I was shocked and puzzled when I read the front page headline. Woodridge declaring their concern for females not being involved in sports? I end this with a question mark because this year the Woodridge Rec Association, which is the foundation of the sports programs opted not to have a U12 soccer team for girls this year.
The Middle School chose to have a co-op team, which for the female student means an 11 year old girl would have to compete against a 15 year old male for positions and play time...not realistic.
The other option for female student would be to play on a hand picked team that practices on the Woodridge Middle School field, but consists of girls as far away as Medina. The coach did pick two or three from Woodridge. One should note this is not the only sport with special hand picked teams that practice at Woodridge; soccer and softball use the same protocol and call themselves "travel teams". There are no try outs and it operates like some secret covert military operation.
The Middle School years of a child's life are the most important. These are the years the adolescent finds who they are and what they enjoy doing. If Woodridge is truly interested in evening the playing field between male and female athletes the changes need to come from Woodridge Rec and Woodridge Middle School. By the time the students are in High School, it is too late.

Janice Bennett