Saturday, July 31, 2010

BASKETBALL FOR GIRLS by Starry Sprenkle



I’ve been playing basketball some afternoons on the court above the Hospital.  Before my daughter was born a few years ago, I’d play basketball in the afternoons, and by default, it was always against bunch of guys. I’m used to being the only woman playing with guys thanks to pick-up games in University gyms...but I still get a quiet satisfaction when the guys I play inevitably react with surprise when I stand out as one of the best players on the court.  But now, thanks to the U.N., Haiti Youth Sports Work Project, it’s different; for the first time, I see the men yielding ground not only to the next generation of boys, but also to the girls.....

My first week playing basketball on the HAS courts, I played with the girls teams. When I came to practice the following week, there weren’t any girls around, so the coach invited me to join the much more organized boy’s practice.  I noticed that Kristi, who is on the girl’s team, stood at half court for at least 30 minutes and watched us play.  Kristi is tall, gangly, probably 14, and is also the most naturally talented player of any of the kids in the group, so I wanted to do as much as possible to encourage her.  If she lived in the U.S., she’d be the star of her 8th grade basketball team and enjoy all of the pride and popularity that goes along with that role.  But here in Deschapelles, she’s the girl who shows too much interest in a boy’s game and gets teased about it; Kristi had to wait for a catastrophic earthquake to give her the opportunity to get on the basketball court.  I see some of myself in Kristi when I was young, and I’m so sorry that she hasn’t had the chance to find her identity and self-confidence through sports.



Because I’m not the coach, I couldn’t just invite her to join the practice, and it wasn’t until a few more girls from the team finally showed up, and the practice was declared co-ed, that Kristi was “allowed” to play.
The girl’s team composition is so interesting....femininity is highly valued here, a trait which is linked to clothing and comportment, just as it is in the states; it’s rare to ever see females in shorts or pants.  Although eager to play, the girls are slightly uncomfortable in their basketball gear and giggle at each other for wearing shorts, tight t-shirts, sandals, or no shoes; as the only female on the court, I knew that I had a shot at getting them past their embarrassment to the point where they could really play.

It took a few days for me to gain their trust, and I still can’t give much coaching advice without seeing a glazed look come over their eyes while I struggle to come up with the Creole translation for words like, “Dribble and Pivot”.  The good news is that the girl’s team and I are making progress, and Kristi is the most eager to learn of the group, plus, she’s got real talent.

We’ll see how things go at the end of the season.........

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