Successful community coaching programs reflect the people who run them as much as they do the sport organization. This is the first in a series of profiles of the people and the sport organizations that are participating in the “We are coaches” program to encourage more women to take up coaching.


Pam Naylor and her husband Ken are a dynamic duo when it comes to the Orleans Amateur Fastball Association (OAFA) in Orleans, Ontario, just east of Ottawa. Regardless of the formal roles they hold on the Board of Directors their success comes from being of one heart and one mind. They love both the game and the people who play it. They implemented the “We are coaches” program before the 2006 season. After the season ended Pam discussed the experiences.

“We got involved in the ‘We are coaches’ program to promote the sport of softball, and in doing so recruit coaches, something we tended to wait to do until player registration days in March and April for the houseleague programs,” says Pam. “Half our players are female. Until a photo shoot in October 2005, to launch the national ‘We are coaches’ promotion campaign, I never really questioned the number of women coaches we had, being one myself. The photo shoot and the national ‘We are coaches’ flyers and brochures encouraged me to try to make an effort to recruit more women.”

Pam started recruiting coaches in the Fall and Winter of 2005-06 “I talked to adults and to kids in the arena about whether their mother would coach, then I talked to their mothers.” There was no formal information session. “We did some community flyers and put ads in arena tournament programs and there was an article in the local paper about the program in February in conjunction with Women’s Day.” “We are coaches” information and recruitment took place at the “Learn to Play” booth set up by Softball Ontario at the Ottawa Capital Parents and Kids show in April. Pam also made sure the website www.oafa.org was updated and she and her husband talked to people personally: one on one. They advertised in local shops that women frequented.

The recruitment team was primarily Ken and Pam. “We approached both men and women about the possibility of taking on a coaching position. We spoke with them one-on-one on registration day.”

“We got responses from everything we did. One lady wanted to coach hockey. We referred her. If someone is interested we can help. There was a lady who wanted to get involved who had been to the Olympics.”

When the OAFA implemented the “We are coaches” program “we wanted to make the women feel more secure in the coaching role. We felt that a separate women-only coaching clinic was essential.” The feedback confirmed that this was the right approach. “Different things happened than where there were few, if any, women involved. There were times for discussions and the women were so much more social and talkative. The feedback was that it was great.”

Even when the OAFA did another training program with men and a few women “the women were the ones who started the conversations.”

One of the aspects that worked well was that the new coaches could make arrangements to coach with another person at the coaching training session. “We have part-time coaches who coach 25% to 50% of the time. We pair them with someone else who can be there more regularly. Whatever they give me I try to help make it work for them. I want to put them in a situation where they can be successful.”

During the season the OAFA held group practices to provide support and keep things interesting for the coaches and the players. “We put four teams together and put them through a variety of drills. From the 4 teams rarely would I have fewer than 36 kids. The younger levels would have a Learn to Play coordinator to set things up and to initiate the different drills. Each station had a different drill that was run by one or two of the coaches and as many parent volunteers as possible. The coordinator would watch how the new coach worked with the kids and give them feedback and support. We did this with the older levels of players too. I personally ran the 9 to 10 year old Mite girls’ group practices.”

The evidence suggests that the program worked well. Of the 32 women interested, 21 went to a women-only coaching clinic. Three went to the open clinic. Of the 24 who got the training and coached, 19 said they would continue to coach. Two moved away, two are undecided and one has an arrangement with her husband that they “switch” the child that they follow and she will be going to soccer with a different child this year.

For the 2007 season Pam and Ken are planning some other changes based on observation and feedback. “We’ll do more mentoring, without it being formal. This works well if they are paired with a more experienced coach. Women weren’t afraid to ask questions. This tends to be more ‘hands-on’ learning. With co-coaching they get to learn by the example of having someone more experienced at games and practices. We also plan to have someone available at games and practices to give them feedback and watch their progress over the season. Women who have been in the program could be future mentors.”

“During the season we plan to have more houseleague clinics for coaches and players to attend together. The coaches would assist qualified instructors/trainers with different and more advanced drills for the players. It will give the newer coaches some further insight into direction and planning.”

Pam also said that she encourages the coaches to phone or e-mail her for help or just to talk.

At the end of the season she organizes a special recognition for the coaches at the volunteer appreciation day with a gift memento for each coach.

In the off-season she would like to incorporate them in the fall and winter gym programs (pitching clinic and general skills) to help them continue their development and comfort level as a coach.

What advice would you give to a community starting up? “Definitely, you have to support whoever offers to help. Make it fun.” Being flexible about the co-coaching arrangements and the ability to coach with people they know and like is a key ingredient to the success.

The Coaching Association of Canada (CAC) is hoping to develop more community models like the OAFA through the “We are coaches” program. In communities across Canada, CAC is working with the Canadian Soccer Association, Hockey Canada, and Softball Canada to offer coach training sessions to women interested in becoming community soccer, softball, and hockey coaches.