Sexism in Sports Cheerleaders for Girls bball

News Sexism in sports

Flannery Warner

Opinion Editor

Successful, determined and hard-working are just a few of the words commonly used to describe Arcata High’s 2021 girls soccer team.

However, appreciated, acknowledged and respected are words that seem to be missing when the girls discuss the community’s relationship with the team.

In the past, the girls soccer players felt as if both soccer teams had equal usage of the fields for practice.

“We would alternate everyday for practice between the upper and lower field...but this year we were using the senior lawn for practices for weeks…while the boys got the healthsport field,” junior and girls captain Grace Townsend said.

Additionally, Townsend believes there were discrepancies between the time the two teams spent at McKinleyville High School.

“There are two fields at Mack, and one is smaller and more narrow than the other,” Townsend stated.

She went on to say that, on one occasion, the girls were forced to play a league game on the smaller field while the boys played a scrimmage on the larger one.

AHS girls soccer coach Patrick Stranahan had additional insight on the issue.

“I don’t notice any difference between the treatment of the two teams, the only difference I see is maybe between the sports themselves,” Stranahan stated when asked about his awareness of the treatment of both teams.

“As far as the boys and girls teams on the soccer side of things, it’s always been pretty consistent. I’ve always worked with the coaches of the boys team to share facilities,” he continued.

Stanahan stressed his focus on securing equal time on the fields between the two teams when making the practice and game schedules with the boys soccer coach.

“Nobody deserves more time than the other,” he said.

Stranahan has been coaching the Arcata High girls soccer team for 10 years, and always works to make decisions based on players’ needs.

Carolyn Bareilles has acted as an assistant coach for the girls soccer team since 2011 and has seen a lot of change in sports culture at the school.

“With the construction of the fields down south the cross country team got their way, the boys baseball team got their way and they just forgot all about the winning teams of soccer,” Barilles explained on why there was such a scramble for the girls team to secure fields to practice on.

She explained however, that there was an even split in the amount of time the two soccer teams got on the field.

However, Barilles and Stranahan believe there were inconsistencies in treatment between the girls soccer team and other teams at Arcata High by the community.

One instance that created animosity among some of the girls soccer players happened when players from a local high school boys soccer team were able to use Humboldt State University’s field when the girls team’s request for the field had been repeatedly turned down.

“As far as we know he did this without permission,” Stranahan stated when referencing this instance.

During the soccer season the Arcata High boys team were also able to secure this field for practice.

At first it was unclear whether this was cleared by HSU and/or Arcata High administration but when asked Stranahan said, “that was because the boys coach took the initiative to call HSU administration and ask if he could get onto the field, he did that outside of the school.”

He continued that there was a followup to see if the team had clearance to use the field, but did not specify the results of this investigation.

Stranahan also took full responsibility for the usage of the senior lawn for some of the girls’ practices.

He stated that his decision was due to it being one of the few closed, clear spaces sheltered from the wind, “the girls, not all were happy with it but the space worked out for us”.

Similarly, after most fields were flooded in the county due to excessive rain Coach Stranahan chose to utilize the tennis courts for the girls practice.

“I knew that they [the tennis courts] were a good tool that you could build a practice around… the girls were questionable at first but we ended up having a really good practice up there,” Stranahan stated.

When administration were asked to give a comment on the subject, no response was given.