MOCO Girls' Sports: Councilors Propose $100K In League Funding

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD — County Councilmembers are proposing putting $100k toward affordable sports leagues that are traditionally popular with girls, which would include volleyball, softball, lacrosse, and soccer.

The money would be used for intro activities, instructional skills classes and clinics, and an expansion of the expansion of the Soccer-4-Change girls’ program.

"We should offer sports that girls enjoy to play," said Councilmember Hans Riemer in a statement. "That is why I am so excited to propose funding that will initiate leagues in sports such as volleyball, softball and lacrosse. We can create more opportunities for girls and all kids to enjoy sports.”

The council says that girls are less likely than boys to play sports as they get older, and putting funding toward sports that are most popular among girls is its attempt to remedy that.

“For many kids, sports provides an avenue to a more affordable higher education," said Riemer. "However, based on a recent County report, the gap in sports opportunities between boys and girls has widened to where girls drop off from sports at dramatically higher rates than boys."

Council President Gabe Albornoz also proposed creating a commission that will look into youth sports discrepancies more broadly and look for ways to expand access to sports.

“Sports at their best bring together communities and generations in ways that other genres cannot,” said Albornoz, who is the chair of the Health and Human Services Committee, in a statement. “As the former director of the County’s Recreation Department, I have witnessed first-hand how sports positively transform our youth, improve mental health and instill life skills that will help guide them on the right path."