Female Coaches

[wild man]

I ran into some of my players the other day and they introduced me to a girl that will be playing with us next year. I asked her all the usual stuff and she seems like an alright kid.

Now their was a lot of giggling and some kind of joke was going on and she finally spilled it that the girls Had been messing with her. Seems they told her that the coach was a woman this may not sound like a big deal but, she does not like playing for women.
When I asked her why she said she wasnt real sure just liked playing for men way better.

Is this a common thing? And what would cause it?
I coach against some fantastic female coaches.
I have heard of female coaches that are young that the girls dont like because they are too much like the players and not like a coach.

 

[InsidePitch]

We had some issues with that this summer on our travel team. We hired a couple of College players to coach a 12U team. One of the girls on the team had an older sister that played HS ball with the coaches which made her their friend by way of her sister. As their friend she didn't have to try hard. It was very disruptive and it quickly spread to the other 12's on the team. The 11's who weren't part of the sister's clique didn't fall into this but were ridiculed by the 12's for working hard. It caused a lot of tension and resentment on the part of the 11's.

Now DD worked out with another team that has college aged players and there was none of this. The difference? A grownup as the manager that can put their foot down when necessary.

 

[amanda_cake]

I have heard of female coaches that are young that the girls dont like because they are too much like the players and not like a coach.

As a young woman who coaches and plays (I'm 17), I've never had any one that didn't want to play for me because I'm a woman. I have had some issues with my age before. The girls are more likely to respect someone who is older. I work better with the 10U, because to them I am more like an adult. I have a car, I drive to school, I've got a wallet with actual money in it (big deal to them!).

This fall, I am coaching a 10U and a 12U team. It's going to be interesting but I think that I should be able to pull it off. I have plenty of help with the 10U team, but not enough help with the 12U team. I'm not too concerned about the girls. All of them have played for me before, so they understand how I operate. I keep things on a softball business relationship--when we text, it's about softball. Not about friends. I'm not their friend on Facebook, that crosses a line with me. I think things will work out well and it will be a challenge for them. They are going to have to grow up, help me out by helping each other out with drills, etc. As a higher level player, I push them hard and there are consequences--unlike some of the push over male coaches I've seen.

While this is NOT the ideal situation, I honestly believe that what I can provide is better than NO softball. No one else wanted to step up, so here we are. I am not the average 17 year old kid either. We needed another pitcher for the 10U team, so I'd called another team (who was not putting together fall ball) and asked if she'd like to play with us. I knew who the girl was and had seen her pitch before, so I was not worried. Her mother did not know me however, but she had investigated this. She'd called the parent that I'd said had given me her number to see if I was the real deal. Throughout the conversations, my age NEVER came up. That was apparent when she asked me if I had a kid on the team. I laughed, stuttered, told her no, and explained to her my age.

You can have young women coaching teams, but it's got to be the right young women. It can't be just anyone. You've got to have the right personality, you've got to be strong, strict, firm, and you've got to know your stuff.

I've also seen some kick rear older women coaches. #1 team in our HS district is coached by two older women.

 

[softballphreak]

As a young woman who coaches and plays (I'm 17), I've never had any one that didn't want to play for me because I'm a woman. I have had some issues with my age before. The girls are more likely to respect someone who is older. I work better with the 10U, because to them I am more like an adult. I have a car, I drive to school, I've got a wallet with actual money in it (big deal to them!).

This fall, I am coaching a 10U and a 12U team. It's going to be interesting but I think that I should be able to pull it off. I have plenty of help with the 10U team, but not enough help with the 12U team. I'm not too concerned about the girls. All of them have played for me before, so they understand how I operate. I keep things on a softball business relationship--when we text, it's about softball. Not about friends. I'm not their friend on Facebook, that crosses a line with me. I think things will work out well and it will be a challenge for them. They are going to have to grow up, help me out by helping each other out with drills, etc. As a higher level player, I push them hard and there are consequences--unlike some of the push over male coaches I've seen.

While this is NOT the ideal situation, I honestly believe that what I can provide is better than NO softball. No one else wanted to step up, so here we are. I am not the average 17 year old kid either. We needed another pitcher for the 10U team, so I'd called another team (who was not putting together fall ball) and asked if she'd like to play with us. I knew who the girl was and had seen her pitch before, so I was not worried. Her mother did not know me however, but she had investigated this. She'd called the parent that I'd said had given me her number to see if I was the real deal. Throughout the conversations, my age NEVER came up. That was apparent when she asked me if I had a kid on the team. I laughed, stuttered, told her no, and explained to her my age.

You can have young women coaching teams, but it's got to be the right young women. It can't be just anyone. You've got to have the right personality, you've got to be strong, strict, firm, and you've got to know your stuff.

I've also seen some kick rear older women coaches. #1 team in our HS district is coached by two older women.

If I was a parent in your area I wouldn't have a problem at all with you coaching. You seem to be on the ball.

Curious, how old are your helpers/assistants?

 

[Coach JV]

I have been involved in a couple instances of women coaches.

A couple years back in rec, I had a college student who had played
travel and HS ball who wanted to help w/ a 12u team. The girls responded
very well to her as the dynamics were perfect, (female, young etc.) I also had the pleasure
of coaching with a woman friend of mine (mid 40's) who was an exceptional coach,
I learned from her as her team played very hard for her. She was tough in the
dugout and garnered all the respect needed.

It is not gender or age that makes a good coach. I would take Amanda on my staff any day!!!!

 

[amanda_cake]

If I was a parent in your area I wouldn't have a problem at all with you coaching. You seem to be on the ball.

Curious, how old are your helpers/assistants?

I am on the ball, I've made all the phone calls. I've gotten us in with the folks we're going to play with, found out prices, etc. The people that are helping me are a lot older than I am. One of the guys with 10U is 30-something, the other is forty-something. I've got a couple of guys that have agreed to help with 12U when they can but no actual coaches. They are over 40.

It is not gender or age that makes a good coach. I would take Amanda on my staff any day!!!!

I often joke that if I ever want to pack up to Florida to coach ball, I've already got a job down there with you. ;-)

 

[CoachKevin]

I haven't had any luck with long term female coaches. They stick around for a year then move on. I really wish I could get a dedicated one, sometimes it's nice to have that female perspective to keep me straight.

I was very excited last Fall when the assistant JV Coach said she would like to get involved with the Summer Program (most of the girls were in 8th Grade, so they would be attending HS in 2010). Well she attended a handful of practices and made it out to 1/2 a Tournament (Saturday games only). To say the least I was truely disappointed. On the flip side had another female help out when she could and was a blessing (she is planning on going home to Canada, so I loose another one ).

 

[FPump]

Amanda....keep it up! Good luck with your career as a coach.

 

[SoCalDad]

On TB my fielding coach is also the asst coach of the HS team. She and I have coached together for about 1.5 years and she is a godsend. She played in our town as a youth, went to scholarship at a D1 school and was considered a candidate for the national team until a knee injury ended her FP career. The girls respond to her at a different level since she has the creds to backup what she coaches. I strongly support and do my best to have a strong female presence on my coaching staff.

 

[softballphreak]

I am on the ball ...

Love it!!!