in the semifinals. I remember one night when the girls’ lacrosse team won the quarterfinals game against Pleasant Grove by over ten points, and our student section consisted of five students and only some of the parents.  Later that night, the boy’s team played their semifinal game just barely winning against Bingham after a couple of Hail Mary shots from then a sophomore, Kyle Ebner. Yet the student section was just as packed as the homecoming football game. 

However, the student body is not always the one to blame for their lack of interest in girls. The amount of money and support that the school itself places into boys athletics alone is baffling and feels like it could be against some rules. Recruitment for football and basketball from around the world for them to lose their opportunities to play huge in their home countries and lose their regional game in the-middle-of-nowhere-Utah. In middle school, there was never a JD girls’ lacrosse team until 2017 when players were bribed money to recruit their friends. The team then fell apart the following year. The middle school boys team, however, have had banners placed in front of the school by the four-way-stop to inform each person entering the school that the middle school boys’ lacrosse team is open for sign-ups. This just shows that the emphasis on the boy’s sports team has started way young, and had the school had the same excitement for any of the girl’s athletics then perhaps more people would know about their sport and make a student section that these girls deserve. 

Ultimately, the lack of interest from the student body and administration toward women’s athletics is disheartening. Go to the boy’s games, by all means, but once in a while, support the strong women in our school. These girls are our future, and showing the smallest amount of love for them is not much to ask. So, I’ll see you on the field. Or not.