With most sports, if there is a boys’ team, there is a girls’ team. This is true with cross country, tennis, water polo, soccer and so forth. With the addition of a new boys’ lacrosse team to the sports program this year, the question thus arises: Where are the girls?
There’ll be a girls’ team here someday, but now simply isn’t the right time. One of the main concerns is lack of participants, leading to doubt as to whether there are enough players to field a full team.
Six years ago there was no way a boys’ lacrosse team could have been started, also due to lack of players. But recently, with the help of the West Valley Redhawks Club, the sport has grown and Saratoga now boasts a significant number of experienced male players. If there were a local girls’ club team, a SHS team most likely would have been started. But with the lack of skilled players, there isn’t too big of a push to create a team.
Not only is there a lack of players, but girls’ lacrosse is essentially a whole other sport from boys’. Men’s lacrosse allows a large amount of contact, while checking is not allowed in the girls’ game.
In men’s lacrosse, players check using their bodies and metal sticks in an attempt to get the ball from the opponent. In women’s however, stick-to-stick checking is only allowed if the offensive player is responsible.
Boys are required to be fully padded before they play, including shoulder pads, elbow pads, padded gloves and a helmet, but girls are only required goggles to protect their eyes from the ball. Such differences make the two hardly comparable sports.
Apart from differences in rules, Title 9 regulation and school policy require an equal number of boys and girls sports programs. The recent addition of a boys’ lacrosse team was in response to the formation of the girls’ golf team added this year. The same rule would apply if a girls’ lacrosse team were created.
Current field space also limits the number of teams that can practice. Our school grounds simply would not suffice for all of the spring sports. During the creation of a boys’ lacrosse team, the same problem was considered.
Lack of field space, lack of players and lack of another boys’ sport renders it unfeasible to form a girls’ lacrosse team at the moment. Someday there will be a team at Saratoga High, it’s just a matter of when.
