Youth Sports Coaches: More Teaching Needed

Submitted by The Coach Pickles on Sun, 03/15/2009 - 15:06. | comments

ESPN Analyst Jay Bilas Argues America needs more 'teaching' from its coaches.

Michael Messner

Secrets of Successful Women Coaches

Submitted by Michael Messner on Sat, 02/28/2009 - 23:31. | comments

There are very few women coaches in my community's youth sports leagues: only 13% in AYSO and 6% in Little League Baseball and Softball. While I found very little overt sexism or hostility toward women coaches, their stories told of informal (but very powerful) processes that discouraged them: being informally pushed away from coaching at the entry level; feeling a constant sense of scrutiny from other adults ("is she really qualified to coach my kid?"); being made to feel like an outsider in the midst of an "old boys' network"; having to contend with men's sometimes "intimidating" loud voices on the playing fields.

Michael Messner

Including More Women Coaches in Youth Sports: Why it Matters

Submitted by Michael Messner on Tue, 02/10/2009 - 21:17. | comments

Next month, millions of kids will retrieve their baseball and softball gloves from the bottoms of drawers or from under their beds. After a trip to the store to get some new cleats (after all, their feet have grown since last summer!), they will take the field for another Little League season. This is a Spring rite for kids, shallowly rooted in recent history, but often deeply rooted in family dynamics. Founded 1938 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, Little League Baseball expanded rapidly throughout the United States and Canada. By the mid-1950s, Little League Baseball was fully established as a major institution with 4000 leagues in the United States, and further growth into Mexico and other nations.

Prospective women coaches face barriers — mostly informal and unspoken — that divert them away from coaching. Most of the few women who do coach leave after a year or two, after finding the league to be dominated informally by a less-than-supportive “old boys’ network” of coaches. This as a problem that needs to be fixed.

Women Can Be Coaches

A recent study confirms what most already know: the vast majority of those coaching our children are men. For women - particularly mothers - who want to break into the coaching ranks there are lots of obstacles but becoming a coach is not impossible. Here's some advice from one mother who bucked the system and became a successful soccer coach.

Gender Divide in Youth Sports Persists, Study Says

A new study confirms what many sports parents have long known: the gender divide in youth sports is no different than in the home and the workplace: the vast majority of head coaching slots are men, and nearly all of the team mom positions are held by women, many reluctantly.

Like Mom, LIke Son: The Rewards of Coaching Youth Sports Are A Family Affair

A mom tells how she gained a new appreciation for coaching after becoming a mother; a love for coaching that her son now shares.

? For Those of You Who Coach Your Own Child...

PARENTS HOW ARE YOU ADJUSTING TO HIGH SCHOOL IS THE QUESTION?

Women Coaches and Administrators: Reversing The Decline in Numbers

The rate of growth in female sport participation since the passage of Title IX in 1972 has been phenomonal, but the persistent decline in women coaches and athletic administrators is at once noteworthy and troubling. A leading expert offers recommendations on reversing this trend.

Coach, Be Consistent

Submitted by Stacie on Fri, 09/12/2008 - 08:31. | comments

When you learn about raising children, you hear about consistency. When you learn about working with animals and training animals, you hear about consistency. This key of consistency also applies to coaching softball as well.

Coaching