Would you let your son play field hockey? (lawsuit, game, girls)

[bpcous]

My cousin moved to the US from the UK just a few weeks ago. He has played field hockey over there for 3-4 years now and even played for his school. But in the US there is this idea that field hockey is a girls game even though there is a male US olympic team. Consequently, there are no boys teams in our school district. Pennsylvania rules say that he can play on the school team which is all girls if there is no alternative available, but to do so he has to wear the same uniform as the girls, which includes the hockey skirt.

Does anyone else think this is crazy and probably intended to just deter boys from playing? As if it isn't bad enough to have them play on the "girls" team they have to wear a skirt too!

I've done some Googling and found that there are a few other boys who are in the same situation. I think it is something like 10 states which allow boys to play with the girls and in all cases it seems that the team has to wear an identical uniform, so if the teams wears shorts then fine, but if not the boys are out of luck.

Would you let your son play under those circumstances or would you stop him?

[Momma_bear]

If my son were a middle or high school student I would explain the rules and let him choose what he wanted to do.

[North Beach Person]

Lacrosse instead if available?

[Pitt Chick]

Originally Posted by bpcous

Does anyone else think this is crazy and probably intended to just deter boys from playing? As if it isn't bad enough to have them play on the "girls" team they have to wear a skirt too!

Would you let your son play under those circumstances or would you stop him?

If he wants to play, then he has to play by the rules.
Having him wear something other the official uniform is wrong.

[scarmig]

Of course it's ridiculous. Politicians never let anything like common sense get in the way of a lowest-common-denominator, universal, one-size-doesn't-quite-fit-anybody solution!

His choice. If he's willing to play in a skirt, let him. At the same time, see if the coach of the team is willing to side with you in giving ridiculous, asinine rules the proverbial finger and letting him wear shorts instead, and then broadside the idiot politicians who made the rule publicly with their short-sighted stupidity.

[crissx]

Originally Posted by Pitt Chick

If he wants to play, then he has to play by the rules.
Having him wear something other the official uniform is wrong.

Agree with Pitt Chick. HS Field Hockey is governed by a set of rules. In PA, the PIAA follows federation rules with some revisions. The PIAA rules are followed by leagues and conferences with some more revisions. Local school districts also revise the rules. Uniforms are one item which are very subject to local observation. Generally, the observed rule is conformity in color and style. How that impacts a boy playing what is generally considered a girls sport in PA is typically left up to the teams, but basically comes down to either the entire team agreeing to either wear shorts or skirts. Since in PA, field hockey is overwhelmingly a girls sport at both the high school and collegiate levels and indeed, just about everyone views it as a girls sport, most teams wear skirts/kilts and it would seem unreasonable to expect them to change their entire uniform for just one person.

I question whether he should play in a girls team at all, but since he is technically allowed to join, then he should abide by the same rules that the rest of the team adhere to and understand that this is the basis on which he is joining the team.

[Jaggy001]

Originally Posted by crissx

Agree with Pitt Chick. HS Field Hockey is governed by a set of rules. In PA, the PIAA follows federation rules with some revisions. The PIAA rules are followed by leagues and conferences with some more revisions. Local school districts also revise the rules. Uniforms are one item which are very subject to local observation. Generally, the observed rule is conformity in color and style. How that impacts a boy playing what is generally considered a girls sport in PA is typically left up to the teams, but basically comes down to either the entire team agreeing to either wear shorts or skirts. Since in PA, field hockey is overwhelmingly a girls sport at both the high school and collegiate levels and indeed, just about everyone views it as a girls sport, most teams wear skirts/kilts and it would seem unreasonable to expect them to change their entire uniform for just one person.

I question whether he should play in a girls team at all, but since he is technically allowed to join, then he should abide by the same rules that the rest of the team adhere to and understand that this is the basis on which he is joining the team.

Could be an interesting law suit here

If there is a US mens team then surely there must be some clubs where he could play. Might be an idea to forget the idea of playing at high school and look for a club.

Incidentally, mens field hockey is generally a pretty tough sport and not for the faint hearted. If he has been playing competitively in the UK then the girls might be in for a shock.

[Pandamonium]

No. I think that if someone is actually stating that you have to wear a skirt to play then I have to question the planet they come from. That is intentionally trying to humilate someone to keep them from playing. This is not about "abiding by the rules".

In the US there have been some changes made, in 2009, for safety reasons on the game itself. So much for abiding by the rules.

Its like the USA stating, we don't want to play soccer on the same field as the rest of the world, we want a shorter field. Again, playing by the rules..........that we just made up.

[crissx]

Originally Posted by Jaggy001

Could be an interesting law suit here

It was a lawsuit I believe that allowed boys to play on the girls teams in the first place. If you are referring to boys being expected to wear the same uniform as the rest of their team mates then the question could be asked as to what would happen if a girl joined a boys soccer team and wanted to wear something different to what the rest of the team was wearing.

Originally Posted by Jaggy001

If there is a US mens team then surely there must be some clubs where he could play. Might be an idea to forget the idea of playing at high school and look for a club.

I agree and that would be better all around, but in reality the sport is not that popular with boys/men (yet anyway) and so there are not that many clubs except maybe in CA, which is why on the East Coast some boys have tried to get into the girls HS field hockey teams.

Originally Posted by Jaggy001

Incidentally, mens field hockey is generally a pretty tough sport and not for the faint hearted. If he has been playing competitively in the UK then the girls might be in for a shock.

Which is one reason I personally don't think boys should be allowed to play in girls HS field hockey. A girl joining a boys soccer team for instance rarely has the same physical dominating impact that a boy joining a girls field hockey team for instance would have. The girl's may have a higher skill level from more experience compared with most boys, but in this instance this boy in particular may have both experience and a physical advantage. It's nothing personal and it's a shame that the boy can't find a team of boys to play in where he could be equal, but I don't playing with a team of girls is the best solution. Maybe he could help coach and train with the girls, but it doesn't seem fair for him to play competitively.

[uptown_urbanist]

If he's willing to wear the skirt then let him play. It's a ridiculous situation, though. Maybe it will be an asset for him; if he's comfortable enough to play in a skirt that suggests a very confident guy. I think it could be a little unsettling to the girls on the other team who aren't used to it, but that's not his problem, and could work to his (and his team's) advantage. If the school can decide to switch to shorts I wouldn't assume they'll do it, but maybe they will. In any case, good for him for challenging the American assumption that field hockey is just for girls.