Why Girls Quit Sports — And Why That’s About to Change
Mighty Oak Athletic Podcast S3:E75 - Why Girls Quit Sports — And Why That’s About to Change
I didn’t notice it at first.
When kids are young, everyone plays. Boys, girls—it doesn’t matter. They’re running around, laughing, chasing the ball, figuring it out as they go. Sports are simple. Sports are fun.
But then something changes.
Around middle school, the sidelines start to look different. Fewer girls. More empty spots. More “I used to play…”
And once you see it, you can’t unsee it.
The Drop-Off Nobody Plans For
By the time girls reach their early teenage years, they’re dropping out of sports at twice the rate of boys.
Not because they stopped liking sports.
Because something about the experience changed.
It becomes less about playing and more about performing. Less about learning and more about comparing. Less about showing up and more about proving something.
And for a lot of girls, that shift is enough to walk away.
It’s Not One Reason—It’s a Pattern
Confidence dips right when sports start demanding more.
They become more aware of how they look, how they move, who’s watching. Playing time gets tighter. Mistakes feel bigger. The environment gets more serious.
At the same time, life gets busier. School ramps up. Social pressure increases.
And underneath all of it, one simple thing starts to disappear:
Fun.
When fun goes away, participation usually follows.
The System Isn’t Built to Keep Everyone In
Youth sports has quietly become an “all-in or all-out” model.
More travel. More cost. More time. More pressure to specialize early.
If you’re one of the top players, you stay in.
If you’re not, you start to feel like you don’t belong.
That’s how you end up with 70% of kids quitting sports by age 13.
Not because they don’t need sports—but because sports stopped working for them.
So What Actually Keeps Girls Playing?
If we want girls to stay in sports longer, we don’t need more pressure.
We need better environments.
We need sports to feel like they did when they were younger:
Fun. Supportive. Inclusive. Energizing.
We need places where girls can develop confidence before they’re asked to prove it.
We need opportunities where they can contribute early, improve steadily, and feel like they belong the whole time.
Because when a girl feels confident, she stays.
Where This Starts to Work
This is exactly what we’re trying to build.
At Sunday Funday Sports, the goal is simple: make sports something kids want to come back to.
One day a week. One game. No weeknight practices. No pressure to specialize.
Kids show up, play hard, laugh, compete, and go home wanting more.
That structure matters more than people think.
Because when you remove the pressure, you keep the player.
Girls don’t need more intensity. They need more positive reps, more confidence-building moments, and more chances to just play.
At Mighty Oak Athletic, we focus on what sits underneath all of it.
Strength. Movement. Confidence.
Not just to improve performance—but to change how kids feel about themselves.
Because when a girl feels strong, everything shifts.
She runs with more confidence. She’s more willing to try. She’s less afraid to fail.
And that changes whether she stays in sports or not.
This Is Where Opportunity Meets Environment
There are more opportunities for girls in sports right now than ever before.
New leagues. New teams. New pathways.
Flag football is one example of that growth—but it’s not the whole story.
Opportunity only matters if the experience keeps them coming back.
If the environment is right, girls stay.
If it’s not, they leave—no matter how many opportunities exist.
The Goal Isn’t Just More Sports
The goal is more girls staying in sports.
Girls who feel confident.
Girls who feel strong.
Girls who compete, lead, and enjoy it.
Girls who don’t say, “I used to play.”
Because when we get this right, we’re not just building better athletes.
We’re building something that lasts.
