As a coach I would have no problem dropping a male player in favour of a superior female player. I'm pretty sure that many of the female players out there are acutley aware of the different kinds of treatment they can be on the receiving end of; treated as a target by opponents, treated as a weakness to be exploited tactically by opposing coaches, "babied" by officials or as an equal and just let play. I for one think that female players on boys varsity teams, such as the mentioned Palmetto, deserve a lot of respect for even being brave enough to go out and play for a boys team. Have any of you considered how much pressure the girls must be under to perform day-in day-out merely to "justify their place" - I for one would not be first in line for that kind of scrutiny.
As a player, I have never played competitively against a girl. I have seen many, many women play. I have seen women play who I would consider to be easily better than myself and I am playing college at the moment and have played pro for one year. I think that on the whole the female players (and I am generalizing here) are more technically aware and have better technique than the guys whereas the males rely a bit more on their physicality.
And, as a post-script, I don't think I'd notice any difference if I was challenging or being challenged by a girl as my eyes would be on the ball.
C'mon Palmetto!!
