Is there a structure involved in the women's game? Like various age group teams and that, which give you a progression into the senior team?
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Is there a structure involved in the women's game? Like various age group teams and that, which give you a progression into the senior team?
Like tennis you mean?
bluegirl
Player Valuation: £15m
Yeah, I played for a local boys team till 11 and then girls aren't allowed to play with boys anymore, well they wern't at the time, think its gone up to 13 now.
Then I played for Brighton, so you have the Centre of Excellence which is anything from Under 8's to Under 16's, then it goes straight into women's first and reserves. There's no youth (U18s) with women. A few of the professional clubs have U21s, but at grassroots you jump from U16's to ladies, so 16 year olds could be against 40 year olds..
Excuse any ignorance on my behalf here, but what's the gap like between 16 year olds and senior players? Obviously in the mens side the physical difference between men and boys can be quite big, and whilst there is a lot more emphasis on technique now than just physicality, it's still a factor.
Is physical strength and fitness such a big deal in the ladies game, and is there a big leap in those areas from younger girls to seniors?
Ashtonian
Banned on request
completely different, they have been doing that for 100 years. Women's football has not been supported for anywhere near that time.
bluegirl
Player Valuation: £15m
It is a big leap, a lot of girls stop at U16 though as women's football is generally on a Sunday morning and it's not good with a hangover - that was my reasoning, as I played women's first team for a year then stopped, couldn't deal with it.
Physically, you get some BIG ladies, and it can be a problem, generally when you play at a high level it's not too much of a problem as if you're in the first team at 16 you're good enough. At grassroots you get tiny 16 year old school girls against MASSIVE women, in every department, so then it's ridiculous.
Another thing is the travel, at Brighton we were in the Premier and most teams were at least 2 hours away, some even three, four or five and doing that on Sunday mornings is too much, but because there's such a big gap in quality between grassroots and Premier, the good teams are in the cities, so you have to travel, the grassroots are in the towns, so closer together.
Got to start somewhere though, right? The womens game in tennis has only gained parity relatively recently.
Ashtonian
Banned on request
But it was famous for a long time, a lot of famous female players going back to the 60s and beyond.
The fact of the matter is it is not like breaking a bone, some might want to rush back, others might want to enjoy being a mum for a time being.
Imagine signing Messi on a 3 year contract in the summer and by November he accidentally got pregnant and then you never saw him for the next 2 years because of it all. An injury you can justify as part of the game but no big sponsor would back that sort of risk of their investment.
Aye, you'd get a lot of people drifting away from swimming when I was that age because other things took priority over getting up early for training. Guess it's natural, especially if there isn't a huge chance for professional success to aim for.
Thanks for the info though, very interesting
Far be it from me to speak on behalf of every woman out there, but I reckon you might be downplaying their professionalism a bit there
I mean of all the notable female athletes, of whatever discipline, I can't remember many having to take time out because they accidentally became pregnant. There's an enormous amount of self-discipline involved in being an elite athlete. I'm sure that they can handle contraception
Ashtonian
Banned on request
I am talking hyperthetically. I was a dad with no plans to be oone at the age i was. Point being i still put everything to one side and worked only part time for nearly 3 years just to be a part of my child's life.Far be it from me to speak on behalf of every woman out there, but I reckon you might be downplaying their professionalism a bit there
Point i am making is that it is even harder surely for a mother in that instance and as a sportswoman, it is not a disipline like athletics or racing or whatnot, or even a part time job like racecars etc it is something that would consume so much of your life that it would be difficult (but something better than a male counterpart could do) and therefore it would be a risk for sponsors to get behind that fact.
If you run marathons, you know you just get up and start training when you have the time to and come back. If you are a footballer you are travelling as @bluegirl said, on top of training and whatever else that comes with it.
Personally i would find that too difficult. And if you sponsored a sportsperson, you would want them to be available for showing you off?
You have taken my point too literal in a sense Bruce, but am i really that way off?
You may be right, I don't know, I just can't think of many women athletes that have had to leave their profession (which is what it is), due to an unplanned pregnancy. You've had the likes of a Paula Radcliffe or a Cathy Freeman or Kim Clijsters that have had children, but they've all been planned, and generally later in their careers.
I mean you've admitted yourself that you went part-time when you had a child, but that wouldn't suggest that men shouldn't play sport, should it? To reach that top level in sport requires an enormous amount of conscientiousness, what with training, nutrition, even drug testing and all that. Obviously a coach will take a chunk of that burden, but it must require a certain personality from the athlete involved.
I mean you've admitted yourself that you went part-time when you had a child, but that wouldn't suggest that men shouldn't play sport, should it? To reach that top level in sport requires an enormous amount of conscientiousness, what with training, nutrition, even drug testing and all that. Obviously a coach will take a chunk of that burden, but it must require a certain personality from the athlete involved.
Ashtonian
Banned on request
A certain personality? Like stirling? Or bellamy? Or gerrard? I know i use them lot ass examples but personalities don't really come into it. You go into sport to succeed and that is drilled into you before you go into it at a young age. but personalities can range and the same way you can have a tom boy into girly things and a girly girl into action man it has no bearing on the player themselves.
Look i used that as an example, rather than the rule. It may never happen, i don't know every female sports person ever so i cannot comment on that. I also know female footballers should be respected and promoted and i wish our club adopted the same approach as arsenal ladies.
BUT there will never be the money in the game in the same way tennis and whatnot have. Not a personal opinion on the quality of the sport, simply facts. the day the womens game can push for serious recognition is when they play along side men in the sport.
Just like tennis......
Aye, maybe footballers are different in that regard, I really don't know. I've been thinking more of sports where female athletes have done some great things, with the obvious ones being perhaps track and field, tennis, swimming and so on.
I suspect we're drifting off point a little
I suspect we're drifting off point a little
Ashtonian
Banned on request
We probably areAye, maybe footballers are different in that regard, I really don't know. I've been thinking more of sports where female athletes have done some great things, with the obvious ones being perhaps track and field, tennis, swimming and so on.
I suspect we're drifting off point a little
Hopefully i have not come across as sexist either
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