Steve Doocy thinks coaching girls is like "herding cats"

by Bethany Sanders (Subscribe to Bethany Sanders's posts) Oct 11th 2008 1:00PM

Not every child is an athlete. But those who do enjoy sports come in every age, shape, and yes, even gender. It might come as no surprise to you and me that girls can actually, oh, enjoy sports and maybe even be good at them. But according to Fox and Friends co-host Steve Doocy, girls don't really like sports at all.

In a recent interview promoting his new book Tales from the Dadside, Doocy responded to the different tone his book took when talking about his son versus his daughters. "I was very conscious of that because with boys they actually want to play and hit the ball. With girls, girls don't really want to play these sports. They just want to hang out. Being a coach for girls is like herding cats...."

Now in all fairness, maybe coaching his own daughters was like herding cats. But I think Doocy does a great disservice to young female athletes with this stereotypical statements. Boys like to play sports, girls are just in it for the social scene and the cute uniforms. Right. As a mom to a five-year-old girl who is already a tiger on the soccer field, as well as a friend to several women who have been playing sports since childhood, I can assure Mr. Doocy that girls DO actually want to play and hit the ball too. It's too bad Doocy couldn't see that in his own children and their teammates.

What do you think of Steve Doocy's view of girls and sports?

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Comments (11)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Rope 10-11-2008 @ 1:35PM

How insulting to women athletes. If this coach can figure out that perhaps a different approach to coaching women than men, then obviously he's in the wrong business---get off the field alreay.

CLM 10-11-2008 @ 2:00PM

I think it is typical of him. Unfortunately for his little theory, there was recently this thing...... oh yeah, the OLYMPICS - where, I believe, some "girls" kicked some serious butt.

Emma 10-11-2008 @ 2:22PM

I've always understood that girls don't take from sports what boys do. Girls are in it for the camaraderie; boys for the competition. In that way, girls don't enjoy sports as much as boys do, because sports are one of the myriad ways in which girls can get the interaction they crave.

This is not to shortchange or pigeonhole either - it's simply a declaration of biological fact.

isisaquaria 10-12-2008 @ 12:37AM

Your girls may not, but not every girl is that way. My oldest daughter can outrun every male on he soccer team, out scores them consistently, and hates losing to a male or female. She also plays baseball, not sissy softball (her quote, not mine).

My younger 6yo is in her second season of soccer and hates to lose. She has just finished season one of basketball and starts season two, the day soccer stops. Forget t-ball, she wants to play real baseball-like sister.

They are not cats being herded. They want to be taken seriously, thus we have a full blown soccer practice field in our back yard. And, I sit in the sun, wind, an rain while they practice with the team, or play the games.

To make the sexist comment is offensive to me and all the parents who support these GIRLS in being the best they can be.

Jan Bay 10-11-2008 @ 2:26PM

Blanket statements like that crack me up even when they are not sexist. Maybe his daughters were just not interested, but how do we know that they didn't pick up less than subtle hints from him that built a foundation for lack of participation? The girls who just want to hang out may have been encouraged to try sports in spite of the fact that they had little interest by a parent who wanted it more than they did or maybe they were told from early on that girls are no good at sports.

Jan from http://www.unique-baby-gear-ideas.com/

m-girl 10-12-2008 @ 12:32AM

I think weak minded Doocy didn't want to be around his girls playing sports because of his prejudice and predisposition that boys should be athletic and girls should be ladylike. As a former high achieving gymnast, camaraderie isn't what I went for, I wanted to be the best, I was highly competitive and it drove my parents crazy. I used to be sooo competitive that I wanted, no, HAD to be the best in EVERYTHING which was a tough issue for my parents to deal with when I didn't do as well as I wanted or expected.

Now Mr."I want to enforce oppressive female stereotypes", I play ice hockey and if you want to play some ice hockey with me, you better listen to my ALL MALE teammates when they tell you that I am very competitive, probably the most competitive on the team. I can kick a little ass, I will antagonize you and piss you off, I will capitalize on your errors and mess with your head, and I am going to put lots of pucks through your lame goalie's legs, as many as I can (BTW, I am a woman which the guys seem to forget on the ice.)

What happens on the ice, stays on the ice, but off the ice, well, I am not lacking for dates with guys that I play against. They understand. Strong men have no problem accepting a natural athlete and one that is better than they are, especially if they are the opposite sex. If you think the guys are going to be unsportsmanlike, think again. They also know that my guys back me up, just like any other team mate and I won't hesitate to give you a free "cup check" that will keep you in line. You can't always watch your back, just so that we understand who intimidates whom.

BTW, the guys don't give me a free pass on the ice at all. It's competition and I want to win.

So explain again how women are not interested in competition but are more interested in hanging out?

L 10-12-2008 @ 12:27AM

Actually, I DO coach girls, and it is nothing like "hearding cats." Girls are great athletes, and come to sports with great drive and intensity at a young age.

Carlan 10-12-2008 @ 5:12AM

I think he is totally right! We have 6 daughters...when they were on teams for all sorts of sports you would find the most of the girls braiding each others hair; talking about hair, boys, clothes etc and finding them not as focused on the games. Girls ARE different than boys!! And coaching most girls...is exactly like Doocie says..."like herding cats!"

kay 10-12-2008 @ 5:28AM

Coming from the biggest pussy ever !

Karen 10-12-2008 @ 12:23PM

There are exceptions to every generalization, but anectdotal evidence from either side proves nothing.

Personally, I tend to think that IN GENERAL it is different coaching girls than it is coaching boys. So what? Even if they do take away different life lessons than boys, that doesn't make it bad. It just means that the adult leaders and coaches need to customize the coaching to what works for the people they are coaching instead of what works best for them.

Heather 10-17-2008 @ 9:18PM

Coaching little kids is like herding cats. But girls who want to play is no different then boys. Some girls I know are more competitive then the boys and would win hands down.

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