“We are coaches”: Program tackles the under-representation of female coaches

“We are coaches” was a bold initiative when it was unveiled by the Coaching Association of Canada (CAC) in February 2006. Expectations were high that this unique approach to training women to become community coaches would pay big dividends in terms of filling what was perceived as a serious gap in the continuum of coaching in Canada. The instrument would be the National Coaching Certification Program’s (NCCP’s) Community Sport workshops delivered in “open and friendly forums”. Driving the concept was the determination to, first, launch a campaign to promote and publicize the fact that women can and should coach, second, deliver the training, and third, once their training was complete, provide the newly minted women coaches with follow-up support.

Université Laval professor Guylaine Demers, who has committed much time and effort to furthering the cause of women in coaching, was given the task of researching the “We are coaches” project. The Canadian Journal for Women in Coaching is indebted to her for sharing the story of the first three years of the program and the very encouraging preliminary findings. — Sheila Robertson