It’s basketball season at Groves, and no, that doesn’t just mean boys’ basketball season.
The boys’ varsity team gets a lot of traction on social media as well as at games, but their counterparts, the girls’ team, rarely see the same appreciation. Nevertheless, the girls’ varsity team still puts in the work to make their program comparable to the boys’.
The phrase “don’t compete where you can’t compare” loses its weight when it comes to them— both programs joined a fundraising program that is “mandatory” for all players, including the freshman and JV levels. The girls have to push for even more money to be funded. According to Taryn Brown, a senior at Groves and a member of the girls’ varsity basketball team, the head coaches will announce the amount of money you have raised— no matter how much— periodically at the start of each practice. The girls constantly get reminders about the money they have yet to raise and how badly their program needs it. Both teams are supposed to send out emails to 20 people and try to meet their own personal goal of 500 dollars, while the team goal varies depending on the amount of players. The boys’ team is more lenient with meeting funding goals— most of their necessities are met by boosters and money raised through their high-attendance games. They don’t have a set goal, just to have enough money to get better equipment. Their coach isn’t as harsh concerning the fundraising of money, and the players are not pressed to earn it. Evidently, it’s a far lesser problem for them than it is for the girls’ team.
It’s harder to compare two programs that have much different sizes, because more players means more parents, more parents means more boosters, and the bigger and more influential the booster club, the more they can provide for the players. Both the girls and boys got new tracksuits this year: the girls’ fundraiser money from last year bought them tracksuits and colored crocs, yet the boys’ boosters donated their tracksuits along with their matching court shoes. The inequality doesn’t just affect the jerseys and shoes, however— it extends to things like bussing and transportation for away games as well.
“I’ve noticed that the guys get buses, and we rarely get a bus— [the boys’ team], I’m pretty sure, [gets] a bus there and back, and we have to figure it out ourselves,” says Brown. This puts pressure on the players to find their own way— especially upperclassmen, who most likely are a mode of transportation for their younger teammates.
The majority of these issues cannot be controlled by the student body, but when it comes down to it, the thing we can control is the amount of support we show our classmates. The school spirit at Groves is contagious, yet still fails to fully reach the girls’ sports, varsity or not.
“It’s a whole different feeling when you’re playing and there’s nobody from your school supporting you, it’s kind of disappointing,” said Brown. With it being her second year on the varsity team, and fourth year in the program, she’s experienced all the inequalities between boys’ and girls’ basketball. The lack of student body support can affect the morale of the players, making something that’s supposed to be fun less so.
When Brown was asked what she felt that the school as a whole could do better, she first discussed the announcements, stating that they could be utilized more to spread the word about upcoming games in the same way that boys’ basketball games are. She also mentioned the pictures that the boys’ team gets taken for them— pictures that they can post on social media to gather more attendance for their games. Brown states that the girls team rarely are photographed. “We could be doing so much more,” she stated.
So, no, we don’t only mean boys’ basketball when we mention basketball season. It’s important not to forget the girls’ teams, and show them the same support and give them the same spirit we so willingly offer to the boys.
