She considered playing volleyball, soccer and basketball. But
she decided she wasn’t into those sports.
Eighth grader Stephani Waidelich wanted to play flag football.
It didn’t matter that the only team her school has is for boys.
When Waidelich, 13, approached San Juan School Principal Joe
Hudson about playing on the team, she was rejected, she feels,
because Hudson didn’t want girls playing on the team.
She considered playing volleyball, soccer and basketball. But she decided she wasn’t into those sports.
Eighth grader Stephani Waidelich wanted to play flag football. It didn’t matter that the only team her school has is for boys.
When Waidelich, 13, approached San Juan School Principal Joe Hudson about playing on the team, she was rejected, she feels, because Hudson didn’t want girls playing on the team.
“I don’t think it’s fair. It’s not a contact sport – they shouldn’t be worried about girls getting hurt,” she said. “It’s like they’re not letting us play because we’re girls. That’s pretty much the only reason.”
Hudson disputes Waidelich’s claims, saying the season was mostly over by the time any girls came to him with their desire to play. Entering mid-season means the girls haven’t practiced with the rest of the team and aren’t familiar with any plays, he said.
“When the girls approached me, it was the first time I was aware of any interest on their part,” Hudson said. “If the (girl’s) parents supported it and the girl really wanted to play, I would have no problem with it. If girls want to participate, they need to be involved from the very beginning.”
Waidelich originally thought and said teachers told her money would be a problem because of state budget cuts, but Hudson said the sports teams are paid for through fund-raising.
“Money is not an issue. It never has been,” he said.
Waidelich admitted it was probably too late for this year’s eighth graders to play on the team, but she wanted to make sure it was possible for girls to play on the flag football team next year.
“We know we’re not going to have it this year, but we want to see a change. It’s not just for us, but for all the other girls,” Waidelich said.
Schools all the way down to preschools have to be in accordance with Title IX, the federal law that states, “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participating in, be denied benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity …”
San Juan School offers flag football, soccer and basketball teams for boys and volleyball, soccer and basketball for girls, with coed cross country and volleyball teams, Hudson said.
The next best solution is starting up a coed interscholastic league or intramural flag football team or a girl’s intramural team to see how much interest there is, Hudson said. The problem is that there would be few if any coed or girl’s teams for the San Juan teams to play against.
“Some girls are really into football,” Hudson said. “They are just as athletic and talented as boys. There’s no reason they can’t have as much fun as the boys who play that sport. It’s really frustrating for (the girls). I’d feel the same way they do.”
