Playing sports with men

sportschick2015

Have you ever noticed that when playing sports with men they either take it really easy on you or play overly competitive?

I play in a weekly tackle football games and a few of the guys are way too rough, one of two of them even accidentally tackle the women by grabbing our chest.

gmallan

I'm not a huge fan of mixed sports. I find that for it to be enjoyable you've got to find a really good team. I find that most guys will pass to guys more often than not even when the girls are highly capable.

I wouldn't play a contact sport mixed though. I feel like it's be a bit unfair to ask them to be pulling back all the time. I find that even in the non-contact sports it can get a bit rough (usually unintentionally)

sportschick2015

Yeah especially in sports like basketball, they dont tend to pass to girls

AllanMisner

sportschick2015 wrote: »

Have you ever noticed that when playing sports with men they either take it really easy on you or play overly competitive?

I play in a weekly tackle football games and a few of the guys are way too rough, one of two of them even accidentally tackle the women by grabbing our chest.

I'm confused, are you saying the men you play football with are rougher with the women than they are with men? Or that they should pull back and make sure they don't touch your chest?

sportschick2015

some of them take it easy, but some seem to be more touchy

AllanMisner

To be honest, it is hard to slow down (take it easy) and not be a little touchy. Instead of ramming a shoulder into someone to tackle them, you're doing something more like a take down (grabbing and pulling). If the touching bothers you, I'd look for a different sport.

sportschick2015

yeah I get that, but I feel like some guys are doing to be dicks

Hornsby

I would never tackle a woman so give her the ball and she is getting a touchdown.

gonebeast

Back when I was training in boxing and muay thai, there were some girls that were really good. Of course we always went light on the sparring, guy or girl, but if it was a girl I'd be more forgiving but they were not in return lol (: I always had to be on top of my defense game

yesimpson

From your OP it sounds like you expect the men to walk a very fine line - not going full out, but not noticeably holding back either? Hard to do.
I think if I was to play a contact sport with guys, I wouldn't want them to go easy on me, so I get that. However as a woman you are likely to be smaller/weaker/less strong than the male players, so it may feel/look as if they are being rougher when they aren't? Probably difficult to be objective and impartial.
There are some games I'd play happily in mixed teams, and some I wouldn't. Personally I wouldn't go for something like rugby and expect to have a pleasant experience, whereas badminton would be fine.

ninerbuff

Probably shouldn't play with other people then. Ultimate frisbee football would probably be more appropriate since conditioning (aerobic) is more important than if one can tackle.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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sportschick2015

yeah its a tough situation

lulucitron

They go all out when I play and don't treat me differently because I'm a girl.

loverumer

Well, it seems I might be one of the only people who understood your post. At least I think I understand. You're saying the guys aren't playing how they play when it's all men. They either go out of their way to be more touchy and rough or they pull back. Whereas you'd prefer they play as they normally would. Am I right? If so, you're not wrong for feeling that way.

neaneacc

I understand exactly what the OP is most likely saying. My experience is that men/boys seem to fall into one of three categories:1) the guy who treats you based on your ability to contribute to the team. Although this guy is hard to find he is definitely my favorite on all teams I play on as he pushes me to achieve more. He understands that I'm fully capable of helping him win. 2) the idiot who grabs your chest or *kitten* because he feels that you will give up or give in if he embarrasses you enough. The worst is when this guys on your team because you aren't supposed to have a throw down with your own teammate. I have news for this guy it goes both ways and when you least expect it I'll take my turn on you (make sure you wear your cup). 3) My least favorite is the guy who treats you like your made of glass. He upsets the whole team by focusing on protecting you instead of doing what he is supposed to do. This is actually worse for everyone involved because then the team sees the girl as the problem because this guy normally is obviously underpreforming due to her presence. This guy needs a reality check as he only incites type two guy to act like a bigger jacka$$. We just need more guys to work on being the first type of guy.

DavPul

For the life of me I don't understand the OP. If I play nice, I'm taking it easy because she's a girl, but if I play to win, I'm being "overly" competitive? How does one determine what overly competitive even is? I've only got one gear if I'm trying to win at something.

And to women that get upset because they're being treated differently, it's because you ARE different. When there's a sizable disparity of size, athleticism, or talent men treat other men differently too. I've got a hundred pound advantage (plus infinitely stronger) on some of the guys I play with. I use that to my advantage but the reason you don't see them getting knocked to the ground every play is because it's a friendly pickup level game. BUT, if it's game point or a competitive league game LET THE BODIES HIT THE FLOOR.* Because I came to win. Does that make me overly competitive? DONT CURR

*aaaaaand if the bodies that I knock to the floor are female bodies, I'll get chastised and not invited back to the league because I treated the females exactly the way I treated the men.

DavPul

And what is even the deal with the "accidentally tackled by our chest"? It's tackling. No head hunting or clotheslining is the only rule. So you don't want them to take it easy but you do want them to restrict their play? And another poster seems to object being touched on the butt?

trusty48

There are lots of women who play sports. Maybe try to find a women-only team and avoid the drama guys bring in?

Let's face it- men are handicapped by their testosterone and may be unable to look at you as "just one of the guys." This might be especially difficult in a full contact sport.

Personally, I wouldn't play any sport with more contact than softball with guys.

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shadowfax_c11

I practice a martial art. Generally this is not a problem I have with those who have trained with me for a while. I do occasional get a guy who is afraid to throw me hard. It does not take him long to figure out he'd better step up if he wants to keep up.