WE need more female coaches~

[radness]

This Teen Magazine article is written by one of my catching students 14yr.old Ella.
It is fantastic to know her.
She is truely a great human being!
Aka~'The Bionic Woman'
( thats my nickname for her )

Lets remember while discussing this topic
it is part of growing sports!

Enjoy~

Gender Equality in Sports: We Need More Female Coaches

It has been almost fifty years since Title IX sought to end gender discrimination in sports, and a record number of girls and women now participate in sports, but the journey isn't done. The next hurdle on the road to gender equality is creating opportunities for women to become coaches and...

www.theteenmagazine.com

 

[LuckyC]

Hey, that was a amazing read!!

 

[Ken Krause]

Interesting article, RAD. Thanks for sharing.

First of all, kudos to your student for taking the time to write it. She's clearly passionate about the topic and did a nice job of presenting her position. As someone who writes for living, please let her know I thought it was well done.

That said, I don't think what she wrote is the only reason there aren't more female coaches. It's really a complex topic.

Yes, male bias against women is certainly a contributing factor. The story she tells about her mom is just ridiculous. She is AT LEAST as qualified as the men if she didn't play, and more qualified because she did. Doesn't mean she will make a great or even a good coach but we won't know that until she's given the opportunity. Honestly, anyone who wants to help should be welcomed, male or female, and then sort it out from there.

Something I have found is that in the enthusiasm to get more female coaches, females are sometimes being hired for positions for which they're not ready. At the high school level, it's unlikely anyone would hire a fresh-out-of-college former player to be the head varsity coach of the baseball team, but they're more than willing to hand the reins of the softball team to a former player with no coaching experience. That's a recipe for failure, which discourages that former player from continuing to coach and probably reinforces the perception that females don't make good coaches. No one makes a good coach until they've gained some experience.

What should be happening is hiring females as assistants first, allowing them to gain experience, then letting them run teams. Just as men should be assistants first before taking over a team. There's a difference between playing and coaching, and just because you were a great player doesn't mean you'll make a great coach. So by all means create the opportunities for the entry level to give those coaches a better chance for success later.

After that, make it performance-based. Hire the best coach, male or female, for your team. All else being equal go with the female. But make sure it's actually equal.

I think another thing that holds back the ranks of female coaches is the expectations that they will also be the caregivers for the family at home. How many people here have gone to private lessons with a former player who then announces she's not going to be teaching anymore because she's having a baby? It's just automatically assumed that once the baby comes she won't have the time to do lessons too. Throw in a couple more kids and that woman is out of the sport for a while, after which she may or may not come back. So I think changing society's perception of who is watching the kids when needs to change.

By the way, I know a few female coaches, one of whom has all boys, who either do private pitching lessons, coach softball teams, or do both. So maybe the younger generation coming up is recognizing that you can be both a coach and a mom. What will be interesting for the one with boys is what happens if she decides to coach one of her son's teams instead. She will likely be the most qualified volunteer by far and should be made head coach if she wants it. Although she may opt to just help out with the boys' teams and continue coaching softball.

To say that there aren't many female coaches because the men won't let them coach is too simplistic to me. It's definitely an issue, but hopefully one that is going away - probably faster in some areas than others.

The one thing we can do is encourage more players (and former players) to become coaches, and create an atmosphere where they feel comfortable doing so. Do more to highlight female coaches and their stories - not just the ones who coach in men's sports but in all areas. The more "normal" it becomes the more opportunities will open up. And if there are men holding women back, or relegating them to making bows instead of throwing BP, get them the hell out of there.

 

[Cannonball]

I have coached young ladies in basketball, golf and softball as a head coach in high school. For the softball and golf positions, no one wanted those positions when I reluctantly took the HC positions. Meaning no one else applied. I've coached TB in 3 different organizations. In one of those programs, we did have a lady assistant. Otherwise, no one asked to help coach. Believe me, we asked. For the young lady who wrote the article, did she know if women coaches were turned down?

I do understand the intent of the article. My dd coached in a TB program and did exceptionally well if you keep in mind that I am her dad and that is my opinion. However, when it came to being able to coach the "Gold Team" comprised of players she had coached for numerous years, she was not allowed to do so. Thus, she left that TB Program. She works at a HS where the vast majority of women's sports are coached by women. In the softball program she is now coaching in, every coach in softball and basketball is a woman. In the softball program I coach in, there are 3 female coaches and me.

I guess my point is whether there were assumptions by the author or were female coaches really denied the opportunity to coach. BTW, if so, why didn't the author's mom start her own program at that young age?

 

[_MIA_]

Males in general have bigger egos. Half the male TB coaches out there probably started
because they thought they could do better than whoever was coaching their kid at the time...

 

[Cannonball]

Males in general have bigger egos. Half the male TB coaches out there probably started
because they thought they could do better than whoever was coaching their kid at the time...

Quoted for truth!

 

[ANNASDAD]

Males in general have bigger egos. Half the male TB coaches out there probably started
because they thought they could do better than whoever was coaching their kid at the time...

Yep!!

 

[IndyHScoach]

I think the article was written very well. I also say that in our area there are not many women that want to coach. We have a corporation that is majority female yet we have only female coaches for volleyball and golf. Our new basketball coach is a former boys coach that took over the program when no one else applied. (Yes, it was posted on various sites as an opening.) Currently, as the softball head coach we have 3 male coaches and 2 female coaches. One is a former D1 player and one had high school experience, she is learning.

My first year at this school the jr high coaches were already set when I accepted the position. One was a mother and the other was a former small college player. To be polite they were not good coaches.

I would also like to see more female coaches for these young ladies to look up to but they still have to be qualified. That can only be determined if they are given a chance.

 

[radness]

Interesting article, RAD. Thanks for sharing.

First of all, kudos to your student for taking the time to write it. She's clearly passionate about the topic and did a nice job of presenting her position. As someone who writes for living, please let her know I thought it was well done.

That said, I don't think what she wrote is the only reason there aren't more female coaches. It's really a complex topic.

Yes, male bias against women is certainly a contributing factor. The story she tells about her mom is just ridiculous. She is AT LEAST as qualified as the men if she didn't play, and more qualified because she did. Doesn't mean she will make a great or even a good coach but we won't know that until she's given the opportunity. Honestly, anyone who wants to help should be welcomed, male or female, and then sort it out from there.

Something I have found is that in the enthusiasm to get more female coaches, females are sometimes being hired for positions for which they're not ready. At the high school level, it's unlikely anyone would hire a fresh-out-of-college former player to be the head varsity coach of the baseball team, but they're more than willing to hand the reins of the softball team to a former player with no coaching experience. That's a recipe for failure, which discourages that former player from continuing to coach and probably reinforces the perception that females don't make good coaches. No one makes a good coach until they've gained some experience.

What should be happening is hiring females as assistants first, allowing them to gain experience, then letting them run teams. Just as men should be assistants first before taking over a team. There's a difference between playing and coaching, and just because you were a great player doesn't mean you'll make a great coach. So by all means create the opportunities for the entry level to give those coaches a better chance for success later.

After that, make it performance-based. Hire the best coach, male or female, for your team. All else being equal go with the female. But make sure it's actually equal.

I think another thing that holds back the ranks of female coaches is the expectations that they will also be the caregivers for the family at home. How many people here have gone to private lessons with a former player who then announces she's not going to be teaching anymore because she's having a baby? It's just automatically assumed that once the baby comes she won't have the time to do lessons too. Throw in a couple more kids and that woman is out of the sport for a while, after which she may or may not come back. So I think changing society's perception of who is watching the kids when needs to change.

By the way, I know a few female coaches, one of whom has all boys, who either do private pitching lessons, coach softball teams, or do both. So maybe the younger generation coming up is recognizing that you can be both a coach and a mom. What will be interesting for the one with boys is what happens if she decides to coach one of her son's teams instead. She will likely be the most qualified volunteer by far and should be made head coach if she wants it. Although she may opt to just help out with the boys' teams and continue coaching softball.

To say that there aren't many female coaches because the men won't let them coach is too simplistic to me. It's definitely an issue, but hopefully one that is going away - probably faster in some areas than others.

The one thing we can do is encourage more players (and former players) to become coaches, and create an atmosphere where they feel comfortable doing so. Do more to highlight female coaches and their stories - not just the ones who coach in men's sports but in all areas. The more "normal" it becomes the more opportunities will open up. And if there are men holding women back, or relegating them to making bows instead of throwing BP, get them the hell out of there.

Thank you for your wonderful feedback for her, have forwarded the post.

Good reads everyone!
Look forward to more.

 

[Orange Socks]

I have typed this response and deleted several times as there are so many paths I end up taking based on past experiences with female coaches. There are just so many reasons female coaches come and go. A lot depends on their age, experience, time available, and interest. Many may just want to coach their team while not dealing with the administrative duties.

In our area, I would say the majority of HS softball coaches are female. Some coach TB. Most dads don't get paid to coach their TB teams...for the most part. The young out of college players need to make money and will go to teams that will pay. They have no vested interest in volunteering to coach kids and deal with parent drama. DD's last female coaches were not paid, but those don't last long as they begin to find their way around the corporate world trying to make their way. Take a look at the top TB programs. Most are run by dad's who kids are no longer playing and they chose to stick around because it's fun for them and some turn into a business. Some make it their livelihood and others don't.

https://rankings.usclubrankings.com/fastpitch/rankings/2019_3yrcomposite
Look at each these programs and tell me how many women run these programs. What women actually want to? My DD would prefer to be coached by a male. She had both female and male head coaches over the years. All of her private coaches were female. I would be happy if more women wanted to coach, but I also think many might say No thanks!