JJ SAYS: Girls teams deserve support

Girls sports are as important as boys events|

Of course I was very young, not even yet high school age, but I can remember a time when girls playing basketball were split between offense and defense, with neither allowed to cross mid-court. You could only take two bounces on your dribble.

Girls have come a long way, but they haven’t yet reach parity with the boys. They still haven’t gotten the recognition they deserve.

I was reminded of that once again last week when the Casa Grande basketball girls won the Vine Valley Athletic League post-season tournament before a sparse (and that is a slight exaggeration) crowd.

Of course, there were extenuating circumstances.

The game was played in the cavernous American Canyon gym, a facility that would make most colleges envious. I’ve seen smaller airplane hangers. The size of the facility tends to swallow up any well-spread crowd, and Friday’s spectators had to use cellphones to communicate.

Then there is the drive. I have moaned about this before and I will keep moaning because there is nothing that can be done except complain. Travel time last Friday was close to 2½ hours. And no parent wants their teenagers making that trek on a dark and stormy night.

Still, that was one game. The girls didn’t draw well at home all season. They should. Girls in all sports are athletic, competitive and determined. They are fun to watch.

And they are successful.

Of the first three Vine Valley Athletic League champions from Petaluma, two were girls teams, the Petaluma girls in golf and the Trojan girls in soccer.

The Casa Grande girls basketball team won the first VVAL post-season basketball championship.

St. Vincent’s girls were co-champions of their league.

And yet, girls play with only a smidgen of support the boys receive.

Don’t blame the schools. The Petaluma Schools District and both Petaluma and Casa Grande High schools support both boys and girls teams. There aren’t a lot of funds for either, and teams have to raise most of their own money, but the district and the schools are, as far as I know, non-discriminatory. Every team, boys or girls, has to help pay its own way.

The problem seems to be the students. At many girls events, the parents outnumber the kids.

I don’t fault anyone for not making a night drive in the rain to American Canyon, but there is no excuse for not filling the gym on either side of town for a Petaluma vs. Casa Grande girls basketball game or not having a nearly full gym on Senior Night.

School is much more than sports and not all students are interested or care about sports.

But, the undeniable reality of school life is that sports set the tone for school spirit. Sports are a unifying factor that can bring a student body together. They are a rallying point for the majority of the students.

A football, basketball, lacrosse or soccer game is as much a social even as it is an athletic event.

The athletes who make sports so important deserve support not only from the community, but also from the student body. It doesn’t matter whether the athletes are male or female, they deserve support.

(Contact John Jackson at johnie.jackson@arguscourier.com)

UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy:
  • This is a family newspaper, please use a kind and respectful tone.
  • No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. No off-topic remarks.
  • No disinformation about current events.
  • We will remove any comments — or commenters — that do not follow this commenting policy.