Girls’ Basketball Is Declining—But It Doesn’t Have To
Women’s basketball is having a moment.
From record-shattering NCAA viewership to packed arenas for Caitlin Clark’s WNBA debut, the sport has never been more visible. But here’s the twist:
Even as more people are watching women’s basketball, fewer girls are playing it.
According to the Sports Business Journal, girls' basketball has "lost 19% of its players since 2002," while track and field grew by 10%, volleyball by 15%, and soccer by 27%. What was once the most popular girls’ sport now ranks fourth.
What Other Sports Are Offering
It's worth examining what other sports are offering—sports like volleyball, soccer, cross country, and track and field. This isn’t about viewing them as competitors, but about gaining insight. What draws girls to these sports? What needs—physical, emotional, social—are they meeting that basketball may not be addressing? By understanding the real and perceived strengths of these alternatives, we can better identify what might be missing from the basketball experience and how programs can evolve to meet girls where they are.
Volleyball: The Power of Social Connection and Safety
Volleyball offers a uniquely appealing combination of teamwork, rhythm, and safety that resonates with many girls. The sport is known for fostering tight-knit team dynamics—players communicate constantly, celebrate together after every point, and often develop strong off-court friendships. For girls navigating the social complexities of adolescence, volleyball provides a place to belong. It’s also perceived as less physically aggressive than basketball, which can feel intimidating or overly intense to some beginners. With limited body contact and a clear structure, volleyball can feel safer, both physically and emotionally. Many school systems also provide strong support for volleyball, with well-established middle and high school programs and enthusiastic fan bases. For girls looking for connection without confrontation, volleyball often checks all the right boxes.
Soccer: Early Access and a Clear Pathway Forward
Soccer enjoys a massive advantage through early exposure. Many girls start playing in community leagues before they even enter kindergarten. This long runway helps them build confidence and see themselves as athletes from a young age. Soccer also thrives on open space and fluid movement, offering a sense of freedom and creativity that’s less rigid than basketball’s play-by-play structure. There’s also a well-defined developmental pipeline—from recreational youth leagues to competitive clubs to high school varsity and college programs. Culturally, soccer has benefited from iconic female role models like Mia Hamm and Alex Morgan, whose visibility and success have helped normalize and celebrate girls in the sport. Compared to basketball, soccer often feels more welcoming, more achievable, and more celebrated from an early stage.
Cross Country: Low Pressure and High Personal Payoff
Cross country may not get the same attention as team sports, but its appeal to girls, especially those seeking emotional space and personal growth, is significant. It offers a rare blend of independence and community. Athletes compete as individuals, setting personal records and striving for personal improvement, but they also contribute to a team score and support one another in training. The low barrier to entry—just lace up your shoes and run—makes the sport feel accessible, even for those who haven't played sports before. There’s also a meditative quality to distance running that resonates with teens facing social, academic, or mental health pressures. Cross country emphasizes progress over perfection, and that mindset can be a refreshing contrast to the competitive intensity found in basketball.
Track and Field: Variety, Flexibility, and Measurable Growth
Track and field provides a diverse athletic landscape where girls can explore different events—sprints, jumps, throws, and relays—based on their strengths and interests. This flexibility makes it attractive to a wide range of body types and skill levels. Like cross country, it emphasizes measurable improvement and personal bests, which can be especially motivating. Girls often feel empowered by seeing clear evidence of their growth: faster times, longer jumps, stronger throws. The sport also tends to be seasonal and school-based, avoiding the year-round burnout that can come with club basketball. For many girls, track and field delivers the structure and support of a team with the autonomy and adaptability of an individual sport—an ideal combination for young athletes figuring out where they fit.
What Basketball Offers That Other Sports Might Not
While volleyball, soccer, and track all offer valuable experiences, basketball brings a unique combination of traits that can be especially powerful for girls—both on and off the court. In fact, it may be precisely what some girls are looking for—they just haven’t experienced it in the right context yet.
Pace and Precision in Real Time
Basketball is a fast-moving, dynamic game that teaches players to make quick decisions under pressure. There’s a constant interplay of offense and defense, transition and adjustment. For girls looking to sharpen their mental agility, strategic thinking, and ability to stay calm in chaos, basketball offers unmatched training. These are skills that carry directly into leadership, academics, and life’s unpredictable moments.
Visibility and Equal Footing
Unlike some sports where players may touch the ball only a few times per game or are locked into specialized roles, basketball gives every player the opportunity to contribute in visible, meaningful ways. Every position requires ball handling, court vision, and team communication. This means more touches, more engagement, and more chances to grow. Girls who may feel sidelined in other sports can find their voice—and their confidence—on the basketball court.
Whole-Team Dependency
In basketball, no single player can win a game alone. The sport demands a high level of communication, trust, and cooperation. Girls learn to read not just the ball, but the people around them—understanding body language, supporting teammates, and stepping up when it’s needed. These lessons in interpersonal dynamics and leadership are essential during adolescence, when social awareness and emotional intelligence are forming rapidly.
An Arena for Grit and Grace
Basketball is contact-heavy, high-stakes, and filled with failure—missed shots, turnovers, fouls. It’s in these moments that girls learn some of the most important lessons: how to recover, how to reset, how to keep playing with integrity even when emotions run high. It’s a sport where grit meets grace—and that’s a rare and valuable combination.
A Platform for Leadership
Basketball naturally cultivates leadership. Point guards run offenses like quarterbacks. Defenders direct teammates. Bench players become tone-setters. Whether vocal or quiet, every player is called to lead in her way. For girls exploring who they are and what they’re capable of, basketball can be a transformational experience.
Can Caitlin Clark Be Basketball’s Mia Hamm?
Caitlin Clark is rewriting records and reshaping the spotlight on women’s basketball. Her influence is real—but will it lead to more girls playing the sport?
Consider this: Mia Hamm helped launch a generation of girls into soccer. But her impact was matched by real changes—more leagues, more visibility, and better infrastructure.
Clark could inspire similar growth, but only if that inspiration is met with local programs, mentorship, and accessible opportunities.
Why Basketball (and Other Sports) Still Matters for Girls
Even with declining participation numbers, the value of basketball for girls remains profound. At a time when adolescent girls are navigating complex mental health challenges, body image struggles, social pressure, and spiritual uncertainty, the court can offer more than competition—it can offer healing, purpose, and growth.
Physical: Strength, Coordination, and Healthy Habits
For many girls, adolescence brings a disconnect between their bodies and self-esteem. In an age of constant comparison on social media, basketball becomes a grounding force. It teaches girls to appreciate what their bodies can do—not just how they look. Running drills, shooting hoops, and playing full-court games develop stamina, strength, balance, and coordination.
Regular physical activity also boosts brain health and reduces symptoms of anxiety and depression. At a time when nearly 1 in 3 high school girls report persistent sadness or hopelessness, getting active can be one of the most powerful, accessible tools for better mental and physical well-being.
Mental: Focus, Strategy, and Confidence
Basketball is as much a thinking game as it is a physical one. Girls must read the court, anticipate plays, adjust on the fly, and learn to lead under pressure. These mental demands develop not only basketball IQ but also critical life skills like problem-solving, composure, and resilience.
When a girl learns to take a shot with the game on the line—or to bounce back after a mistake—she’s building the confidence to face school, relationships, and future leadership roles with courage. She’s learning that pressure isn’t the enemy; it’s a training ground for growth.
Emotional: Resilience, Identity, and Belonging
Teen and preteen girls today are in crisis. Loneliness, bullying, academic pressure, and a constant stream of online content create emotional landmines. Basketball offers a sanctuary.
Being part of a team gives girls a sense of belonging—a place where they’re seen, supported, and valued not for perfection, but for participation. It provides structure and rhythm, healthy competition, and emotional release. Perhaps most importantly, it teaches them to get up after they fall—to try again, pass again, defend again.
The emotional resilience built in basketball carries over into classrooms, friendships, and family life. It reminds girls that wins don’t measure their worth, but by how they show up when things get hard.
Spiritual: Purpose, Leadership, and Faith in Action
Basketball can be a spiritual classroom. It teaches girls to serve others, celebrate community, and use their gifts for something greater than themselves. In a world full of noise and confusion, the court can be a quiet space of clarity—a place where God’s voice can be heard.
Whether in a pregame prayer, a teammate’s encouragement, or a moment of stillness before a free throw, spiritual lessons abound. Basketball shows girls how to lead with humility, compete with integrity, and trust God’s process, even when they can’t see the outcome.
As Galatians 6:9 reminds us:
“Let us not grow weary of doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Basketball helps girls live out this truth—not just on the scoreboard, but in their spirit.
Where Do We Go from Here?
Reversing the decline in girls’ basketball won’t happen through headlines or highlight reels alone. It will take intentional, grassroots investment in how the game is presented, taught, and lived out in our communities. If we want more girls to pick up a basketball, we must start by reimagining what that experience looks and feels like—from their very first dribble.
That begins with creating programs that are not just accessible, but welcoming. Too often, girls encounter basketball as a high-pressure, win-first environment that feels intimidating or exclusive. We need spaces that prioritize encouragement, growth, and inclusion—where beginners are celebrated, not sidelined. This means reevaluating how we run tryouts, talk about competition, and define success. It means showing girls that there’s a place for them on the court, no matter where they start.
Equally important is the environment we cultivate once they’re in the gym. Girls need more than skills training—they need to experience joy, connection, and mentorship through the sport. Coaches and leaders should model emotional intelligence, resilience, and grace under pressure. They should invite girls to push themselves, yes—but also to laugh, to build friendships, and to love the game for what it gives them, not just what it demands.
And for those of us grounded in faith, basketball is more than a sport—it’s a platform for purpose. It’s a way to show young women that their value doesn’t come from stats, rankings, or applause, but from their identity in Christ. Through faith-based mentorship, we can help girls grow not just in skill but in character, confidence, and conviction. We can teach them that leadership begins with humility and that perseverance is a form of worship.
Caitlin Clark may be the spark that brings new attention to the women’s game, but the real change will happen in school gyms, rec centers, local leagues, and church basements. It will happen when we show up for the girls in our communities—not just with drills and practices, but with belief and love.
If we do that, basketball won’t just rebound—it will rise. Stronger. Kinder. And more powerful than ever.
