Congratulations you have been hired because you are a woman. You will now be the role model for all the girls in our program!

Congratulations you have been hired because you are a woman. You will now be the role model for all the girls/women in our program! 

 

The complicated position of female coaches as role models and defacto representatives of all women…

 

Itarare - GroupCoaches are often seen as role models. It is an unwritten part of the job that applies to anyone who coaches, no matter the level or gender. The parent who coaches the local town U8’s can have as much impact on the players in their care as the National team coach has on those at the highest level. It is a part of the job that must to some extent be both accepted and embraced. Unfortunately, the idea that a woman should be hired because the players need a “female role model” leads some to dismiss the value of the other qualifications she brings to the position. Given that women are a minority in the coaching ranks, they often find themselves in the position of being seen as representing all women.

 

I have been offered college jobs where one of the requirements was to relate to, and be a role model for, the young women on the team. While not written in any job description, it was either directly or indirectly said by the usually male head coach doing the hiring. My experience and qualifications became an afterthought so long as I met the one requirement that I met the day I was born. I was female. Not only does this practice diminish the experience and quality of the woman being hired, but sets up a system where no matter your qualifications there is always the assumption, right or wrong, by some that you were hired only because you were a woman.

 

At the club level, where there are even fewer female coaches than at the collegiate level, it is not uncommon to hear something along the lines of “I am so glad that the club hired a woman, the girls really need a role model.” Now, not only am I expected to do the job I was hired for as a coach, but as the only woman I am to be a role model to ALL girls in the club. No pressure.

3703446164

If there are only a few women on a staff they are seen as representative of all female coaches. Whether a good coach or not. Whether professional on the field and off. Whatever she does and how she interacts with others is how many will see and judge all female coaches. As a result when a woman is hired for a position she is not qualified for, simply because she is a woman, and she fails it is seen as a failure by all women. Again no pressure.

 

The assumption often made is that female coaches should primarily work with female players. As a result of this, and the relatively small number of women coaches, particularly at the youth level, women are often assigned to the girls teams. As a woman can I not be a role model to both the girls and boys? If I am coaching a boys team, is it not possible to be a role model to the boys I am working with and to the girl who sees me and now thinks that she can do the same?

 

I accept that as a coach I am looked to as a role model. What I cannot accept is the unattainable expectation that I be “perfect” in every way and represent all women. Just as all male coaches are not the same, all female coaches are not the same. While you may want to hire a female coach, hire her first for her abilities and let the fact that she is a woman be an added bonus. We are not interchangeable by gender alone. Our experiences, personality and abilities are our own. What shapes us as coaches, and as individual role models, is unique to each of us.

 


 

SarahFCN Ambassador: Sarah played soccer and lacrosse in college. A passionate supporter of sport-for-all, she relishes the opportunities soccer has provided her to travel and experience sport across the U.S. and in different countries. She is always looking for the next adventure that will expand the reach of sport, particularly for girls and women. With experience coaching at all three NCAA Divisions, and two trips to the NCAA tournament, Sarah is currently the Assistant Men’s Coach at Dutchess County Community College (NJCAA). She worked with US Youth Soccer’s Olympic Development Program in Eastern N.Y. for 8 years and served as director of the Girls North program from 2011-2015. Her current focus is on youth development and she works with clubs in New York and is the owner of SJI Training.