Female High School Athlete\u27s Confidence about their Future in College Athletics

Female athletes may begin at an early age in a sport and find success, but in many cases, there is a disconnect somewhere before entering college where females feel less confident and discontinue their athletic career before college. Some studies have looked at female athletes and their confidence level, however, there is more research that needs to be done to determine if females feel confident that they have the same opportunities available in college as their male counterparts. This study was designed to explore female athletes’ confidence level for their future in college sports. Data was gathered from female athletes of all age levels in high school from two different schools and quantitatively examined to determine their confidence level for continuing to play sports at the college level. The results indicate that a majority of female athletes feel they have the same opportunities to play in college as their male counterparts, however, they did not feel confident that a college program would recognize their talent. More research should be done with high school female athletes and their confidence level to get a better understanding of why female athletes drop out of sports at higher rates as they approach high school and college age