Last year there were 294,000 females playing soccer in the youth sector and 61,000 woman playing in the senior divisions. Of Canada's 850,000 footballers in 2011, 355,000 were female. ( http://www.canadasoccer.com/files/CSA_2011AR_EN.pdf )
Where do all these women go? Why don't they coach or officiate? Before you simplify the answer, there is a lot to consider.
I found a great Q&A Fact site at the Coaching Association of Canada website on this page here. I also found a good article at time.com .
The odd thing is that female participation at the higher levels is increasing, and the percentage of female coaches is decreasing. As more coaching jobs become higher profile and more lucrative on the female side, men are migrating there for a piece of the action.
If young female athletes don't see female coaches and referees, how will they ever envision themselves performing those duties as adults?
Wanting females to coach should not be thought of as politically correct, it should be thought of as a smart move for any organization. If females form 50% of the athletic population, that a tremendous waste of resources if they walk away.
The first thing to alter is the environment. Right now a woman coaching is doing so in a man's world. Sport scheduling and formats revolve around a man's world. Female clubs need to encourage/mandate a qualified female coach (head or assistant) and a female manager/trainer on the bench . This gets their input, builds experience and provides role models for the players.
I coached Niagara College's Women's team 2008-2010. During that time, I felt 10-12 of those players would have made excellent coaches. Some have started coaching, but I wonder how many will follow through and stick with it.
More and more organizations are providing programs for women to get into coaching. But we need to set the system up to keep them long term.
No comments:
Post a Comment