Black female athletes - rare commodity
Lumpkin:
‘it’s just difficult to recruit
SPECIAL FEATURE part two
By DAVID SQUIRES
Sports Writer
Basketball is usually considered to be a
sport that is totally dominated by Blacks.
The “roundball sport” has brought fame
and fortune to numerous Blacks, male and
female. Then, “Why,” one may ask, “do
we have few Blacks on the Carolina
womens’ basketball team?”
A brief inquiry into this subject will
inform you that the Black female athlete
on this campus is in fact a rare com
modity.
One of the reasons, said Carolyn
Hawkins is “For what the coaches want
from an athlete, most Black girls don’t
have it to give or won’t give it.” Hawkins is
unique in that she is the only Black female
at Carolina on an athletic scholarship. The
young female star who transferred to
Carolina this year from Louisburg Junior
College, is the only Black female on UNC’s
volleyball team this year. Hawkins also
has a great chance of breaking the color
barrier in basketball.
Are Black female basketball players
hard to recruit?
When faced with this question, Dr.
Angela Lumpkin, who has coached the
Tarheels for three years said, “The female
athlete in general is hard to recruit. It’s
not that much more difficult to recruit a
Black than a white. It’s just difficult to
recruit women athletes around here.”
Carolina only had one girl on a
basketball scholarship last year and that
number has increased to five this year.
Logically, all five are white.
Recruiting is somewhat restricted, Dr.
Lumpkin pwints out. Most of the athletes
are recruited solely by her.
“The major areas in which I recruit are
by letters and by pbo’ie calls. I have at
tempted to recruit certain Blacks. There
was one girl in particular from Kentucky
that I wanted very badly but she decided to
go to school in her state, unfortunately,
which a lot of athletes do in spite of their
race.”
Only in the last three years have
scholarships been available to women
athletes. When this fact is considered one
can understand the scarcity of Black
women athletes on this campus. As Dr.
Lumpkin said “Without scholarships,
recruiting is almost nonexistent.”
Even though the team hasn’t been
chosen yet, the outlook of it becoming
integrated is very bright. With several
Black women out for team this year. Dr.
Lumpkin speaks optimistically about their
chances of making the team. “I would say
about three or four Black girls have a good
chance of making the team this year. If not
the varsity, certainly the jayvee,” she
added.
When Black women take the jump from
the high school world of running around
the gym five times, to the large campus
world of running around the campus five
times, pumping iron (weights), and
leaping Carmichael Auditorium in a single
bound, some of them just can’t take it. But
others, like Carolyn Hawkins and Rochelle
Small, are willing to try.
So when this year’s UNC women’s
basketball team runs onto the court there
may be an air of unfamiliarity.
No, it will not be a bird or a plane. It will
not even be superman. It will be a Black
female superstar, certainly a limited
species.
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Parham: “If more Black girls showed interest, there’d be more
Blacks on the squad.
Pamela Parham;
A unique entity
ByMITFULFORD
i^orts Writer
Pamela Parham is a junior physical therapy major at UNC who often does
volunteer work at the hospital during her spare time. She attended 71st High
School in Fayetteville, N.C.
Neither of these things may seem unusual but Pam Parham is a unique entity at
UNC—a Black female varsity cheerleader.
Pam, however, takes the honor in stride. She thinks of it as a new experience.
“I don’t feel any pressure because it’s something I enjoy doing, and I work my
hardest to do it well. I think I’m being myself.”
When Pam spoke of being herself, one question immediately came to mind. Does
she feel she is compared to Peaches Hauser, her predecessor as THE Black
cheerleader in any way?
“After tryouts people did compare me to Peaches mainly because I was a Black
cheerleader,” stated Pam.
“I was kidded by my friends, but I think Peaches was an excellent cheerleader. I
don’t think I could ever equal her performance.”
The fact that Pam made the squad says something for her performance. Tryouts
were hectic and filled with anticipation for everyone involved. Pam had been
through the ordeal before so she Imew what to expect. She tried out for varsity
cheerleading her sophomore year, but did not make it.
“At first,” says Pam, “I didn’t want to go through that feeling of not making it
again, but I really felt a lot less pressure this time. I knew that they were looking
for the fine points. And frankly, I felt that I had a better chance this year because I
figured they were looking for another Black cheerleader.”
There were only two Black females who tried out for the squad this year.
According to Pam, this is not unusual at all.
“I really don’t know what accounts for the small number of Blacks who try out.
There always seems to be interest up until tryouts. I talked to girls and worked
with girls who showed the interest and had the ability but would not come out for
tryouts. I think they just feel they won’t make it.
“If more Black girls just showed the interest,” she adds, “there would be more
Blacks on the squad.”
During Pam’s freshman year here, four Black women tried out, and two of them
made the jayvee squad. Last year two Black women tried out for the varsity, and
Pam made it.
“Fve heard that the situation in other sports mi^t be a little different,” states
Pam. “I don’t know how many girls try out, but it seems to me that if the girls are
qualified and they’re still getting cut (iii other sports)—I don’t understand the
rationale behind Uiat at all.”
COTicerTJing the lack of Blackness in the cheerleading ranks, Pam feels another
possible factw is that the style of cheerleading here is markedly different from
that of high school. Obviously, she notes, the number of people here limits the
of the dieerleaders and the audience. Hiere is also, she says, much mm-e
organization required for things sudi as pep rallies.
She explains, “I did have to make an adjustment from high school dieering to
dieerlng for Carolina. We do a lot more dancing here. I prefer this style because
there is a lot more variation.”
Pamela Parham has struggled and achieved success in^the «
chee-leading. Still, somewhat puzzled, she stops and wonders irtiere the other
Black female athletes are.