In what she hopes can be a model for the rest of Howard County, Wilde Lake athletic trainer Allison Hammond has launched a program aimed at reducing the occurrence of anterior cruciate ligament injuries for female athletes at the school.
The program, patterned after one developed by the Santa Monica Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Research Foundation, consists of about 24 activities performed by athletes at least twice a week in lieu of their normal warm-ups.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/highschool/bal-va.ho.notes11sep11,0,1830722.story
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Friday, September 5, 2008
Field Hockey Metro Top 20
You have seen the Baltimore area’s top 20 polls and you have seen the DC area’s top 20. But only Scholastic Sports Net offers the weekly Metro Top 20 which takes all of the top teams in the entire Baltimore/Washington area and ranks them against one another. Here is the 2008 preseason Metro Top 20:
1. Severna Park
2. Broadneck
3. South River
4. Bethesda-Chevy Chase
5. Fallston
6. Quince Orchard
7. Towson
8. Chesapeake-AA
9. Century
10. C. Milton Wright
11. Winters Mill
12. Centennial
13. Hereford
14. Centennial
15. North Carroll
16. Glenelg
17. Mt. Hebron
18. Catonsville
19. Loch Raven
20. Westminster
1. Severna Park
2. Broadneck
3. South River
4. Bethesda-Chevy Chase
5. Fallston
6. Quince Orchard
7. Towson
8. Chesapeake-AA
9. Century
10. C. Milton Wright
11. Winters Mill
12. Centennial
13. Hereford
14. Centennial
15. North Carroll
16. Glenelg
17. Mt. Hebron
18. Catonsville
19. Loch Raven
20. Westminster
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Does Discrimination Fix Discrimination?
The Atholton High School junior varsity football team has a girl trying out (and word is she's pretty good). Two years ago, a girl from Arundel High School wrestled in the Maryland State Wrestling 3A/4A Championship match versus a River Hill wrestler (and gave him one heck of a match).
There's a boy that wants to play field hockey this season for River Hill but can't because, well, he's a boy.
If you missed it, Katherine Dunn broke the story in The Baltimore Sun (http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/highschool/bal-va.hockeyboy26aug26,0,308516.story) about incoming freshman, Luke Chopper's, urge to play for the school's field hockey team. He's been playing the sport since he was six years old and it was never an issue until he entered high school and the best reason that anybody can give him for his inability to participate is that he was born the wrong sex.
Does anybody else see a problem here? Wasn't Title IX intended to stop this type of discrimination?
The Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (now referred to as simply Title IX) clearly states that "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."
Somebody please find me the part where it says "...unless you are male."
A few years after Title IX was created, the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare created a policy for better interpreting Title IX called the "three-prong test". As long as a federaly funded entity meets one of the following prongs, they are found to be in compliance with Title IX.
Prong one - Providing athletic opportunities that are substantially proportionate to the student enrollment, OR
Prong two - Demonstrate a continual expansion of athletic opportunities for the underrepresented sex, OR
Prong three - Full and effective accommodation of the interest and ability of underrepresented sex.
This approach still doesn't clear it up for me. I look at it this way, in the fall athletic season, boys are permitted to play football, soccer, golf, cross country, and cheerleading. Five sports. Girls are permitted to play football, soccer, golf, cross country, cheerleading, volleyball, and field hockey. Seven sports. So how is Title IX being adhered to in this instance?
I think that Luke's mother, Lori McKay, had it right in The Baltimore Sun's article when she said, "You cannot fix discrimination by discriminating."
Now I may be taking an all too simplistic approach to this matter, but it seems like common sense to me. Until the county prevents girls from playing football and golf, or allows boys to play field hockey and volleyball, I don't see how the county (and state) is adhering to the Title IX requirements.
I understand that that will open up a whole new can of worms, but after learning of Title IX's true intended purpose and just watching American men play field hockey and volleyball in the Beijing Olympics, I think that Luke and his mother have a legitimate gripe.
There's a boy that wants to play field hockey this season for River Hill but can't because, well, he's a boy.
If you missed it, Katherine Dunn broke the story in The Baltimore Sun (http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/highschool/bal-va.hockeyboy26aug26,0,308516.story) about incoming freshman, Luke Chopper's, urge to play for the school's field hockey team. He's been playing the sport since he was six years old and it was never an issue until he entered high school and the best reason that anybody can give him for his inability to participate is that he was born the wrong sex.
Does anybody else see a problem here? Wasn't Title IX intended to stop this type of discrimination?
The Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (now referred to as simply Title IX) clearly states that "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."
Somebody please find me the part where it says "...unless you are male."
A few years after Title IX was created, the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare created a policy for better interpreting Title IX called the "three-prong test". As long as a federaly funded entity meets one of the following prongs, they are found to be in compliance with Title IX.
Prong one - Providing athletic opportunities that are substantially proportionate to the student enrollment, OR
Prong two - Demonstrate a continual expansion of athletic opportunities for the underrepresented sex, OR
Prong three - Full and effective accommodation of the interest and ability of underrepresented sex.
This approach still doesn't clear it up for me. I look at it this way, in the fall athletic season, boys are permitted to play football, soccer, golf, cross country, and cheerleading. Five sports. Girls are permitted to play football, soccer, golf, cross country, cheerleading, volleyball, and field hockey. Seven sports. So how is Title IX being adhered to in this instance?
I think that Luke's mother, Lori McKay, had it right in The Baltimore Sun's article when she said, "You cannot fix discrimination by discriminating."
Now I may be taking an all too simplistic approach to this matter, but it seems like common sense to me. Until the county prevents girls from playing football and golf, or allows boys to play field hockey and volleyball, I don't see how the county (and state) is adhering to the Title IX requirements.
I understand that that will open up a whole new can of worms, but after learning of Title IX's true intended purpose and just watching American men play field hockey and volleyball in the Beijing Olympics, I think that Luke and his mother have a legitimate gripe.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Home Field Advantage
I can think of no other Howard County high school sport where the field condition can give an advantage or disadvantage to a team.
Take the top two county teams from a year ago and the fields that they play on. Centennial keeps beautiful, lush, almost long grass. Stick skills, passing, and finess dominate on the Eagle course. Now think about Glenelg. Its a hard, dusty, dirty racetrack. The game revolves around speed. A pass that may travel 15 yards at Centennial will be hard-pressed to stay inbounds at Glenelg.
No doubt that both teams are equally affected by the playing conditions during any given game, but a team that's accustomed to one playing condition could take half the game to adapt to another playing condition. This makes any road victory in the county that much more impressive.
In Howard County field hockey, "home field advantage" takes on much more importance.
Take the top two county teams from a year ago and the fields that they play on. Centennial keeps beautiful, lush, almost long grass. Stick skills, passing, and finess dominate on the Eagle course. Now think about Glenelg. Its a hard, dusty, dirty racetrack. The game revolves around speed. A pass that may travel 15 yards at Centennial will be hard-pressed to stay inbounds at Glenelg.
No doubt that both teams are equally affected by the playing conditions during any given game, but a team that's accustomed to one playing condition could take half the game to adapt to another playing condition. This makes any road victory in the county that much more impressive.
In Howard County field hockey, "home field advantage" takes on much more importance.
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