Why Female Athletes Decide to Become Coaches

Questions

The various studies on which this article is based were of considerable help to me in describing and endeavouring to explain the precarious situation of female coaches. However, the studies have not yet enabled women to increase their involvement as coaches. The latest Canadian statistics show that women hold only one-quarter of coaching positions (Sports-Québec, 2000; CAC, 2002). Given the continuing under-representation of women in Canadian coaching, the specific goals of this article are to

describe female athletes’ perception of the profession of female coach in terms of the positive and negative aspects they see in the job
describe why some female athletes are planning to become coaches and others are not
describe female coaches’ assessment of their impact on their female athletes’ decision whether to become coaches.

I conducted four group interviews with high performance female athletes who could eventually become coaches. I also conducted four one-on-one interviews with their female coaches.

Interviewees

The interviewees were 18 athletes who are members of university teams and potential coaches and four women who coach these athletes. Three types of sport are represented: 10 athletes and one coach are in basketball (segregated team sport), six athletes and one coach are in badminton (mixed sport, doubles), and two athletes and two coaches are in triathlon (mixed multi-discipline sport). The athletes were selected on the basis of the following criteria: old enough to be a coach (at least 18 years of age), a high-performance athlete and therefore possessing solid technical and tactical knowledge, and coached by a woman.

Who are the athletes? Fourteen of the 18 athletes have already acted as coaches when in high school or junior college. They do not coach at university because the training demands are too heavy. Nonetheless, 10 coach at summer sports camps run by university clubs. Note that the summer camp context is different from the typical coaching context in that camp coaches supervise different groups of young people each week and all the planning is in the hands of the camp director. They focus on developing technical skills, have no planning responsibilities, and do not have to deal with the pressure of competition because all games and events are “exhibition”.

Who are the coaches? The basketball coach has been head coach for 18 years, has a master’s degree in education, played five years at university, and was twice invited to national team selection camps. The badminton coach is in her 11th season with the team. She has a bachelor’s degree in physical education and played for five years on the team she now coaches. The triathlon coaches are assistants. One has four years’ experience as a university athlete and two as a coach. The other has 10 years’ experience as an athlete and two as a coach. At the time of the interviews, they were in charge of the beginner athlete group.

Structure of interviews

Each group interview with the athletes was in three parts. The first focused on the athletes’ overall perceptions of the profession of female coach. They were asked to indicate what they thought of female coaches’ roles and responsibilities. It was at this stage that they stated the positive and negative aspects of the profession. The second part focused on the difficulties they might face if they wanted to become coaches and once they actually were coaches. In the third part, they were given an opportunity to make suggestions on what structures could be set up to help them become coaches and describe what the ideal situation for female coaches might be.

Each one-on-one interview with the coaches was in two parts. First, I questioned them on their sports background and coaching experience. Then I asked for their assessment of their impact on their athletes.

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le Journal en français

JULY 2004
Vol. 4, No. 5
Front Page
CONTENTS

Why Female Athletes Decide to Become Coaches — or Not

Introduction

Current Knowledge of Under-Representation of Female Coaches

Questions

What the Athletes Said

What the Coaches Said

Conclusion

References

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