So let's start with one basic truth. In the big scheme of things, I am pretty much a nobody. As I progress through my early 50s, I have started to look back at my life, taking stock of the path I took, evaluating good and bad decisions, the road not traveled and all the decisions and situations that have led to to where I am today. Sometimes I do it with nostalgia and sometimes I do it with dread.
I like to write about how much time and effort I put into coaching, advocating for women's sports and women in sport, I enjoy coming up with topics to blog about then put together pieces that I can post on my blog, which gets a couple hundred visits a day when I post new material. Google my name in the right context and you might get a few hits about my coaching career, I've won a few coaching awards, been recognized for some of my efforts and coached hundreds of players over 27 years in coaching. However, when you measure up the essence of my life on the whole, I say again, I am pretty much a nobody who hasn't accomplished anything of any serious significance when compared against all the individuals out there who are truly make society better. Through high school, I was an above average student in terms of my marks but didn't really feel the need to push myself academically, I got to cegep and struggled to complete my degree and needed to take a year off before starting university. When I finally did get to university, I did ok, got through my degree requirements in two and half years by taking summer courses and graduated with a degree that left employment opportunities fairly open, but that also created a certain amount of confusion and uncertainty and school was now done and I had to figure out what I was going to do for the next 35 years or so as I truly started my adult life. My working career has been a bit a of crooked and ever changing life. In the 29 years since I finished high school, I have held 8 different jobs ( do the math and that comes to an average stay of about 3.5 year per job) and it is only in my current position which I have now held for a little over 9 years where I can truly say that I found where I belong work wise. I have a beautiful home, no kids, a small group of close friends ( although a very large network of acquaintances ), a cat which is the first pet I ever hard and surprisingly I actually like having a pet ( I won't psychoanalyze the why of that too much. Through the entirety of my adult life there have only been two constants, my wife and my coaching. I have been with my wife since we met in 1986, thirty-three years ago and this summer we will be celebrating 28 years of marriage. Her presence is also a major component or cause for my coaching as it was her team that was looking for new coaches, a friend of mine offered to be the coach and asked me to be the assistant. This is a story I have shared a few times in the past. When my friend decided to quit coaching on mid-season, I found myself as head coach and little could I imagine the role that coaching would take in my life. In broad strokes, coaching made me a little less of a nobody and gave me an opportunity to share in my passion for soccer and coaching soccer specifically, served as an avenue for me to develop my leadership style and even a part of my personality and finally coaching gave me the platform to develop a set of beliefs and the voice to express them. For 27 years, I spent many months of the year working full time AND working in roles that might equate to anywhere from 50% to 75% time work in terms of comparable hours. There were periods in my life where I had to work 60+ hours a week for my full time job and then rush off to coaching. I couldn’t possibly take two hours out of my extremely busy day to attend a coaching session or leave work early to travel 3 hours to an away game, coach in the game ( sometimes stick around while our men's team played) and travel 3 hours back. It could involve as much as 12 hours of my day for a 90 minute game. I was busy. Couldn’t people see that? And with the arrival of smart phones and increased connectivity, I was bound to get at least 20 emails while I was sitting there passing along technical instruction and preparing the game plan for the next match. It was one thing when I was on the training ground for practices or on the bench during game, but what about travel and prep time, recruiting discussions, department or league meetings, all the other activities associated with coaching. That was time I’d never get back. And really, what was the point? Really, what I needed was five more hours in every day and a magic wand to solve some issues both in the work place and on my team. Plus a helicopter to make sure I didn’t get stuck in traffic. If you are involved in fairly competitive coaching and it isn't your primary career then that train of irritated thought probably sounds familiar to you and trust me you’re not alone. I think coaching can get a bad rap sometimes, the long hours with ungrateful athletes, the politics, the relatively low compensation. Being told it isn't a job but a passion so you're not giving up all the free time for the sake of extra income. Yeah right ! However, it’s no exaggeration to say that my years in coaching changed the way I think about my life and my career. And like most life-changing activities, it wasn’t easy and it came with a side order of painful reflection. A good coach makes athletes thing about the issues they may be facing, how to improve technical ability, understanding tactics, and even something like getting sufficiently fit, not to mention challenges the athletes to do the hard thinking about potential solutions. Coaches should never sit back without really getting to understand the different strengths and weaknesses of their athletes and simply give or impose all the answers. Good coaches work in conjunction with their athletes to work through finding the solutions not to mention make sure not to give athletes a pass if they feel like being lazy. Coaching allowed to me live some incredible experiences, meet great people and be actively involved in my passion. Beyond the wins and losses, coaching provided me with the chance to develop myself as a person, as a manager and maybe as a somewhat less then nobody. One foundation of my coaching philosophy was that it was always about the athletes, that everything I did was for their benefit, however truth be told, tangibly, coach did a lot for me. What does this mean concretely? That it’s ok and actually I would say that is it essential to be your authentic self at work and coach. When you take on a leadership role, you must bring the best of that authentic self to the table and make sure not to try and taking on personality traits as a coach or manager that are not consistent with who you are. If you know that one of your challenges is lack of patience, no-one should expect you to develop a Buddha-like calm overnight. That would be unrealistic and your athletes and employees would see through it BUT, you must develop strategies to be able to adapt to changing scenarios most effectively as a leader, so that successful outcomes can be reached. And that means using your personality strengths efficiently while recognizing when you need to adapt your style but without comprising the essence of who you are as a person. After years of being told I had to fundamentally change who I was to fit in at school, at work of with my friends, this was a revelation. I saw that it was ok to be myself, to stand up for what I truly believed in and not fit into what I believed were the perceptions or expectations of others. As the saying goes, as long as I could look in the mirror and now I had done my very best without comprising who I wanted to be, that sometimes that was as good as it could be and that I didn't always need to please everyone around me. Compromise isn’t a dirty word in business. For many years, I had a tendency to see the world as I wanted it to be. I could and still can be an idealist and that is a brilliant thing to bring into the workplace and in coaching, as it can motivate you and others to greater things. But it could also be a negative. When people are too set in their ways, it can deter from making decisions or at least taking smaller steps towards resolving a problem or situation due to the demands or circumstances of the specific situation at hand. Sometimes, compromise is just another word for “making something happen despite difficult circumstances” and I learned to try and frame it like that if I found myself getting frustrated. Complaining about a something that goes to crap right in front of you, is the first deterrent to not being able to finding a solution. In the words of the Matt Damon character from "The Martian" , “When I was up there, stranded by myself, did I think I was going to die? Yes. Absolutely, and that’s what you need to know going in because it’s going to happen to you. This is space. It does not cooperate. At some point everything is going to go south on you. Everything is going to go south and you’re going to say 'This is it. This is how I end.' Now you can either accept that or you can get to work. That’s all it is. You just begin. You do the math, you solve one problem. Then you solve the next one, and then the next and if you solve enough problems you get to come home.” So basically, instead of freaking out when things don't work out, focus on one thing at a time and take work on solving the problems one at a time. Each step of success is one step closer to solving the whole problem. Leadership takes many forms. It’s not always the job title, or the places at the top of the organizational hierarchy chart that marks out the true leaders. Informal authority and engagement can be extremely powerful tools for advocacy and improvement. True change comes from the members of a work group or team, not from the few in charge. When people are involved in the process and not imposed ways to proceed, they will apply themselves with enthusiasm and motivation. This was a helpful piece of insight that discovered as I entered into my 30s. and it helped me both in managing and coaching. I couldn't expect people to see me as a good leader just because I had the title of manager or coach but that I had to get them to follow me because I had earned their respect and proven that I could help them move forward and achieve their objectives. I was able to think more laterally about how I could tap informal sources of authority in order to develop my own leadership journey and practice. Earlier one, I really saw myself as a task oriented leader. I thought of myself as being personable and easy to get along with but not to generally have strong interpersonal skills. I focused on proving myself by trying to the person that found innovative and creative solutions to the toughest of problems. I got the reputation of being someone that could keep his cool when others around me might be freaking out. However as time based as started to realize that I was more of someone who enjoyed the role of mentor vs the role of task-master. And with time, I accept that it was ok. This was an interesting realization. I spent years as a manager ( and coach) wondering why I found it so stressful to be fairly accomplished at being able to solve problems, but seemingly worried about people " not liking me" It was only when I had some time and space to think through my approach to working with others, that I got the breakthrough I needed. My natural style is much more suited to coaching, to helping people on my team unblock and unlock things so they can move forward, than it is to micro-managing every piece of their working existence. Ironically, I spent many years earlier in my career micro-managing (sorry guys!) as I thought was the only way to achieve the standards I wanted for others. I would sometimes get impatient when others were unable to learn as quickly as I might, or could find solutions in the manner that I thought everyone should. But this was a form of control and was much more about what I wanted to achieve. By letting go and focusing on the bigger picture, it is much easier to achieve collective success. This approach is also helpful when considering taking on a broader role as a leader, as you cannot possibly have an iron-clad grasp on everything. But you can coach others to achieve their best in their area of expertise, so that successful outcomes are achieved. Coaching in soccer gave me confidence to voice my opinion, to take pride in my accomplishments without having the diminish those of others, and gave me a cause in which to believe in and advocate for. It gave me the voice to express myself, it gave me an anchor to define myself by and selfishly I might say, it gave me something unique to allow me to distinguish myself from others.... so maybe in essence, make me less of a nobody.
0 Comments
Quick, off the top of your head, what do you feel are the main qualities that make a youth coach successful? Is it passion for the sport? Friendliness? Ability to teach techniques? Ability to communicate with players? Approach-ability? The quality of practice plans or knowledge of good soccer drills?
Ask ten different people, you might easily get ten varying opinions. However, if you were to dig a little deeper with the question, and you would probably find that there are common tendencies present with any successful youth coach, be that on the recreational or competitive sides of any sport. What anyone who gets involved in youth sport needs to keep in mind is that most get into coaching for the right reasons and have the best of intentions of making a difference in many children’s lives, whether they go to play at the highest level or their highest level. Children never forget a good teacher. It should be everyone coach's goal to never be anyone’s last coach. It’s important to understand that, no matter if you agree or disagree with the points made in this post, that being a good person is or should be the overriding #1 most important factor in any endeavor you take on in life, whether that be your personal job, family life, or coaching. Being a good person, who is fair, consciences, empathetic and has good intentions goes a long way towards becoming a successful soccer coach. Being this type of person helps gain the respect of your soccer players, their trust, and allows them to have fun playing for you. However, what causes fun? As a group of kids involved in sport, what they find " fun" about being involved in sports and I am convinced that anything associated with winning would be far down the list. The most common answers in some form or other, would probably look something like this;
The personality of the coach, and how they treat their players, is so important that in some coaching courses, the some coaches are graded on if the instructor “would want to play for them.” Personality and intentions count, and when exploring the other qualities that make up a strong youth coach it’s important to understand that exemplifying players as people, over your ego and need to win, will be the biggest leap any coach can make towards making your soccer team stronger. When I took my very first coaching course and this after having guided my team to a national championship the year before ( I've already covered the tale of that story before), the first comment we got from the instructor was that to always remember that without athletes, we didn't need coaches. It was our responsibility to put them first and adapt to them. So how is this relevant? Well simply, a successful coach knows when and how to adapt and vary his or her coaching techniques in order to ensure that the athletes have the best chance to thrive. As the saying goes "the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome." If players aren’t learning or understanding that the coach wants them to, it’s not necessarily a problem with the players, but could be an issue with the message. Coaches need to learn to be creative with how they deliver instruction to players. There are many different learning styles, so repeating the same message the same way continuously will only serve to frustrate the players and ultimately the coach. Players learn in different ways and it is important for coaches to be perceptive to the learning styles on their team. Another issue that often plagues teams, not just at the youth level but at all levels, is that training ground success doesn't always translate to wins in games. In my opinion, this is related to two major root causes, the fact that some coaches are unable to recreate game like conditions during practices which leads to players being out of sorts when faced conditions they haven't faced before and secondly, coaches that are so focused on results, that cut corners on the process of teaching good habits, that players freeze up when it comes to game day. This second situation is usually made worse by expectations typically brought up by parents and those that don’t understand what really matters in youth sports. If sports were played on paper then why play? Coaching youth soccer is much more complicated that simply living up to performance expectations. If coaches are caught up in performance anxiety then so will their players. Most sports are a psyche/social game over a technical/tactical one. You can have players with fantastic technique and tactical know-how, but if they aren’t comfortable and happy with their soccer, even the best of coaches won’t be able to get the most out of them. Just watch example of teams that make a coaching change mid-season, same players, but you can often see the positive shift in player mindset and how that can translate to game day success. However, this is often a short term bump and improvement. If the new coach isn't able to sustain a positive environment, sooner or later, the players can fall back on old habits. Let's be honest, to some extent or other, winning is important. It's why we keep score during games, but winning at all costs will actually affect the process of player developments, especially at the younger age groups. One important tool to not completely push aside the issue of winning but still focus on development, is the notion of setting “development milestones” during a team’s pre-season. Instead of setting lofty team goals like "win championship" or "remain undefeated this season," it is important to set realistic goals that are easily measurable and achievable and can be reviewed periodically throughout the season. When young athletes are able to see a quantifiable level of success and achievement, it keeps them motivated to putting in the time and effort. Goal setting can be done both at the team and individual level. When goal setting is done right. the focus of the team from the beginning of the season meeting onwards is to improve each practice , each game, as improvement gives them the best opportunity to reach their next goals. In contrast, setting lofty goals like ‘"win championship" or "remain undefeated this season," can be broken by losing the first game of the season. What then? Successful teams, and successful coaches, understand that the process is the focus, not the end result. By focusing on the process, you allow success to happen naturally and as a byproduct of development. Think of it like taking a trip, if you are so focused on the final destination, who knows what you might miss out along the way as you take the route to arrive where you are heading. Often, at the foundation of most dissatisfaction with a coach, it comes down to the practices, how interesting they are, how well they are planned out, how much the players actually get out of them. When you have a certain amount of experience and observe other coaches, especially younger or less experienced coaches, you can see certain indicators that maybe practices are running efficiently. Players will be going through the motions, but training has a ‘meh’ feel to it. Good soccer coaches will create an environment where players are excited to come to practice, compete, and learn. Every coach has tough practices, no matter how long they've coached, how much training they've gotten or what level of certification and experience they might have. Coaches who get 100% “buy in” from their players can answer the question “why are we doing this?” and present the information in an engaging environment. How can we teach technique and keep it engaging? I see many coaches on the practice fields who run very static practices:
A selection of great small sided games can be a way to increase engagement and gain buy in. Things to think about when selecting small sided games:
Strong coaches can paint a picture of not only “this is what you have to do,” but rather “this is what we should do, because then it was cause this to happen.” Doing so helps to create a picture for players, which helps them understand what they are being asked to do. Try it in practices: keep the activities dynamic and, when there is a breakdown in them, recreate the scene right before it happened and show players what they should think about doing next time to fix it. Keep in succinct, and check understanding by re-asking players open-ended questions at the end of practice to see if it stuck. So if you've read all the way to here, everything that I've tried sharing to this point can be summarized somewhat succinctly;
Not sure how all of this might apply to you ? Well ask yourself a few simply questions.....
If you are truthful in the answer you come up with, it is a first step to a valuable self-assessment. There is a strong tendency in our society to view participation in sports in the most favorable light. Children are encouraged to participate in organized youth sports programs because they are thought to promote such fundamental values as character, teamwork, determination and commitment.
I myself have posted a number of times via this very blog about all the positives in youth sport. You can access those articles via these links youth-empowerment-through-sport.html empowering-future-leaders-through-youth-sports.html But this bias can be troublesome if it prevents us from seeing that problems in youth sports exist. The news is filled with examples of professional athletes who have serious problems, things like drug and alcohol abuse, spousal violence, and acts of sexual aggression, we have been much slower to recognize the problems that have developed in youth sports. Some of these problems are more significant than others but in the end they are all impacting the sports experience that kids face through their participation in sport. From my personal experiences, these are some of the more important issues that are problem areas in youth sport. Everyone; parents, kids, coaches who have been on the sidelines has seen instances of emotional abuse that are too common in the world of youth sports: the mortified child whose mother is screaming at the referee about a "blown call", or the despondent child who is being verbally attacked by his or her parent or coach for some perceived lack of effort or for making a "dumb" mistake. It has become fashionable to blame "pushy parents" for many of the excesses seen in children's sports. I think that this is a mistake to make that simple generalization that everything comes down to the parent being too-involved etc. Again here, I have posted about the issues related to parents. coaches-and-parents-not-always-easy.html handling-the-parent-issues.html when-parents-are-too-involved-in-their-kids-sports.html the-over-involved-parent.html However, even with all the opinions that I share in those posts above and comments that every coach has heard and made about parents, has anyone ever asked themselves this very simply question ? Why do, time and again, well-meaning parents begin to act out of character as they get caught up in the emotional roller coaster of their child's competitive situation? Not to oversimplify, because the issue of sports-parents is huge but in my humble opinion, the answer to the above question can be related to three fundamental factors. Essentially the issue is that for parents, the youth sports experience ....
The question is often asked, is competition bad for children? We should also ask be asking, "Is being a parent of a competitive youth sports participant bad for parents?" Sometimes, a child isn't old enough for a parent to handle the stress of competition. Another huge problem that is ever growing in youth sport is the notion of sports-specialization. The trend toward early specialization makes me uneasy. The issue of specialization in youth sports is often associated with some of the more high-profile and individual sports as figure skating, gymnastics, tennis or golf. However the potential is present whenever a family faces decisions on how to help a talented child progress to the next level. The potential for exploitation is high whenever youngsters become involved in high-intensity training programs. It is difficult for many thirteen-year-olds to remain committed to such a program, whether the sport is gymnastics, football, swimming, or pretty much any sport which is seemed as a gateway to university scholarship, professional payday or Olympic glory, but it is more likely when a determined parent insists that the child continue or risk being labeled a "quitter." Here are some questions to ponder:
It is disturbing how the numbers of kids are dropping out of sport at alarming rates. This is due to many reasons including the perception of instant gratification, availability of other options, dependence of video games etc, but the fact remains that kids aren't playing sports as they once did. Ask these kids why they are quitting sports and you will probably get answer like;
Now those three are the most obvious and common of the negatives in youth sports, the ones that actually are probably known about and in the larger picture, might not have lasting effects on a child's development or leave long last issues in their lives. However, more and more, in the news we are hearing about three other problems and in my opinion significantly more troubling problems in sport. Problems that do seriously affect the health, welfare and well being of kids and into their adult lives. What are these three problems? - The endangerment of young athlete's health, both physical and mental - The cases of sexual abuse. - Violence in youth sport. So if we take each of those one at a time. The aspect of young athlete's health and some of the related situation seem to have grown in recent years. Or perhaps they were always just as present but are simply more reported and with the growth of social media, the news spreads quickly. There certainly seems to be a much higher incidence of such problems as eating disorders, overuse injuries, use of performance enhancing drugs, and alcohol abuse.
These serious health problems would be cause for concern even if they affected only older, more committed athletes. But when we see evidence that these problems are filtering down to younger athletes and even at less competitive levels, we should be deeply concerned. No trophy or medal or national championship is worth destroying the health of even one child. Cases of Sexual abuse; The US gymnastics scandal involving their federation approved doctor, the Canadian ski coach, the recent news in my sport with the former Whitecaps and U20 national team coach, go back to Graham James in hockey, these are just a few small examples of abuse suffered by younger athletes, at the hands of their coaches. One of the worst violations of the trust we place in the youth sports system is when young athletes are sexually abused. Coaching youth athletes is an important responsibility precisely because coaches are in a position of power in their relationships with children and adolescents. Coaches who abuse that power and have sex with young athletes are a very small minority (although, due in part to the shame and secrecy associated with such abuses of power, it is hard to know how extensive the problem is). Their existence requires that parents keep a watchful eye on their children. Parents who shirk their responsibilities for their child and allow the young athlete to live with, or be in the care of, a top coach may be making a much more serious mistake than the overinvolved parent. Finally, violence in sport: A few simply examples of the violence in youth sports. Parents influencing their kids to "get" opponents by encouraging physical play, parents screaming at official and refs, must of whom in youth sport are teenagers themselves, parents confronting coaches about decisions, playing time and favoritism, parents from opposing team getting into verbal or even physical confrontations on the sidelines, these are but a few. Apologists for this sort of behavior point out that professional sports on television are often violent, such as some the big hits we see in hockey and football. But this argument really has nothing to do with the violence associated with youth sports. The parents just mentioned are not imitating the pro athletes they see on television - that violence takes place within the game. What is disturbing about the violent behavior we see on the sidelines and in the stands is that it takes place outside the game. Once again, these parents are out of control, behaving in blind response to feelings of anger and frustration generated by watching youth sports. Despite these problems, I still believe that youth sports programs can do a great deal of good for children and for families. There are many positive aspects of organized sports for children. But if we are to improve the programs we offer to our children, we need to acknowledge and confront the problems. Not only do we need to understand that youth sports are not just "games for kids," but we also need to understand the important roles they play in our society and the powerful psychological pressures they exert on children, families, and communities. We need to realize that youth sports programs are for adults as much as children - perhaps more so. Until we recognize this fact, we will not be able to organize programs that meet the needs of these involved adults and best meet the children's needs. Female coaches are essential for the survival of youth sport. There, I said it, not only did I say it, I believe it. Look it up, do some research and by pretty any type of report, article or study you might find, it will indicate that female coaches probably make up as little as 15% of all youth sport coaches, and for some of the traditionally male dominated sports or for boys teams, the number is probably somewhere in the area of one-third of that percentage.
Why ? At a time where volunteers in youth sport overall seem to be dwindling, how can we ignore such an untapped market for potential coaches? The reasons for the relative lack of women coaches are many. At the core, it remains result of gender bias and stereotyping that males are more competent and authoritative when it comes to sports than women. Most women at the youth sports level simply "go with the flow," with the result being perpetuation of the sharp division of labor in youth sports along gender lines (men as coaches and women as team parents). And when women are given coaching roles, well of course, they can coach girls since they can relate, it isn't as competitive and a bunch of other BS reasons. Unless of course the position of coaching girls or women is paid, then men will line up to coach since they are better equipped. The trend also continues because let's face it the majority of decision makers remain to this day male. So many male athletic directors, whether they be at the college, high school, or club administrators at the youth sport level, still tend to hire, or in the case of youth sports, appoint, other men as administrators, coaches and assistant coaches, which just maintains the disparity. What to know a little secret? Competent coaches aren't born, they are trained. Boys who become men aren't automatically better coaches than girls / women, on the simply basis of their gender. Coaching ability is learned and given that there are a multitude of coaching styles possible, these are based on character traits, not gender traits and therefore, there is no reason why female coaches can't be groomed and taught to be just as competent if not moreso then male counterparts. The absence of equitable if not equal proportions of male to female coaches in youth sport, are in my opinion, one of the most backward traditions in sports today. When youth sports are lacking sufficient volunteers to take on coaching roles, women, particularly, mothers, are, the greatest untapped resource in youth sports. In fact, there are many reasons why woman, far from being ill-equipped to be good youth sports coaches, actually have natural advantages over men when it comes to coaching at that level and make excellent youth sports coaches. Women are natural teachers, and women generally have a better overall capacity to be organized and prepared to provide a quality experience to all kids involved. Not to mention that as leaders, Women tend to be less authoritarian. Women tend to lead by consensus, a leadership style that even boys prefer, rather than employing a more authoritarian form of leadership. Women tend to connect by empathizing and establishing relationships.A mother's instinct to be a calming influence and peacemaker and to want to emphasize how every player is the same, not different, serve her well as a youth sports coach, where playing favorites or allowing teammates to bully or tease other teammates can create a hostile psychological climate. Women are natural nurturers. Science ( and common sense) has proven that women are generally more adept than men at detecting mood from facial expression, body posture, and gestures, and thus knowing if a child is unhappy. Because they tend to be more emotionally open and have good communication skills, mothers are able to motivate and relate well to players, which is essential if a child is to have an enjoyable sports experience. Women tend to want to find a balance between competition and cooperation. A woman's focus is more on teamwork, arising out of her belief that the best result comes when everyone contributes and the most is gotten from everyone's individual talents. Women tend to reject the common supposition that competition must consist of winning and losing and of displays of power, dominance, and control, for better or worse. Women will coach not for self validation or self-gratification but rather for the overall good of the participants. Some men, as we all can attest to if we are honest, with live their competitive aspirations through their athletes. Women are process- rather than result-oriented. This is what youth sports should be all about: an emphasis on the process (developing skills, both physical and social, and having fun) rather than the result (wins and losses). Mothers are more prone to want to protect children from the pressures of the adult world. As coaches, mothers tend to resist the concept, increasingly prevalent in today's youth sports, that intentionally exposing children to the harsh realities of the adult world (cut-throat competition, sorting out of winners and losers) at ever earlier ages is somehow a good idea. Furthermore, women have been socialized to place a high value on sportsmanship. One of the most important lessons a youth sports coach can teach players is the value and importance of good sportsmanship. Beyond sport, women can be good at teaching boys healthy masculinity. Female coaches can teach male athletes that they don't have to conform to society's male gender stereotype by hiding their emotions, pain and injuries; that it is possible to be emotionally open and still be a man. Some of the issues that we see in sport in terms of aggression, lack or respect among peers or worse still of male athletes ( or men in general) toward female athletes or girls / women in general, does not have as a root cause, men, athletes or sport themselves. The issue is adults who forget what it is like to be a child and impose ‘real man' values into youth sport. When there are female coaches, it challenges the notion of male supremacy and directly challenges the patriarchal notion that maleness is a key prerequisite for coaching and for leadership." In other words, more woman coaching boys could, by changing the way men think about masculinity, help destroy the myth that women are somehow lacking the qualities to be leaders in society. Women coaches are role models for girls and teach them to celebrate being a female athlete. Women coaches break down gender stereotypes by proving that women can be just as competent and tough as men. The presence of woman in large numbers as coaches at the youth sport level would help boys and girls see that "women can coach, thus affecting their vision of how sports systems operate. Let's be very honest, there is, as of yet, no glut of mothers volunteering in youth sports. Mothers either don't volunteer to coach, are told they aren't needed, or are only needed to fill traditional roles, like team administrator. So, bottom line, any mother who wants to coach should be able to coach. It is that simple. It is up to everyone to break the cycle, to tear down the traditional bias and barriers that prevented and still prevent women from joining the coaching ranks in all sports, both genders at all levels. I repeat by assertion, FEMALE COACHES ARE ESSENTIAL FOR YOUTH SPORT |
AuthorAfter many years of coaching at various levels and with different teams, I thought I would share some of my experiences and thoughts about coaching. Archives
January 2023
Categories
All
|