My daughter is eight. She’s tall – the tallest kid (female or male) in the third grade. Unlike her nonathletic father, she’s quick and fast and wiry and good at sports. She has enjoyed playing soccer since pee-wee and has recently developed an affinity for volleyball.
The local high school offers camps in the summer and in the fall for aspiring volleyballer’s and my wife and I have signed our little bundle of joy up for a few of these. It’s great. The High Schoolers give the little ones support and instruction and get them fired up to be high school players themselves one day.
There’s just one problem .. volleyball shorts.
The little kids don’t typically wear them; although some particularly obsessive moms seem to think they need to. The member of the high school team, however, all do. This is patently not good.
Those volleyball shorts barely cover up their butts. It’s nearly impossible for a middle aged man like me to pick his daughter up from camp and not notice some under-aged booties. High School girls are, after all, almost college girls. The seniors are, at least. So I avert my eyes the best I can and try not to be a dirty old man. But this is a burden I don’t think I or any other dad should bear. And I shudder to imagine my little girl someday sporting those shorts and forcing other would-be dirty old men into the same predicament. It’s unfair and completely unnecessary.
Volleyball shorts might as well be called “look at my butt shorts”.
I can’t understand why female volleyballers have to wear them. Lady basketball players don’t. They wear baggy basketball shorts just like the men do. Male volleyball players don’t wear Lycra bun-huggers either. They basically just wear basketball shorts – which makes sense when you consider that the range of motion required for volleyball and basketball is about the same. Why should volleyball apparel need to be any more revealing than basketball apparel?
I’m convinced that men designed women’s volleyball shorts with precisely the intent of leering at butts. There’s no other conceivable explanation as to why they would cover so little. Now, I can understand beach volleyball players wearing skimpy sexy outfits to attract viewership during the Olympic games and on weekend TV but for young people to be jumping around in show-me shorts in front of a bunch of parents makes no sense at all.
So, dear reader, if you happen to know somebody with some influence in the realm of required youth athletic wear would you maybe pass my message along? Wrap those girls in some baggy basketball shorts and spare the fathers of the world the encumbrance of having to avert their stares.
Thanks.
0 Comments (3 conversations)
The reason why girls wear such short shorts is due to the movement and agility that the shorts provide. Basketball shorts limit a player’s movements(in volleyball), and on the court, players are expected to move quickly and efficiently, getting to the ball before it hits the ground. Thus, players would need something tight that would not limit their movement.
If you are worried about your daughter, when the time comes, you can get her spandex that have an inseam of 5″, which a longer and will cover more of her legs. But keep in mind that spandex are a requirement for the volleyball dress code.
I suppose this begs the question, are male players worse off in performance because of their shorts?
I believe it constricts their movements, yes, meaning that they won’t play as good as they will in spandex. However, it does not mean that male players are worse than female players if that’s what you were hinting at. Performance depends on the players themselves, not their gender.
My point being that there is plenty of reasoning to suggest tight spandex clothing offers no benefit. Except the visually appealing benefit. Therefore it deserves all the criticism it gets.
Hi,
I chose to stop playing volleyball in high school — I have an embarrassing congenital bowel disorder that forces me to wear adult diapers for the rest of my life. Are you telling me that if I chose to continue playing beyond the age of 15 I would HAVE to wear spandex and expose to the world that I wear diapers? That’s actually what I’m being told?? Does that not strike anyone else as a disgusting and unfair rule?
Any player/parent/spectator/coach that continues to say “Oh it’s not to put the booty on display, it’s purely for function”, should seriously reconsider this opinion. I chose to play soccer and I can tell you that those mid-thigh-length loose soccer shorts allow me to jump up for headers, get into slide tackles, and do bicycle kicks for christ sakes. There is arguably much more agility needed in soccer than in volleyball and yet I do it all in a respectable and functional pair or shorts that don’t reveal my ass or embarrassing disability instantly.
You’ve heard it all a million times before – the men wear loose shorts, why can’t the women? It’s the EXACT SAME SPORT. Time to be honest with yourselves folks.
Really nice job blaming girls for wearing something needed as Jones said, because you can’t control your urges, fuck you, you make things what they are
Don’t blame Colin Daniels for expressing the obvious. You’re clearly not a straight male between the age of 14 and 100. Sorry, but thousands of years of having testosterone in our bodies causes males to acknowledge the female form. Not much we can do about it but restrain ourselves and remain gentlemen in the gymnasium bleachers.
I definitely agree that if men are not required to wear spandex, then women shouldn’t be either. This letter sounds like a man who is being respectful but also honest. No bashing, attacking, or disrespecting was shown here so I think his argument has merit. As a coach and a father, I know that I am uncomfortable around some young ladies on the volleyball team because more of them is being shown than I would like to see. Like the above gentleman, I am not looking necessarily because I want the girls, more just a reflex action that men have. The fact that men playing the same sport, do not have to wear the spandex shorts, proves that it is not a matter of function, but display. Whatever the uniform, it should be standardized for both sexes so that men receive the “functionality” of spandex, or women do not have to be on display in spandex. A great midpoint maybe spandex, with cheer type shorts over the spandex. That way, the shorts aren’t hitting the net (which is ridiculous because men don’t have that problem) and the skin tight spandex is not the main layer which gives more covering. Instead of attacking, I think the general idea here is that a father saw young ladies being displayed in a way that made him uncomfortable. He did not blame the girls, but just questioned why any adult would want young ladies wearing skin tight clothing around boys and men who may not have the restraint or decency that he had. That is a valid concern and one that deserves consideration.