Girls Youth Basketball is Different

Just came across an interesting article from TheUndefeated.com which highlights the different paths for girls when it comes to college scholarships. What caught my attention was the additional number of college scholarships available to women. It represents great opportunities for women in basketball.

Women’s Division I teams each have 15 scholarships, compared with 13 for men, so there are 644 more free rides for women. And there are about 120,000 more boys playing high school basketball than girls. In other words, women’s college basketball has more scholarships for fewer players.

Author Jesse Washington reminds that “We don’t see the 5-8 kid in eighth grade and then she’s 6-3 in 11th grade. That just doesn’t happen…”. So – as with all kids – be realistic with your daughter’s opportunities.

“Because women still spend four years in college, because the money to be made in professional women’s basketball is not life-changing in the way that men’s basketball is, the main difference is that recruitable girls and their families still value education, first and foremost,” Gottlieb said. “I think they value relationships with the coaches and with the teammates and things like the feel of the campus.”

Read the full article for more insights: TheUndefeated.com