Do you respect this group of Catholics

Baseball/Softball is a good example of where I think that co-ed teams are ok. For me, it's not the potential for contact. However, if I caught anyone of my players intentionally making contact with a player of the opposite sex (or the same sex, for that matter), disciplinary actions would be taken.

For me, not all sports teams should be co-ed. Baseball is one that can be. Soccer and volleyball are as well. However, there are some sports where it becomes a contest of strength, and your average female cannot compete with your average male (with exceptions, of course). For example, you wouldn't want an 80lb girl on the defensive line of a HS Football team lined up against 200+lb boys. It's just not sound strategy :smilewinkgrin:. In basketball, often times there is a huge contest of strength inside "the paint" whenever players are struggling for rebounds, or backing/getting backed down in the post.

For a sport to be considered for co-ed, the only 2 criteria would be; 1. How much contact occurs, and 2. Will the average female be able to compete against the average male. If the answers to these two questions are none/none inappropriate and yes, then I'd say that it's ok to have co-ed teams.

Now, as for the original question, I do support them in their decision to back out based upon their stance. I do not support their stance, but it is not up to me to dictate their stance.

 

I would submit that high school baseball cannot be co-ed. In fact, I would say anything above 10 or 11 years old baseball would fail your criteria #2. A female would have to be an exceptional athlete to compete with 'average' high school baseball players. To clarify, I mean guys that are on the high school baseball team, not just any 16 - 18 year old male. Even at the 12 or 13 year old level the disparity in ability is evident.

Of course a pick-up game of baseball or softball is an entirely different matter, but the OP was about an organized high school baseball team. I submit if the girl can actually play with the guys at the high school level of sanctioned play, she is an exception.