Everyone knows that Greenwood High School (GHS) offers many different sports for females. Since Title IX, “…opportunities to become participants and benefits of treatment of participants,” says KHSAA (Kentucky High School Athletic Association). www.2.ed.gov says, “requires schools to effectively accommodate the athletic interest and abilities of their students, regardless of sex, and provide equal opportunities,” there are many more opportunities for females in high school sports. It has made the female athletic side grow dramatically. Throughout the article, Cate Loiars, Madison Sherrod, Kensley Vaughn, Rylee Scheer, and Abby Vaughn will share more about female sports they participate in and their take.
Loiars, a freshman volleyball player, plays on the Freshman and JV team for GHS. She says she likes volleyball because it is a positive environment and it is “her sport.” A difference between middle school and high school volleyball is the level of competitiveness that the sport entails. She enjoys the team variety and the ability to play for more than one team. She got into volleyball because her sister played and plans to keep playing. Loiars elaborated “I’m super happy I did start playing because I love the sport.” At age 8, she fell in love with the sport. Volleyball tickets, like most, can be purchased on GoFan.
Sherrod, a tennis player, talked about tennis’ side of female sports. Throughout preseason, she plays singles in preparation for the season. When the Greenwood season comes around, she plays doubles with partner Julianne Ashby (8th Grader). She says her brother plays and when she saw him she says, “It looked like a lot of fun, so I tried it out. I ended up loving it.” For practice, they have 30 minutes of conditioning and then they run drills. For matches, they play when a court opens up. The positives to the sport here at GHS is it is a positive environment and coaches are really accepting to all skill levels, players, and grades. Sherrod played last year for the high school as an 8th grader. She claims she is excited for the season to start.
K. Vaughn’s insight was on soccer. She plays on the GHS Lady Gator Soccer Team. She is a midfielder. A difference for her between middle school and high school soccer that she communicated was, “In high school it actually matters about winning and losing. You go to districts and stuff so it is more important to win. Comparing that to middle school, it was more about having fun.” She started soccer because she “couldn’t do any other sport”. She was around age 6 when she first took up soccer. Her favorite parts of the program are the friends she makes and the feeling when the team wins. Before and during games, she likes to wear her socks on the wrong feet as a ritual. K. Vaughn states, “I like the environment and how positive it is.” She hasn’t yet decided if she is going to pursue soccer through the end of high school. Check out the GHS Lady Gator Soccer social media to see information about games, events, and more!
Scheer, a rising GHS basketball player, hopes to make the 2024-2025 Lady Gator Basketball Team. She grew up with basketball as a part of her childhood. She started playing at age 6. She did not play for Drakes Creek Middle School; instead, she played for a recreational league. This past summer, she did training camps with GHS in preparation for open gyms and tryouts. Her favorite part is shooting and she likes how it feels to be on a good supportive team. She likes Coach Williams – the head coach – and is excited to get the opportunity to impress him. The season starts late October.
Lastly, A. Vaughn (Kensley Vaughn’s sister) and she is a lacrosse player. Her friend, Madison Hershberg, encouraged her to join the team because she wanted someone to do it with. She ended up really liking the sport and continued to play. For the sport, you have to run and do physical activity. The girls side is not a contact sport. A. Vaughn expressed, “The girls, heck no! (talking about it being a contact sport) But the guys…they go at it.” She said the environment is “cool”, the coaches are really nice, and it is just a great place to be. Her opinion about why lacrosse isn’t a popular sport is that people don’t know much about it. She thinks that it gets overlooked or has a bad stereotype. A. Vaughn believes people should help make lacrosse popular!
All in all, these sports are important at GHS and should be recognized. The hard work and dedication these girls put into their sport is tremendous. All of these girls agree that female sports at GHS have positive environments and good coaches. If anything should be taken from this, it is to go and learn more about Lady Gator sports at GHS!
Edited by: Rylee Scheer
