Molly McKeon is an Ultimate Frisbee Coach from Seattle, USA. Working in a coffee shop by day, Molly juggles her coaching commitments in the evenings from Monday to Friday working hard as Head Coach of her local high school team.
Molly is also a player for the Seattle Riot Ultimate Frisbee Team who won the World Championships in 2014 and gets her own workouts done when her last team player has gone home.
Tell us about Ultimate Frisbee and how you originally got involved with the sport?
I first got started playing ultimate in college at Saint Martin’s University in Olympia, WA. My friend Paul and I were throwing the disc and the ultimate club saw that I could throw and asked if I would like to play with them a few times a week. I instantly got hooked to running as hard as I could after a piece of plastic. Later I joined the Olympia ultimate community in leagues as well as their summer code travelling team. I then moved back to Seattle and got involved with various league teams which led me to more competitive teams as well as coaching.
How many hours do you dedicate to coaching each week and how do you fit this around your family / working / social life?
The main time of the year I coach is during the spring from the end of February to the middle of May. During that time I’m coaching Monday through Friday from 2:30-5:30 (at least 3-4 hours each day depending on if the team has a game and how long it takes to get to and from the fields as I’m in charge of?transporting them to and from practice/games). I have a full time job on top of doing this so when the season starts I get to work no later than 6:00am and leave around 2:00pm so I can still get my work done but be able to leave for coaching. My family and social life happen when everyone on the team has left to go home. This is usually when I do my own workout.
Throughout the year my club team puts on clinics geared toward making women better at ultimate no matter what their experience level. I also play in a coed beginner ultimate league where I get to help adult men and women try something new and improve over a few months of playing.
What is the situation with female coaches and leaders in Ultimate Frisbee? Is it equal with male coaches and leaders?
Overall I would say that there are more male coaches/leaders because numbers wise there are more men playing than women. However, in Seattle I want to say it’s pretty close to even. Most of my club team coaches at some point during the year (if not the whole year) and they’re all women. Women’s ultimate is becoming more and more popular every year so I wouldn’t be surprised if it became equal soon.
Have you ever experienced discrimination / negativity due to your gender as a coach?
I deal more with the fact that on first glance people who meet me assume I am a teenage or collage aged boy because I look really young and have a short hair cut when in fact I’m a girl in her late 20’s.
What advice would you give to a coach just starting their coaching career?
Be adaptable and be there for who you coach. If how you’re explaining something and its just not working, try something else. Constantly try to improve. Also, you’re around those you coach so much you get to know them. You’re not just there to make sure they’re good at ultimate, you’re there to make sure they’re healthy mentally and physically.
What is your favourite thing about being a coach?
I love it when a student or an adult successfully does something I know they’ve been working really hard at. Things as easy sounding as catching can be very tough to get the hang of and when they do it successfully they know their hard work paid off. I also love introducing the fun spirit games we play to them like Air Cupcake (literally throwing a cupcake into the air and trying to catch as much in your mouth/on your face as possible.).
What are your future ambitions as a coach?
I would love to start a continuous workshop geared toward beginner/intermediate women that want to improve at ultimate and feel happy comfortable while doing it.
