The purpose of the study was to identify girls’ participation patterns in a middle school team sport unit. Through class observations, formal interviews, and informal discussions with the physical education teachers, six styles of participation were identified. These were (a) athlete, (b) JV player, (c) cheerleader, (d) femme fatale, (e) lost soul, (f) system beater. A description of behavior, characteristic of the majority of the girls observed, outlined four kinds of nonassertive behavior: (a) giving up, (b) giving away, (c) hanging back, and (d) acquiescing. Several contextual factors were identified as potentially contributing to the participation patterns identified. These were: availability of out-of-school team sport programs, community racial and socioeconomic status, the age group studied, and interactions with teachers and other students in the class.