>>[Chico] I believe that your underlying belief system may lay at the root of why Columbia area girls soccer has underperformed; but that's just my opinion and I absolutely respect your right to take your position.<<
>>[thomaspietras] Do you mean that there is a fundamental, gender-related difference between boy soccer players and girl soccer players (that I don't understand)?
Can you explain this to me? Also, how should a girls program be run differently from a boys program? Is it not the same equation of fields, coaches, players and parents?<<
There are fundamental, gender-related differences between boy and girls soccer players beyond the physical differences. Girls, particularly girls in the deep south, are socialized and pressured from an early age by many influences to be less competitive and to view themselves as second-class citizens athletically (e.g., you throw like a girl, be a man, etc.) This can potentially put them at a life-long disadvantage when they enter various aspects of life (i.e., the workplace) that are intrinsically competitive.
Title IX was intended to help with this, not just with regard to athletics but societally as well. Title IX applies to recruitment, admissions, educational programs and activities, course offerings and access, counseling, financial aid, employment assistance, facilities and housing, health and insurance benefits, marital and parental status, scholarships, and sexual harassment. In the 34 years since it was passed, there have been significant changes in the profile of not just college athletics but high school as well; currently it's reported that over 40% of high school athletes are female while in the early 1970's that number was 1%.
Youth soccer clubs have had to decide whether to try to "get in front" of these changes, simply ride the wave of changes, or try to ignore these changes. The dominant youth soccer clubs in South Carolina on the girls side are those that don't just talk about the importance of girls soccer, they make sure that their most visible employees (DOC's typically) are those that either have an excellent reputation in girls soccer or that have a burning desire to earn that reputation.
For example, Andy Grist earned much of his reputation with his excellent Fusion teams in the past few years. The fact that he's in a leadership position at CUSC helps that club earn and keep a reputation as a great place for girls to train and play. Andrew Hyslop has certainly had success on the boys side; but his reputation was earned as one of the only two coaches to take a South Carolina team to nationals (the other is Justin Rhodes) -- and Hyslop is the only person to take a South Carolina girls team to nationals. The fact that Hyslop is a co-executive director of CESA helps CESA earn and keep a reputation as another great place for girls to train and play. This goes beyond just winning -- when you look at the current Division I girls players, you find that Grist and Hyslop have helped a lot of their players move on to the next level.
The question isn't how a "girls program should be run differently" -- the question is how a club should be run differently to ensure that the girls program isn't run differently. The answer isn't ensuring you have a lot of parents on your board who have sired female players; the answer is to prioritize the girls program such that your executive operational leadership consists of people who have a strong committment to girls soccer at the highest level.
