The phrase it takes a village is often used (maybe overused) to describe situations where it takes many people to help solve problems and create solutions. Iowa Girls High School Basketball is for 100 years plus been the LEADER in Girls Sports for the United States.
For close to 50 years Iowa led the country as one of the only states that provided any sport for girls to play high school sports…and basketball was that sport.
That “Iowan pride” that many feel about Girls basketball comes from being one of the leaders in the country for girls’ sports. It all started with Iowa HS Girls Basketball and the foundation they built for all sports
Over the last 17+ years, participation in Iowa High School Girls Basketball has declined by close to 40%. Volleyball, Track and Field, and Softball participation numbers are all higher than Basketball (with Volleyball almost having double the number of girls participation.
When you dive into the Blame Game spiral, you will hear fans, writers, and coaches most often citing Club Sports and Volleyball/Softball for the decline of Girls Basketball in the State.
IA Girls BB needs to bring excitement, passion, and FUN to the Game
So, this week we started a series of podcasts on Girls Basketball and will continue the series.
The input we got from each guest with ideas on how to grow the game was awesome. The thing I really liked about our guests is no one is trying to play the blame game or be negative Nelly about the situation.
All our guests have come with solutions, suggestions, and ideas to help.
The goal of our series and discussion is to bring some sunshine and light on the situation and to try and find solutions to help grow the game again.
Girls Basketball in Iowa is a treasured tradition and has a great future
Our readers and listeners are invested in Girls basketball and optimistic about the future. How High School basketball evolves and adjusts to changing youth sports environment is going to be interesting to observe.
The foundation of the game may have a few cracks but nothing that a determined group of Iowan’s can’t fix.
If you have comments and suggestions on what fans can do to the Girls BB game in the state, we appreciate your comments and suggestions.
We appreciate you following us on X, Facebook, TikToc, Instagram and our podcasts on Spotify and YouTube @sportsguysiowa
