# Are girls choosing volleyball over basketball? And, if so, why? (Spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [August 18, 2016, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-girls-choosing-volleyball-over-basketball-and-if-so-why-spoilers/763209 "2016-08-18T20:40:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Reluctant\_A](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@Reluctant\_A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reluctant_A)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2016, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-girls-choosing-volleyball-over-basketball-and-if-so-why-spoilers/763209/21 "2016-08-19T18:59:45Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Also, basketball does not have the global appeal among women that volleyball does. So people keep saying, and so I have stipulated. Amplifying information would be nice. ---
**Author:** ![dzeiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@dzeiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzeiger)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2016, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-girls-choosing-volleyball-over-basketball-and-if-so-why-spoilers/763209/22 "2016-08-19T19:29:21Z")
I can’t tell you “why,” but I can tell you that volleyball has professional leagues in many countries outside of the US. [Here](http://www.volleywood.net/volleyball-features/music-style/highest-paid-european-female-volleyball-players/) is a list of top paid players in the European leagues as of 2014, note that there are top leagues in Brazil/China/elsewhere as well that pay somewhat comparable salaries. (these are “club” teams, so a Serbian player could play for a Turkish team during club season, then the Serbian national team for the International events–much like soccer. I only found one reference for salaries in Women’s basketball leagues in Europe mentioning that someone with WNBA experience could make 13K/month in Europe (I’m unsure how many months is in a season). ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2016, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-girls-choosing-volleyball-over-basketball-and-if-so-why-spoilers/763209/23 "2016-08-19T21:40:23Z")
> [@Reluctant\_A](#): > > Let’s stipulate this, for the sake of argument. Why is it more popular? Dunno. Why is basketball more popular than lacrosse? > [@Reluctant\_A](#): > > That’s a plausible explanation, but it seems pretty thin, to me. I find the notion of a player being athletic enough to spike a volleyball, and do all of that jumping around, but not athletic enough to run up and down a basketball court to be somewhat dubious. At the very high end I agree. But at the Jr/Sr. High level when girls start choosing their favorite sports it’s a big deal. Tall, awkward girls may find it easier to play well in v-ball than b-ball. > [@Reluctant\_A](#): > > Where are these dominant basketball teams with “few, if any, tall players”? Tall is relative, of course, but the Golden State Warriers are a short team by historical NBA standards. Their top 6 players in minutes-played are all 6-8 or shorter and their best player is 6-3. The tallest Cleveland Cav in the top 6 is Kevin Love at 6’10". I’ve compared the [US Women’s VB](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_women%27s_national_volleyball_team) team against the WNBA champion [Minnesota Lynx](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Lynx). The VB team has 9 players \>= 6’2" and the Lynx have 5 (the Lynx do have the tallest player at 6’6"). The Lynx have two players \< 6’0" in their top-6 minutes played. The VB team has less variance in height than the Lynx. ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2016, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-girls-choosing-volleyball-over-basketball-and-if-so-why-spoilers/763209/24 "2016-08-19T21:42:14Z")
> [@Reluctant\_A](#): > > So people keep saying, and so I have stipulated. Amplifying information would be nice. Check out the club teams that the [US Women](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_women%27s_national_volleyball_team) play on. With one exception they all play professionally outside the US. ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2016, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-girls-choosing-volleyball-over-basketball-and-if-so-why-spoilers/763209/25 "2016-08-19T22:02:02Z")
I don’t think the fact that volleyball is a more global sport is in any way important to US tween and teen girls deciding what sport to take up. You might start gymnastics or ice skating with Olympic dreams but basketball not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-girls-choosing-volleyball-over-basketball-and-if-so-why-spoilers/763209/26 "2016-08-20T00:11:50Z")
> [@Reluctant\_A](#): > > What the hell kind of tautology is that? It’s more popular, because it’s more popular? Its not a tautology, it’s a positive feedback loop. Pretty common in human behavior. ---
**Author:** ![Reluctant\_A](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@Reluctant\_A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reluctant_A)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-girls-choosing-volleyball-over-basketball-and-if-so-why-spoilers/763209/27 "2016-08-20T00:17:25Z")
> [@Deeg](#): > > Check out the club teams that the [US Women](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_women%27s_national_volleyball_team) play on. With one exception they all play professionally outside the US. That applies to the basketball players, too: Delle Donne is the only player on the USWNT that doesn’t play overseas during the WNBA offseason and, as near as I can tell, the salaries appear to be comparable. ---
**Author:** ![Reluctant\_A](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@Reluctant\_A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reluctant_A)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-girls-choosing-volleyball-over-basketball-and-if-so-why-spoilers/763209/28 "2016-08-20T00:18:27Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Its not a tautology, it’s a positive feedback loop. Pretty common in human behavior. Okay, I’ll bite: how did it start? ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-girls-choosing-volleyball-over-basketball-and-if-so-why-spoilers/763209/29 "2016-08-20T00:41:52Z")
> [@Reluctant\_A](#): > > Okay, I’ll bite: how did it start? Doesn’t really matter. Once it does, it snowballs. ---
**Author:** ![Reluctant\_A](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@Reluctant\_A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reluctant_A)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-girls-choosing-volleyball-over-basketball-and-if-so-why-spoilers/763209/30 "2016-08-20T01:18:35Z")
It might not matter to you, but it matters to me: I didn’t create this thread just to be JAQ-ing off. ---
**Author:** ![brickbacon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@brickbacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brickbacon)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-girls-choosing-volleyball-over-basketball-and-if-so-why-spoilers/763209/31 "2016-08-20T02:40:12Z")
> [@Reluctant\_A](#): > > Okay, I’ll bite: how did it start? My guess would be that volleyball has almost always been seen as a woman’s sport like field hockey, whereas sports like soccer, rugby, and basketball have been seen as men’s sports. I am sure it helps that in the US, Title IX has led to there being more female volleyball teams relative to men’s volleyball teams or other female sports. ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-girls-choosing-volleyball-over-basketball-and-if-so-why-spoilers/763209/32 "2016-08-20T02:45:56Z")
One supposes that basketball has traditionally been a mens sport and in the past women didn’t want to upset their chances with the boys by appearing to be too masculine. Volleyball on the other hand doesn’t seem to have the same stigma of being a boys sport. ---
**Author:** ![dzeiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@dzeiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzeiger)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-girls-choosing-volleyball-over-basketball-and-if-so-why-spoilers/763209/33 "2016-08-20T05:31:28Z")
Trying to figure out historical reasons for popularity in one place over another is rather difficult. In the US, at least partially as a result of Title IX, volleyball is seen as a girl’s sport. Girls sports have historical problems with being taken seriously. Other countries don’t have this, and have plenty of men’s volleyball leagues as well, so they didn’t have that stigma. Europe also has handball, and while that is obviously not an exact equivalent for basketball, it does scratch many of the same type of itches, I think. So if you have a kinda-somewhat-similar sport to basketball out there, that may be enough to slow the growth of that game, and volleyball was different enough that it managed to gain its own popularity. And then the feedback loop starts, so that many taller players end up getting recruited for volleyball instead, which may or may not change as basketball gets more popular. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-girls-choosing-volleyball-over-basketball-and-if-so-why-spoilers/763209.md?page=1)