Parent coaches

[FP26]

I coach softball because, while I'm woefully uninformed vs many DFP-ers, I get far less pushback from parents than I did coaching baseball, where everyone knows everything about the game; the girls are more coachable, in general; and it's a special, unique thing DD and I get to share, not necessarily in that order. Hell, it's fun!

I will second that. Obviously we do this for our DDs and the other players on the team, but I see nothing wrong with enjoying it. And the time together is priceless. I feel sorry for those that don't understand how special it can be. DD had a coach on a previous team that would constantly play the 'sacrifice' card. During team "pep talks" he would explain how they owed him their respect because he was volunteering his time. Luckily, that experience was short lived...

 

[Westwind]

Right on, Brothermen!

 

[JJsqueeze]

I wonder if Title IX is one component behind the increase in the number of dad's coaching their DD's sports teams?

It must be.

 

[YOCOACH]

Ummmmmm....wrong once again OILF. Two female high school football coaches appointed in span of one week | USA Today High School Sports | USA Today High School Sports

Not to mention all of the female tennis coaches, female basketball coaches, female golf coaches and yes, even some female baseball coaches. Maybe if you would quit trying to play the gender card all of the time, you might be taken more seriously.

Unless I'm mistaken, I believe that 5 out of the 11 or so D1 softball programs in Ohio are coached by female HCs and they are all former players of the game. Also, the NPF team the Dallas Charge just hired former Texas AC Jennifer McFalls as their HC. So I would have to say that softball is pretty well covered at the upper levels and getting better as far as equality goes.

As to why many Mom's don't coach at the younger levels, why don't you actually ask them. I have and the answers have nothing to do with the gender bias that you continuously espouse. It usually has more to do with work or family obligations than anything else. One other thing, you'd have to be totally blind not to know of at least a half-dozen Mom coaches that post on here regularly and I'd bet you that there are many more lurking in the wings.

Edit to Add: In case you don't know the history of "your" sport since you claim to have played:
1) it was invented by men
2) it was predominantly a male driven sport right up to and through the early 80's
3) Ohio, Western Pa., Illinios and Indiana were the hotbeds of these male leagues back in their hey days and it spread from there outward.
4) there are many of us men on here that are not only old enough to have played in these leagues, at a high level, but have actually done so.
5) So yes, in a vicarious way, real or imagined, it is our game as well.

Once again, your arrogance and continuous cry of discrimination have come back to bite you in your __SS.

 

[Eric F]

I am very thankful that the judgmental, close-minded, angry attitude expressed by OILF is not present in the league where my DD plays. I'm also happy to say that the amount of female coaches in our league has grown in the last couple of years, and my DD and I have had a great experience with the one female coach in her age group. Not one of them shares the attitude OILF displays here.

 

[CoogansBluff]

Boys sports certainly don't take females to coach, even in sports women play.

...

So before you say there is no supply, you need to see what your environment looks like. You need to advertise, and be approachable. You need to think out of the box where to find sources for candidates. Are you biased? Do you assume a former player is not capable or will party? or other stereotypes? Are you doing the knight in armour thing where you think you (and those like you) are the only ones to save the day, and god forbid, you can't hand coaching over to some young person.... Do you have mentoring programs or connections with former players? Do you ask Moms to coach and inquire why they don't want to coach? Do you see Moms as only team Moms, 8u coaches, or administrators for paperwork?

Good food for thought.

I ran a rec league for a while. I chose head coaches. I'd guess maybe 1 in 8 were female. I chose them based on who volunteered. The registration form for each player asked if a parent would like to coach. We contacted those people who checked that box. Usually, there were not enough volunteers to fill the coaching slots. From there, we would contact all parents and let them know the situation - 'We've got 10 teams, only 8 coaches. Anyone like to volunteer?' Men are more likely to volunteer. No question about it.

Questions -

Why don't more females volunteer to coach? By ''supply,'' I meant the number of females who are actively seeking to be coaches, those who express an interest, those I don't have to ask because they are asking me, etc. The person who replaced me as league president was female. The next president after that was female. Both were people who had checked that little box - 'I would like to coach' - when their kids first signed up at age 6-7. The number of female coaching volunteers didn't change under new leadership, so I don't think it is male bias at the top causing it. Perhaps I should ask for their opinions on that. They may have a different view.

Should league or travel club administrators seek out female coaches for the sake of diversity and the value they bring? If I'm short 2 coaches, should I say, 'We need 2 coaches, strong preference female?' Should I not put out the casting call, but rather consider some females that I know who might be good candidates, in hopes of getting more women involved? It's a fair question to ask that if we say we value female coaches and wish there were more of them, what are we doing about it?

I agree that stereotypes exists that might create barriers. I don't think that men are the only ones responsible for them, though. Some men might think women are better suited for 'team mom' or administrative things, but I suspect a lot of women think that also.

On the WTA Tour, each of the top-five players in the world have male coaches. That's as far back as I researched it. Could be that there are fewer than 5 female coaches in the top 100. Why is that? Why do Becker and Edberg coach on tour, but Evert and Navratilova do not? Why do women professionals pick male coaches when they have the resources to pick anybody in the world? Are they biased too?

Personally, I respect your views on this. I just think they'd get more traction if you presented it as 'we need more women' and not 'we need less men.' I agree that we need more women and former players.

 

[sluggers]

With due respect, you guys are barking up the wrong tree.

There are *plenty* of female basketball, volleyball and soccer coaches. What makes softball different?


1) Women tend to be more thoughtful about commitments than men. Most women realize that playing one year of freshman HS softball doesn't qualify them to coach softball. Men, however, have no problem thinking that one year of HS baseball and watching lots of pro-baseball makes them experts at softball.
2) At the younger ages, child raising responsibility is still primarily that of the women. Thus, women will tend to wait longer than men to take on time-consuming activities like coaching.
3) It takes about 10 to 15 years for college players to "calm down" enough to a) want to coach and b) be good coaches at the lower levels. (And, some players, men and women, never develop sufficient patience to coach.)
4) It wasn't until around 2005 that every college/high school had a fastpitch softball team. The SEC didn't have softball until 1997.

Therefore, the pool of potential female softball coaches is small. The pool of potential man coaches is quite a bit larger. The result: Many more male coaches than women.

In about 20 years when there are many more middle-aged women playing softball in HS and college, the balance will have shifted.

(As an aside...two of my kids played college sports at a very high level. Neither were ready to coach lower level teams when they got out of school. They tried to coach, but they were terrible. One of them waited a few years and started coaching, and she is doing a good job now. Why? Because their coaching in college consisted primarily of, "Either play better or you'll be replaced. Now, go run until you throw up.")

 

[Indiana]

^^^ Very true. A few years after graduating from college, and my college sport, I thought that learning a new sport would be fun so I decided to try tennis. I signed up for a local adult beginner clinic, taught in the summer by the local university coach. Sport, outside, college coach, this was familiar territory. As soon as the drills started I went into auto pilot and found myself trotting from station to station and sprinting through the drills. Finally one of my classmates asked me what the heck I was doing. Tennis attracts lots of adult beginners - it's easy to spot the former college athletes; they have this unique sort of intensity about them.

I might be ready to coach my sport now, with the separation of 20 years. I'd be more willing to be a student of the game and to figure out each girl's area of strength, rather than relying on what I know from my own perspective. Some of my college teammates did go into coaching, but at the college level. They started out as graduate assistants and went on from there.

(personally I see nothing wrong in "running until you throw up" - I've done it many times - ha ha)

 

[riseball]

With due respect, you guys are barking up the wrong tree.

There are *plenty* of female basketball, volleyball and soccer coaches. What makes softball different?


1) Women tend to be more thoughtful about commitments than men. Most women realize that playing one year of freshman HS softball doesn't qualify them to coach softball. Men, however, have no problem thinking that one year of HS baseball and watching lots of pro-baseball makes them experts at softball.
2) At the younger ages, child raising responsibility is still primarily that of the women. Thus, women will tend to wait longer than men to take on time-consuming activities like coaching.
3) It takes about 10 to 15 years for college players to "calm down" enough to a) want to coach and b) be good coaches at the lower levels. (And, some players, men and women, never develop sufficient patience to coach.)
4) It wasn't until around 2005 that every college/high school had a fastpitch softball team. The SEC didn't have softball until 1997.

Therefore, the pool of potential female softball coaches is small. The pool of potential man coaches is quite a bit larger. The result: Many more male coaches than women.

In about 20 years when there are many more middle-aged women playing softball in HS and college, the balance will have shifted.

(As an aside...two of my kids played college sports at a very high level. Neither were ready to coach lower level teams when they got out of school. They tried to coach, but they were terrible. One of them waited a few years and started coaching, and she is doing a good job now. Why? Because their coaching in college consisted primarily of, "Either play better or you'll be replaced. Now, go run until you throw up.")

So does this mean that there is no Secret Society Of Dads mounting an organized effort to repress the entry of females into coaching softball?

 

[Mocoso]

Point number one is that it is not your sport, if you never played. So have some humility, because in many boys sports, they would not take you. Boys sports certainly don't take females to coach, even in sports women play.

Oh please... why is ok for you to paint all men with this "bunch of old male chauvinist pigs:" brush? you're guilty of being as bigoted and biased as the people you are railing against.... I can tell you one thing: The league Im in is one of the biggest in the country and it would not run AT ALL without women and it was women who made the league as successful as it is today... it is WOMEN who play in the league and have equal representation in the board of directors..... we have more male coaches by far then female but its not because of some "old boys club conspiracy"

And as far as "its not my game because I didnt play it?" Get off your arrogant horse... THE WORSE ABSOLUTELY WORSE COACHES I had growing up and that Ive seen on the field are the ex-players that think because they have talent makes them good coaches.. reality is they SUCKED... had no interpersonal skills, couldnt communicate, couldnt adjust the competitive level to the division they were in... I can go on and on.. and they were so full of themselves their ego wouldnt let them learn to be good coaches.....

Ill be the first one to tell a "ole male chauvinist pig to shut up" - I dont care nor want guys who think girls are less them men coaching or being leaders for my girls but I equally dont want a woman coaching who has a chip on their shoulder and is going to start planting gender biases or wars onto my girls... gender should be a total non-issue