Stereotypes

Female athletes have to overcome lots of stereotypes. I know this from personal experience. I have always been discriminated against because of my weight. Coaches have always made comments and doubted my abilities. They have this picture in their head of what a softball player “should” look like and have no intentions of altering that image. When I was younger I really didn’t pay attention to it because I didn’t understand, but around 7th-8th grade I started to comprehend what the comments my coaches were saying really meant. I thought that going to a different high school would solve this problem, but it just got worse. I am a senior and have debated quitting for the last 2 years. Not because I lost my love for the game, but because I can’t have fun or play to my potential when my coach who is supposed to be my biggest supporter does nothing but bring me down and tell me I’m not good enough. I admit that the summer before my junior year, I lost all my confidence. I thought I didn’t deserve to step foot on the field. I was and still constantly get asked if I’m going to the gym or going on a diet. My coach is now making comments to my teammates about my weight. Comments that make even my teammates think I’m not good enough. It was and still is difficult to even look at my coach let alone talk to him. He finds all of the comments he makes humorous. I have found 3 great people. My hitting coach, and my 2 pitching coaches. Without them, I definitely would have quit already. They work extra hard to remind me that I am good enough and do everything they can to build my confidence back up. It’s really hard to have confidence in myself after going through 5-6 years of coaches who destroyed it. I work extremely hard outside of practices and games because I still have a little but of fight left in me. Men in today’s society think it’s ok to treat female athletes like this. They don’t know any different, it’s just the norm. A norm that I want to get rid of because it took my love and passion from a game I have played since I was 5 years old.