Raising Our Athletic Daughters: How Sports Can Build Self-Esteem and Save Girls' Lives [Paperback]

Jean Zimmerman (Author), Gil Reavil (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 19, 1999

Now in paperback, the first book to document how participating in sports changes young girls' lives during the difficult years of adolescence.

From high-profile women's professional leagues to high-school-level champions, girl athletes are acheiving record breakthroughs. Witness, for example, the first spectacular season of the WNBA, or the celebrated victories of women's teams at the 1996 Olympics. The female athlete is a new media darling especially beloved of today's teenage girls, who are almost as likely to have pictures of Rebecca Lobo, Mia Hamm, or Gabrielle Reece on their walls as posters of Leonardo DiCaprio.

So it seems paradoxical that many books and studies attest to a truly sobering picture of girls' lives. With her book Reviving Ophelia, Mary Pipher was only the latest in a string of theorists to describe the dramatic ways in which girls loose self-esteem during the critical years of adolescence, contributing to eating disorders, drug problems, and chronic depression in many young women. In Raising Our Athletic Daughters, journalists Zimmerman and Reavill set out to talk with girls and their parents about  how sports can transform girls' lives. Here are firsthand stories from the inner cities and rural playing fields across the nation, offering compelling evidence that participation in athletics makes an extraordinary difference in the lives of young girls, from reducing pregnancy rates and substance abuse to increasing college attendance. Raising Our Athletic Daughters is a clarion call for all those eager to help their children succeed and level the playing field, at last.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Here's the bad news: American society continues to treat its sons somewhat better than its daughters, and it's no different on the playing fields; boys' athletic programs receive more attention, and thus, girls' programs must work harder just to keep pace. Here's the good news: despite the obstacles, sports function as the leveler. "There is growing awareness that girls enjoy sports and that sports are good for girls," stress the husband-and-wife team of Zimmerman and Reavill. "New evidence is developing which indicates that girls who play sports tend to avoid the physical, psychological, and social pitfalls of adolescence."

To prove their point, the authors traveled the country and collected stories from young women and their parents on the way sports are influencing female lives today. Theirs is a heartening report, rendered textured and real by the many individual voices gathered here. Sports clearly have a measurable, positive impact on young women who participate: substance abuse and pregnancy rates are lower than those of nonathletes, and female athletes are more likely to pursue a college education. Less tangibly, but no less significantly, sports help build self-esteem, fostering independence, teaching leadership and teamwork, and providing powerful role models. "If Ophelia had been on the swim team," the authors surmise, "she might not have needed reviving."

Inspiring as it is, Raising Our Athletic Daughters isn't satisfied with just inspiring; it also serves as a clearinghouse for lots of practical information. It explores the physical and emotional benefits--and pitfalls--specific to young women and changing bodies. It weighs the values of coed vs. single-sex team sports. It looks at how extreme sports have become viable alternatives to the more traditional basketball, softball, soccer, gymnastics, etc. It examines the role of parents, and ends with a comprehensive bibliography and resource list of useful organizations and contacts throughout the United States. Daughters deserve nothing less. --Jeff Silverman --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Journalists Zimmerman (Tailspin: Women at War in the Wake of Tailhook, LJ 3/15/95) and husband Reavill paint a picture of the exploding growth and interest in women's sports. Girls are "jumping headlong" into sports both traditional (soccer, softball, basketball) and nontraditional (rugby, snowboarding). But simultaneously, signs remain that society still values female athleticism less than male athleticism. Citing many studies and anecdotal evidence that sports enhance girls' self-esteem, the authors express the fear that the unlevel playing field turns girls off in the critical teen years. Filled with inspirational stories of grass-roots programs and organizations filling gaps in girls' athletic lives, this book is a call to action to parents, as was Mary Pipher's much-heralded Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls (LJ 4/1/94). For its inspirational value, this is recommended for all public libraries.?Kathryn Ruffle, Coll. of New Caledonia Lib., Prince George, BC
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 255 pages
• Publisher: Main Street Books; 1st Thus. edition (October 19, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385489609
• ISBN-13: 978-0385489607
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.5 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,001,965 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #100 in Books > Teens > Sports & Hobbies > Girls in Sports

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is an outstanding book for every parent., May 18, 1999

By 

Anjan (Atlanta, Georgia) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Raising Our Athletic Daughters: How Sports Can Build Self-Esteem and Save Girls' Lives (Hardcover)

As a 50 year old grandmother who did not have the benefit of Title IX, this book lays out all the reasons why we should raise our daughters differently than society currently dictates. An athletic girl learns early about how to deal with prejudice and competition; it is a skill that does not come always easily to the non athlete. This book shows clearly and concisely how important it is to prepare our daughters for the world; there is a staggering set of statistics to show why girls everywhere should be encouraged to participate in sports. In this day and age when we are trying earnestly to figure out why so many teenage girls get pregnant or involve themselves in self destructive behaviors, this book gives a pretty clear roadmap of how to protect your own daughter.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It all makes sense!, January 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Raising Our Athletic Daughters: How Sports Can Build Self-Esteem and Save Girls' Lives (Hardcover)

There doesn't seem to be very much information about girls in sports - especially parenting information. This book is wonderful. It provides hope, saddness and grit of what is really happening!

Being the parent of a very athletic 14 year old girl - who is sometimes thought of as "different" because of her drive, goals and commitment - this book helps me understand her - and provides me with ways to help her achieve her goals!!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Girls high school basketball coach [e-mail], May 21, 2000

By 

Jed Davis - See all my reviews

This review is from: Raising Our Athletic Daughters: How Sports Can Build Self-Esteem and Save Girls' Lives (Hardcover)

In 1972, the Equal Rights Amendment was passed. It was called Title IX. Originally inspired to insure equal pay for female university professors, the real impact of Title IX was an explosion in girls' and womens' sports because the law required equal funding for all federally funded educational institutions. While only 20% of all institutions are in full compliance, we have seen an explosion in girls'/womens' sports plus one positive consequence for girls that no set of constitutional statutes can provide: " empowerment. " This book documents the overwhelmingly positive effects that playing sports has on self-esteem, schoolwork, career success and interpersonal/love relationships. Thoroughly written with entertaining true stories, the authors show how and why sports are so important to girls' lives. But they do not shy away from the hazards, pitfalls and confusion that girls face from the clash of mixed societal messages let alone the boys/men who can only see girls as sexual objects. Suggestions are made for sustaining the positive and preventing the negative. I am a girls' high school basketball coach. I also teach and coach young girls in basketball. Teaching and encouraging successful participation in girls' sports has become an important part of my life's work. Many of the issues that are brought up in the book are things I have had to deal with or are concerns that parents bring up with me. Any parent who sincerely wants their daughter to have a successful and rewarding experience with sports will benefit from this book because it lends support and offers advice based on experience. Like me, it is obvious that the authors love to work with girls and are very dedicated to promoting participation while erasing discrimination and inequality. It inspired me to continue my work and taught me a few things also. It was also a fun read. I didn't want the book to end. If, like me, you love working with girls, this is a must read.