Welcome to the Health Plus Minute. Play like a girl. When you hear this phrase, it’s most often perceived as negative. You throw like a girl. Well, yeah, you run like my sister. These comments are usually meant to insult the male by comparing his skills or performance to that of a female. Our history of putting greater emphasis on athletic participation for males at a young age has resulted in a cultural perception that males are more adept than females in sports skills. However, successful skill execution, simply put, is biomechanical proficiency, and this has nothing whatsoever to do with gender. The development of a specific athletic skill in either sex is linked closely to three things. The number of hours of repetition of that skill, the athlete’s ability to model the correct technique, and the quality of feedback and reinforcement the athlete receives. So play like a girl and be proud of it. Call 573-4816 for more information. ProMotion, physical therapy and functional fitness. Be strong.