Soccer, one of the most physical and challenging sports, is dominated by males.
Few females, especially at the high school level, dare to participate in coed sports. At PHS, for instance, the soccer team contains 21 boys and three girls.
Many people simply can’t imagine females participating in coed sports at all.
Kessler and Farmer, two of the three girls on the PHS soccer team, said that girls can definitely partake in sports with boys.
“It’s not nearly as bad as people seem to think,” Kessler said.
Both Kessler and Farmer, however, said that playing with boys has its drawbacks.
“Guys seem to be more competitive and physical,” Farmer said.
The Family Fun Web site reports that females tend to lag behind males in sports skills and also physical traits, such as strength and agility.
Athletic director Mark Lentz also said that the hardest thing about being a girl playing on a coed team is the speed and physicality of the game.
“I believe there is a difference in that area,” Lentz said. “Many girls see this as a challenge and really become more physical because of it.”
Kessler and Farmer both said that it’s not really difficult to keep up with the guys on the soccer field, however.
“The fast breakaways are a little harder, but I have my ways,” Kessler said.
The site also said that females are more likely to get injured if they play sports with males.
“Everybody thinks that girls would just break if they even tried to play soccer,” Kessler said. “This is so not true.”
The psychological aspect of participating in sports can also take a greater toll on female athletes than it does on male athletes, according to the Family Fun Web site.
The site said that there are some boys with ego problems who don’t want to be beat by the girls, or can’t accept that some girls are better than them.
Kessler agreed.
“It’s a lot more gratifying to beat a guy,” Kessler said. “If you just beat a girl, it doesn’t feel as good.”
But the worst part about playing sports with males, Kessler added, is their odor.
“Sometimes they smell,” she said. “Like, everybody usually smells after practicing, but the guys smell before practice.”
Despite the few bad things about coed sports, Kessler and Farmer said there are many good things.
Naturally, drama comes with all-girls sports teams, the Women’s Sports Foundation Web site said.
On coed teams, there is less drama, Kessler added.
“[The guys] don’t get mad if you mess up,” Farmer said. “They just kind of let it slide.”
The two also said that playing with boys is a lot more eventful.
“Everybody can make jokes with each other,” she said. “We pretty much get treated as if we’re boys as well.”