There are hundreds of thousands of boys who excel at math and science until their bodies mature to the point where they become competitive at track or football.<p>Unlike &quot;hanging out with friends&quot;, a universal activity, extracurricular sports actually do conflict with early computer science exploration (they&#x27;re a <i>huge</i> time sink, as any parent of a kid in a sport will attest).<p>Meanwhile, sports draws in more boys than girls.<p>Why are we so quick to accept the notion that after-school activities that girls participate in isolate them from STEM, but after-school activities dominated by boys don&#x27;t?<p>As a nerdy teenager, I never had a problem with any girl in any clique or social group at my school. But I sure as shit had problems with the boys in sports.