Making
the Case
Coaching as a Viable Career Path for Women
As author Penny Werthner
notes in her provocative article, “Making the Case: Coaching
as a Viable Career Path for Women”, a fundamental question for
Canadian sport has long been why we would need or want women in the
coaching profession. And when women are encouraged to aspire to the
highest levels of coaching, through programs such as the Coaching
Association of Canada’s Women in Coaching Program (WiC) and
its National Team Apprenticeship Program (NTAP), what is being done
to ensure that they continue to progress long after their involvement
with NTAP is past?
The participants in the Annual Women in Coaching Workshop,
held in March at Jackson’s Point, Lake Simcoe, Ont. Photo credit: Susan Kitchen
Until “Making the Case”,there were few
satisfactory answers. This article tackles the questions head-on and
provides straightforward and practical solutions. Penny began her investigation
by speaking to leaders of several national sport federations (NSFs)
that have supported NTAP in providing opportunities for women coaches
to work with their national teams at major Games. She then investigated
recent findings in gender differences in communicating and in learning.
Penny’s investigation strongly supports
the case for women and high performance coaching, confirms the importance
of NTAP to women coaches and their career prospects, and allows the
reader to feel cautious optimism — optimism, that is, if we
agree with Penny’s eminently sensible contention that the essential
ingredients for successfully developing women coaches at the national
team level are a supportive NSF, the identification of a coach who
demonstrates the desired talent and qualities, and the provision of
a structured mentor coach situation. Her answer for keeping women
in the system, “so simple and yet so seemingly hard to do in
Canada”, is salaried coaching positions, surely plain common
sense.
The challenge now facing WiC is to build on Penny’s
findings by putting in place mechanisms to keep women in coaching
once they reach the national team level. Then, and only then, will
women coaches be in a position to play a major, positive role in two
very important ways: one, in ensuring excellent individual and team
performances by Canada’s athletes and, two, in utilizing their
skills to the benefit of the Canadian sport system.
As indicated by the recent increase in government funding,
which reflects a multi-year commitment to sport, and the unequivocal
recognition from every sector in sport of the value of the coach to
performance, the timing is right. We foresee a future when NTAP apprentices
hold national team positions not because it is the fair and equitable
thing to do, but because of the skills they bring to the job and the
unique and valued contribution they make to athletic performance.
— Sheila Robertson
Coaching
Association of Canada and Gatorade Spark a Partnership
The
Coaching Association of Canada (CAC) and Gatorade recently announced
their partnership in support of CAC’s Sport Nutrition
program.
Under the terms of the agreement, Gatorade is
the supporting sponsor of CAC’s online “Sport Nutrition
for Athletes and Coaches” service designed for coaches,
athletes, parents, and leaders in high performance and developmental
sport. Gatorade will work closely with CAC’s Sport Nutrition
Advisory Committee (SNAC) to develop all the website content.
Gatorade also announces the establishment of the
Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI) Canadian Advisory Board,
which is made up of six sports nutrition professionals from
across Canada. The Advisory Board will be led by Lawrence
Spriet,Ph.D., of the Department
of Human Biology and Nutritional Sciences at the University
of Guelph. Together they will help raise awareness of the GSSI
and its extensive network of research north of the border and
will also conduct Canadian specific research. The Canadian research
is expected to begin in late 2005 and will focus on cold weather
training and hydration. The GSSI’s mission is to help
athletes optimize their health and performance through research
and education in hydration and nutrition science.
GSSI has conducted and published research and
educated sports health professionals and athletes on sports
nutrition and exercise science. The information provided to
athletes helps them understand how they can fuel themselves
so they not only perform better, but also feel better when training
or competing.
The GSSI website,
www.gssiweb.org , is an informative and educational site
where coaches and athletes can find a wealth of knowledge about
training, nutrition, injury prevention, and sport psychology.
The Women in Coaching Program
Coaching Association of Canada
Suite 300 - 141 Laurier Ave. W
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada
K1P 5J3
Phone: 613-235-5000
Fax: 613-235-9500
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