FEARLESS COACH INTERVIEW PART 2; What is it that sparked the need to launch your project the “Fearless Coach“ and why do you advocate so loudly for women coaches? 

 

Meet Becky Carlson, the “Fearless Coach”  

Becky has been in NCAA college coaching (USA) for more than a decade and is passionate about not only Women’s NCAA Rugby, but is also an advocate for the health and welfare of our coaching population.  As a public speaker, equality advocate and coach, Becky has grown tired of the abundance of resources for sport specific technical skill building and sitting at endless seminars only to be left with no solutions on how to survive in the profession of coaching with this generation.

Becky believes our athletes are losing their ability to communicate with each other and therefore, with us, the coaches.  Becky is interested in connecting and assisting other coaches who are challenged daily through this profession with today’s generation.

 

“Athletics / sports remains a staple in a long line of vehicles used to create social change. I am a firm believer that if we have truthful conversations with the next generation, both male and female about equity and treatment, we can solve unfair hiring and ethical practices in athletics / sports.  Ultimately this will lead us to a healthier society with both women and men having equal representation in law making, policy development and in the workforce. If you are having trouble as a coach finding your voice and asking for more, please connect with me. We can all learn from one another.”

Becky Carlson – Fearless Coach 

 

As “Fearless Coach”, Becky is often the first to stand up for female coaches alike and share stories and examples of women being mistreated and discriminated against within the US NCAA System.  We wanted to find out from Becky where her passion for equality advocacy began and how she thinks the coaching profession can be improved for all.

Follow Becky on Twitter @TFCoachCarlson and visit her website for more information: https://www.thefearlesscoach.org

 

Over the next few weeks, we will be sharing videos and blogs created by Becky, but first, we will be sharing with you our interview…if you missed it check out PART 1 HERE

 


 

Q: What is it that sparked the need to launch your project the “Fearless Coach“ and why do you advocate so loudly for women coaches?  Have you also experienced discrimination first hand?

 

A: It stems from high school and college for me.

 

In high school I played baseball and that wasn’t a thing that women did.  The county and the state had their legal team’s totry and get me to quit. It didn’t work though!

 

When I was college, our team was treated as second class citizens and I noticed that.  I had a male coach who was very reticent to share exactly the ways in which the program was not treated equallyeven though it was painfully obvious!  I basically spoke out in the paper to the Athletic Director then – and we got what we wanted, but my relationship with the university was never the same after that.That honesty made change but put a back mark on me.

 

I then went to USA Rugby and took part in their initiative in growing rugby as an NCAA emerging sport and experienced again,women being second class citizens.

 

I followed that in lobbying with the NCAA where Athletic Directors. I attended countless conferences where AD’s would make comments about female rugby players and general bias about women playing a full contact sport.  I had a lot of engagement with people who had a lot of archaic sexism as a defence to not wanting to invest inopportunity for women.

 

So it’s a combination of all of those experiences that really had a huge impact on my life.  People on the outside might think the mission is relatively recent in development givenmycurrent experience in college athletics, but I have seen it through the lens of a young adult until now.

 

 


 

 

If you are a coach in the NCAA…share your thoughts and experiences below (anonymously if you wish) and visit Becky’s twitter page for more information  @TFCoachCarlson