Youth Soccer Leagues

I was saddened to see [one] photo that accompanied the article “More Than Kicks” Sept. 8. Of the five photos, four showed boys playing soccer and one photo showed girls on the sidelines cheering their “heroes” on.

After years of girls and women fighting for equal rights and participation, it seems that machismo and gender discrimination live on and are even being encouraged.

In their effort to steer inner-city kids out of trouble, well-meaning parents and community groups are continuing to steer girls into submissive, supportive roles which set them up to be abused wives and teenage mothers while steering boys into active, aggressive roles which encourage them to dominate girls and later women.

If they really wanted to help young soccer fans, why not encourage, even require, co-ed teams? Let’s leave the stereotypes in the past. How many great forwards and goalies are being denied a chance to play soccer just because they wear a ponytail? If these girls are being sidelined now, you can bet they will be sidelined the rest of their lives.

PAT DAVIS

Woodland Hills

* “More Than Kicks” leaves the impression that AYSO soccer is somehow racist and elitist. Nothing can be further from the truth, especially in the San Fernando Valley.

It is a fact that any child who wants to play soccer at any AYSO park will be signed up and allowed to play. Children who cannot afford to pay the fees are given scholarships; many children play for free in AYSO. In fact, scholarships for needy children are encouraged and subsidized by fund-raising activities so that fees for other children do not go up.

AYSO parks in the San Fernando Valley comprise a free mix of racial, ethnic, cultural, social and economic backgrounds. There is no attempt to exclude children from our teams or adults from coaching, referee, or board positions.

MICHAEL SIEVERS

Van Nuys

Sievers is commissioner of AYSO Soccer for Van Nuys/Sherman Oaks Park.