I have received numerous questions from coaches and parents regarding the differences between female athletes and male athletes. One of the underlying themes of these questions has been whether the differences are real or just a perception based on expectations. It is, of course, likely that both explanations come into play. Certainly there are some differences. The magnitude of the differences, however, is likely far less than we tend to expect.

Since the federal law regarding opportunities available for females (known as Title IX) was passed in the mid-1970s, much has changed in girls' and women's sports. Because the actual implementation of this law has taken so long (some would argue it still has not been fully implemented) research has not really been yet able to give us a thorough picture of the resulting changes within female athletics, particularly in the sport psychology area.

Despite the changes that have occurred, many of the myths or quasi-myths surrounding the female athlete seem to persist. Among these myths are: female athletes don't try as hard as male athletes; female athletes don't care about competition, they are just interested in the social aspects of team membership; female athletes are more emotional than male athletes; female athletes are not as aggressive (assertive) as male athletes; and so on.

Some of these myths persist because people cling to the socialized belief that sport is an activity for males. These people often use various sets of performance data that show differences in the performance or males and females in comparable activities.

The problem is, of course, that just because males and females participate in some of the same events in many sports, there is no reason to actually compare their performances. Actually, if one looks at the performance date in comparable events over the last twenty or so years, you will see that, in many cases the differences have narrowed. But, because many sport events require a combination of strength and endurance, there is no reason to expect the differences to completely disappear.

The issue of emotions in sport is probably the most frequently asked question in regards to female athletes. But is it a question of emotions, or the expression of emotions? There is a difference, an important one. Unfortunately, much of the discussion I hear at professional sport psychology conferences regarding this issue tends to come from small sample case studies. Although these studies are important contributions to our understanding of emotion in sport, they may not yet be giving us enough information to draw more generalizable conclusions.

At this point in time, one still prefers to believe that both male and female athletes are serious about their sport and their personal performances in their sport. What we do see is a difference in how these athletes publicly display this commitment to sports. But not only do we see it between the two genders, we also see it within the two genders.

As parents, we need to understand what attracts our children to their particular sport and build our support of them around that attraction.

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Richard Stratton, Ph.D., is the Associate Professor of Health and Physical Education at the College of Human Resources and Education, Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA. Dr. Stratton is the editor of the monthly online newsletter Coaching Youth Sports. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------