With the current sports conditioning class scaring away Cal HIgh’s female athletes, P.E. teacher Sheridan Kautzmann and athletic director Arley Hill have pushed to have a new sports conditioning class tailored to girls on campus.
“I wanted to take sports conditioning,” said junior Sisileti Hingano, “but I didn’t because I was really intimidated by the male dominance.”
Kautzmann, a first year teacher at Cal, teaches the sports conditioning class now, but she wants to increase female participation and plans to amp it up for next year’s class.
“I’m not really saying that only girls can join,” said Kautzmann. “Most likely it will be coed, but I’m marketing most of my effort to girls. I want girls to feel comfortable.”
The course, like the one currently offered, will focus on strength, agility, speed, and be very sport specific.
Kautzmann, a former womens pro basketball player, hopes to make this class as beneficial for every athlete as possible. She will collaborate with Cal’s hired coaches and design unique individual workouts and activities for each sport.
“[The class will] prepare athletes for the season of sport they will be participating in,” said Hill. “It will have a wide variety of weight lifting, plyometric training, and speed training.”
The class format has been rigorously planned out. At the beginning of the class everyone will work with Kautzmann and a second certified trainer on fitness, while the second half of class will be tailored to each sport. The class will most likely be offered during the last period of the day, which will provide an easy transition from class into afternoon practice.
An informational meeting promoting the class was hosted earlier this month and it sparked many students’ interest.
“I’m interested in being in the class because I think it’d be cool to train for your sport during school, instead of having to take more time out of the day after school,” said sophomore Katie Merchant. “Also, you’d get to play with your peers and your teammates that play the same sport as you, and are at the same level as you.”
But other students were concerned with how certain things would pan out. Questions were brought up at the meeting about how the class would provide certain equipment for specific sports such as track and field, swimming and water polo.
Although it’s early too say, Kautzmann hopes to have access to all of the necessary equipment.
“It’s based on the facilities we have available at the time, but they’re all pretty close,” said Kautzmann. “I hope to take full advantage of all the [facilities] we have on campus.”
Sports were a major part of Kautzmann’s lifestyle growing up. She started playing basketball in eighth grade, which was rather late to begin such a popular sport. But she was scouted and signed with Saint Mary’s College, a Division I basketball program her junior year. Later she played professionally overseas for three years.
She then joined the Cal High staff and coached the women’s varsity basketball team with English teacher, Egosa Obaiza. Soon after, she became interested in teaching P.E. This is her first year teaching P.E., and her students show great admiration.
“I like her enthusiasm,” said freshman Nicole Baer. ”She definitely likes to teach P.E..”
Many school districts are facing similar problems with female participation in P.E. classes beyond the mandatory freshman class.
A study conducted by the Journal of Teaching in Physical Education concluded that boys were always more active than girls in PE classes between grades one through six, no matter what activity was introduced by their teachers.
The study also concluded that female participation levels start to decrease as early as fourth grade.
Many on campus believe this new trend must be changed in order to develop healthy active lifestyles, and now Cal High is taking a leap and making a change.
“I’m a female, and I just want to give back to more of the female athletes here at Cal,” said Kautzmann.
