Women coaching softball

[obbay]

I think female coaches can be better than male coaches. women feel and react differently than men and I think they can communicate with girls better. I keep saying "can" because you can't lump everyone into the same category just because they have one common trait.

Had a girl on our team a couple years ago. good athlete but she didn't really shine. then she played in the all-stars (under a female rear't coach) and came alive! could've been a better personality fit rather than man v woman, but the transformation was amazing.

 

[3sDad]

Yep...and the SEC now has...Windy Thees at MSU, Van Studeman at Ole Miss, Lu Harris Champer at GA, Tina Deese at Auburn, Rachel Lawson at KY (all 3 coaches are female btw)...Beverly Smith at South Carolina and Beth Torina at LSU, and at TN Co-Head Coaches Ralph and Karen Weekly ....( If I missed someone I apologize)
The women folks are there, and doing a helluva job...and thats just in the SEC

You coach my kid the right way, treat her tough, but fair, bring out her best effort...I dont care what sex you are....

It is a shame you guys weren't around during the 1990s when the Big 10 and the SEC fought softball like it was the Black Plague. But, I've got to give credit to the SEC--when they finally had been beaten to a pulp by lawsuits and the feds, they really put some money and effort into it.

 

[SoCalSoftballdad]

Since no male coach has played women's fastpitch, I like having my DD exposed to coaches who have been there and done that. Unfortunatley in my area, males dominate (myself included) as coaches in youth softball. This is the reason why I do my best to get my DD exposure to women coaches, mostly D1, by hiring them as pitching coaches, hitting coaches, or having DD attend softball camps conducted by local college players.

The other issue I see is that guys who are now fathers who played baseball in high school, college, etc. many years ago are not current with the modern softball game and its a constant battle with them to abandon erroneous techniques and concepts. A perfect example is the concept of using a weighted donut (see other thread) in the on deck circle. They did it as a kid so they think girls should use them during the game. Having a batter take swings using a 20oz bat wieghted with another 16oz donut is crazy but I have seen coaches encouraging their players to use them. Also some male coaches just don't get the concept that fastpitch is a lot faster game than baseball, in which "small ball" is frequently played. I've heard male coaches say that the baseball and softball swing is different because in baseball the pitcher is on an elevated mound which requires different swing techniques. It goes on and on like this.

Are there some very dedicated and very good male coaches out there, absolutley. But we need to bring more women coaches into the game, especially at the younger levels so they can share their expertise and experience with our DDs.

 

[chinamigarden]

See the problem as I see it is this. Woman Coaches... Man Coaches... How about just coaches. I have seen great coaches of both man and woman in softball. I have also seen terrible coaches both man and woman. How about we just judge them by their performance and not by their gender.

 

[pyschodad]

DD played on a 14u team this past year with a young female head coach and two female asst coaches. Organization was very well respected in years past and we were told great things about this young coaching staff. The year was a total disaster. Coach was unorganized,late for every early morning game,took 3 girls to lunch while leaving the rest of the team at tournament site on more than one occasion,and anytime that a complaint was made for playing time she gave in and allowed parents to control her team. Needless to say we will not be returning to team. I was shocked to see that this staff is returning next year. Oh, did I mention the on the field coaching was embarrassingly bad as well. Maybe it was immaturity that was the problem but for sure my DD will be playing for male coaches next year. All of the successful teams in our area at the younger ages are coached by men. Some paid and some dads.

 

[sluggers]

I also want to disagree with the age thing about having to wait for new era players. Softball never left where I live, been around strong for decades, so there should be more former players around and Moms to also coach.

I agree that discrimination against female coaches exist.

However, the pool of women available to coach is still small.

Generally, a person doesn't start coaching until their kids start playing. That age tends to be the late 30s and early 40s. Women of that age today were playing softball in the early 1990s. Trust me--there weren't many college teams out there in the e1990s. And the teams that were out there, on the whole, were not very good. If a school had a softball program, the facilities were bad and the coaches weren't paid as much as their male counterparts. The AD didn't care if the softball program won or lost. Some coaches had losing records for 10 or 20 years *IN A ROW*, and they were kept on.

Your vision of California softball in the 1990s is a little skewed. While they played more softball on the West Coast in the early 1990s than anywhere else, that isn't saying a whole lot. Not all the PAC-10 schools had softball. Some major universities in California didn't have softball--one (USC) still doesn't.

College athletes, both male and female, have a tough time coaching youth sports. There aren't very many coaches in boys or girls sports who played college athletics. People who play college sports love to play the game, but a good coach has to love *TEACHING* the game. It is quite a bit different. One of my friends played point guard for a final four D1 basketball team. He was a great guy, and a lot of fun. He refused to coach youth sports--he said he couldn't take the kids or the parents.

In reality, coaching youth sports well is not about getting the best players on a team to play well. Every team has 3 or 4 good players. The trick is get the moderately talented kids to play well. And, those kids will *NOT* be college player. They don't have the skills or the inclination to be college players. Teaching those kids is the challenge. Many college players simply don't have the patience to work with an 11YOA kid who is the 9th best player on a team.

WOMEN'S SPORTS FOUNDATION

I was one of the first members of the WSF. They were really radical back in the early 1990s.

I read the article. I agree that Myths 1-4 are myths.

As to Myth 5, I don't understand--literally. I have no idea what point they are trying. The discussion does not attempt to rebut the statement made by Myth 5. I'm at a loss.

As to Myth 6, some parents, perhaps most, are uncomfortable with lesbians around their DDs. And, parents being parents, will do what they think is best for their children.

To also be fair, you have to recognize that there have been some terrible female coaches out there. The AD I mentioned in my first post got burned when he hired a college softball player as HC of the varsity team. She immediately hired her girlfriend as the AC. Then, only one of the two would show up for games and practices.

 

[InsidePitch]

DD played on a team that had 2 college players come in and coach and were assisted by one girl who just graduated from HS and played with the college girls the year before. The woman that ran the team was very strong but stepped out of the picture. Amazing that 12U girls ran roughshod over those college girls. They had the skills and knowledge to teach but couldn't command the respect of the girls. Had the strong woman stayed involved we could have improved a lot. So point being, there needs to be a strong grown up that commands the respect of the girls. If a 19 or 20 year old can't a parent needs to step up.

ADDED: I do prefer DD have a woman for a coach. Not opposed to a man but that is my preference.

 

[chinamigarden]

I will say this about discrimination of women coaches. If I ever hear a coach of my DD saying anything about women and their "limited" capabilities in any field my dd is off that team. We are trying to raise a confident, successful woman, I will not allow her to be exposed to an individual who thinks that she is inferior based on her being a female. I would not want her in the company of a person like that for how ever many hours a week.

 

[Sparky Guy]

There just wasn't the level of competition. Give it another 10 years and men will almost certainly be the minority, as the current high level players, get older, have kids, and give back to the game.

I don't think so at the younger levels. Once these women get out of college and enter the workforce they move on with their lives. Usually when they are finished playing ball in college most of them have spent 14 - 16 years of the their lives playing ball. They are not interested in keeping up the grind. And it IS a grind to coach a youth team. Now add in they have entered the workforce and beginning their lives. Often it comes with a lot of work responsibility (No discrimination there.. ), they get married or seriously involved with someone, they have families and a gazzillion other demands on their time. The last thing they have time for is coaching a softball team.

To coach a softball team is a family commitment. The non-coaching spouse has to pick up the slack around the house for the coaching spouse. Often women do not get that help from their spouse. So it becomes a series of priorities for many women. And coaching a softball team is being put waaaaaay down on the list.

My own DD does not want to be a HC. She will help me, but not on a full time basis. She has a boyfriend and would rather spend time with him and their friends after work and on the weekends. Me... I'm addicted to the game and the kids. I love teaching and watching grow as players and people.

 

[Coach JV]

Back to the OP--several years ago I had an AC who was a college student. It was one of my
best years ever, she connected with the kids (12U) in a way that I couldn't.
She was energetic and passionate, I was sorry to see her move out of the area
as she would still be my #1 choice as an AC. I do think that at her age AC was plenty of responsibility
I am not sure how she would have dealt with the parent drama, it was up
to me to insulate her from that part of the job. Between tournament games,
we stayed away from all parents and players, kinda like the untouchables.