Being a Female Player


Girl Power

 As a female player in this game, it is fun but it definitely is not easy. This is typically a player to player game, meaning I am almost always paired up with another girl to guard. Always returning to Spirit of the Game, I make it a point to learn the other girl's name and talk to her throughout the game. I always give her high fives after good plays and typically will give her a spirit award afterward if we really had a good time. Ultimate is definitely a male dominated sport, so getting to bond with the other girls is always fun. I was the only girl on the team when I first started playing and felt sort of isolated. The girls I get to play with share that common experience so it is almost a relief when I get to play against other girls rather than just the boys on my team like in practice. Additionally, I have had to go through some hardships with the boys on my team. I respect them a lot, but most times I did not get that respect back. Not to toot my own horn, but I am an upper level player. However, the boys would degrade me to nothing just because I was a girl and they severely doubted my abilities. I wouldn't get thrown to a lot because they didn't trust I could catch it. The truth is, once they started trusting me I became one of the top scoring players on the team. Sometimes it is really awful that there is a preconceived bias against me, because I could have flourished a lot earlier in my skills if they would have allowed me. Soon, two more girls joined my team and they quickly became my best friends. We were like peas in a pod, with our own lingo and handshakes that we did throughout games. We stuck together and had each other's backs and we really ended up having a great season. The guys on our team soon realized how much they truly needed us on the field. They passed to us all the time and respected our skills by the end. Again, it is unfortunate the way we started but I'm proud of the development. It is my goal to someday break this barrier as I keep playing and bring awareness to the way women can be treated in this sport. Although there are hills and valleys, this sport is my true passion and I know no matter anyone's opinion of me, all that matters is that I do my very best.

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