Sports

The “soccer mom”—the middle aged woman who drives crowded minivans, shows off the latest in sweat suit fashion, and makes her opinions known to all around her—has become a common stereotype. Recently, the soccer moms of the Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL) have threatened to make these opinions known to a new audience: the United States Justice system.

When the PSAL first added girls’ soccer, it was decided to make it a spring season sport so that those already coaching boys’ soccer in the fall would be able to take on a girls’ team from March to June. Today, parents, coaches and women’s rights activists are calling the decision to place it in the spring a violation of Title IX. They claim that the only way for soccer-playing girls to be treated fairly would be to move their season to the fall. They support this idea with a variety of arguments, most of which I’m skeptical of.

One of the main points of those in favor of the switch is that participation in a spring sport is disadvantageous for players that are getting recruited. Colleges have to recruit in the spring because their own soccer season is in the fall. Since most schools scout club soccer teams, some athletes find themselves having to choose between a PSAL team and a club team. Others juggle both, which results in an increase in the probability of injury and scheduling problems. However, this is not a legitimate reason to switch the season. A year-round club team player would have scheduling conflicts regardless of when the season was.

In reality, this dilemma does not affect a large percentage of female PSAL soccer players. According to the April 22 Daily News article “PSAL faces pressure to move girls’ soccer from spring to fall,” the 2007 Bayside High School’s girls’ soccer team made it to the final round of the playoffs, with only five of its 19 players also playing club soccer. In the article, several coaches said that conflicts with club soccer do not have as much of a presence or impact on PSAL soccer when compared to the leagues throughout the country that have switched the girls’ season to the fall. These simple observations prove that this potential conflict between club and school teams isn’t a pressing issue for the majority of PSAL players.

Those in favor of switching fail to address the most practical and necessary factors in having a successful team in any sport: coaching and space.

According to the Daily News article, almost half of the current PSAL girls’ soccer coaches also coach boys’ soccer teams in the fall. When questioned about which team they would stay with should the seasons coincide, most coaches said they would continue coaching boys. This would most likely result in a shortage of girls’ coaches and, ultimately, coaches of inferior quality being hired due to the sheer desperation of teams. This would pose another Title IX violation that would be more difficult to fix.

Additionally, in any decision regarding PSAL soccer, the lack of field space in New York City must be taken into account. Many boys’ soccer teams are already forced to look for space off school grounds because their season conflicts with the varsity and junior varsity football seasons. This would put an even greater strain on girls’ teams.

If girls were to trade their spring season for a fall one, they would have to compete with boys for coaches, fields and fans. Those who play on club teams year-round would still struggle to manage their time and physical well-being. Therefore, there is no reason for their parents to fight for a switch. This is not a well thought out claim; it’s just another soccer mom argument.