BEYOND MOTHERS' DREAMS; GIRLS' NEW CHANCES BRING NEW PRESSURES.

Byline: Rizza Yap Daily News Staff Writer

They're competing for athletic scholarships.

They're competing for spots on national teams.

They're competing for a chance to play in the pros.

No longer are they competing just for the chance to play.

It's a good time to be a girl who plays sports. Today's high school athletes are savoring opportunities their mothers only dreamed about.

Over the past 12 years, girls' participation in sports in California high schools has risen nearly 40 percent. Soccer participation over the past three years has increased nearly 20 percent and continues to escalate - 10 schools are adding girls' soccer teams for the 1997-'98 season. Water polo participation has more than doubled since 1994.

While Cal State Northridge has eliminated some men's sports, it will increase funding for women's sports to the maximum allowed by the National Collegiate Athletics Association within two years, according to athletic director Paul Bubb.

Today's a different world from what Barbara Fiege knew. Fiege, who coached for 20 years and is now commissioner of the Los Angeles City Section, said her Chicago high school offered no sports for girls while she was a student. And as a high school coach in California, she found discrepancies in athletic programs even after Title IX passed.

``We had to fend for ourselves,'' Fiege said.

Today, Fiege is working to continue the progress toward gender parity in high school sports.

``I can't say we're absolutely where we should be, but we're not far off,'' she said.

The most recent biennial study by the California Interscholastic Federation, published in September 1996, showed that girls' participation in sports increased by 38.8 percent statewide since the 1985-86 school year.

Soccer is the fastest growing sport for girls, increasing by 19.7 percent since the last survey. Cross country follows soccer, and basketball is third.

Water polo, now sanctioned at the championship level by three CIF sections and a scholarship sport in college, also is escalating at an astounding rate.

``I feel proud to be part of this time,'' said Erika Hanson, a recent Thousand Oaks High graduate who will attend the University of Arizona this fall on a softball scholarship. ``Not only is it time for us to play, but it's competitive, too. It's getting just as competitive and serious as the boys' sports. I like it.''

At the same time, Hanson acknowledges the dangers of intensified competition brought about by the onslaught of opportunities.

Nowadays, she said, girls specialize in a single sport too early. The possibility of earning a college scholarship has become incentive for kids to look toward youth leagues and travel teams for additional training and exposure outside of school.

``These days, girls start limiting the number of sports they play too early in life,'' said Hanson, who played both softball and soccer at Thousand Oaks. ``Now, travel teams start at 10 and under. I think it's really sad. At that age, kids should be trying everything. I know how serious it gets and how much pressure there is. If you're starting at 10, you're going to be playing club for a very long time.''

Hanson contends that high school is the right time to start focusing on a sport. Although she played two for the Lancers, she focused on one travel team - softball. Her club teammate Kellie Nordhagen, a senior at Hart, is doing the same. This summer, she decided to postpone soccer and concentrate on softball.

``My sports conflict all the time,'' Nordhagen said. ``Now I have to choose because I can play both all year round. The competition's getting so tough that you have to stick with one.''

With so many girls vying for scholarships, playing at the interscholastic level simply is not enough. To be recruited by college programs, girls find that playing on club teams gives them more exposure. No longer is gymnastics - expensive, with a high potential for injury and intense training necessary to reach an elite level - the only sport that requires commitment at an early age.

UCLA women's gymnastics coach Valerie Kondos recruits strictly from private clubs, where the gymnasts are trained by a ``specialist.'' That recruiting trend is now common with softball.

Northridge assistant softball coach Kelly Ford said the talent level in travel teams is a big lure for college coaches.

``The caliber of competition in high school is nowhere near travel ball,'' Ford said. ``We could go and see a travel team and see four to five girls we can recruit.''

Travel teams also allow recruiting in the summer. Since the high school and collegiate softball seasons run together, coaches are often too busy with their own teams to check out the local high school talent during spring.

Jeanette Armentano, Northridge assistant coach for women's basketball, said players who join a summer league are more watched and have a higher chance of receiving a scholarship offer because the battle for money is tight. At CSUN, about 150-200 applicants request a scholarship from her program, which usually has only four openings each year.

Gail Kanney, Thousand Oaks' soccer coach for the past 15 years, said the importance placed on club and travel teams - which play year-round - might be putting too much pressure on girls.

``These kids are being told that if they do certain things - like joining club programs - they'll get scholarships,'' Kanney said. ``Unfortunately, it doesn't always pan out. For every 10 that do these things, maybe one of them will go on.

``There's not that many Dot Richardsons and Mia Hamms out there. For some girls, they'll never do anything after high school, so (for now) it should be fun.''

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Photo

Photo: Girls' participation in sports is growing steadily and quickly, with soccer leading the charge.

Myung J. Chun/Daily News