Women Can Coach Men. Women Can Coach Anyone.
We all heard the big news about the superbowl, not the fact that the Kansas City Chiefs won and JLO had a killer performance, but the fact that Katie Sowers was the first ever female coach to coach in the Superbowl. This blog post is not a biography of Katie, nor a feature on her success, but rather an analysis of why women can coach male sports (however, a biography of Katie and her accomplishments is the first link down below). Thus, Sowers is just one example that supplements the idea and shows women that they can.
The Institute for Diversity and Ethics and Sport (TIDES) conducted research and as of March 2019, found that women hold only 40.8% of all head coaching jobs for women teams, 8.6% of the head coach positions of men’s Division I teams, and other interesting statistics. According to these facts, female coaches even have less representation coaching fellow females than male coaches do. So if male coaches can coach women, why is the opposite unacceptable and unexpected?
When analyzing why people may not view women as qualified to coach male sports, we can consider a few ideas. First, women may not play the sport their coaching at the same physical level men are, making their experience put into question. For example, it might be hard for males to consider a female coaching Patrick Mahomes, when no female player has ever reached the same level of physicality or have experienced playing at that level. This example is most prominent when discussing women coaching football, as there is currently no high school, college, or professional football teams for women. Anyone who has ever played a sport before can attest that one of, if not the, main thing they look for in coaches is experience. Experience allows the players to build trust with their coaches. Trusting the words they preach, the plays they run, and the practices they plan. However, we must refute this argument and say that physical strength limits (as in it would be difficult for a woman to make a male NFL team due to biological differences) do not define qualifications. It is possible to still become an expert in something by observing and studying it. This logic applies here. Additionally, female coaches still have experience that they can provide to their team. They can appreciate the student athlete grind, the mental strength required, the dedication given. They can empathize with the injuries, the long nights, the tough losses.
So really, when critiquing the abundance of experience, we cannot just discuss the lack thereof, but also must include the level of access female athletes have to certain sports. To repeat, there are currently no high school, college, or professional football teams for women. Young girls around the world do not have the same exposure to sports like football, basketball, and soccer at such a young age. How can we expect female coaches to experience the same as male athletes when the system does not provide them with the same opportunities? This is no reason to not welcome a female coach with open arms, but is rather a reason to further praise her qualifications and successes as a coach despite certain limits.
Another reason why we may not see as many female coaches in the industry is because of societal norms. When we as a society think of leaders, we automatically think male. This is due to the way our world has been set up for centuries, the building blocks on which our history was built. We want a coach to be a good leader, to evidently lead us to victory. But we all (no matter the gender) need to think: when we think leader, who do we see?
How can we expect female coaches to experience the same as male athletes when the system does not provide them with the same opportunities? How can we expect females to get hired as a coach of a victorious team when we think leader, we also think male?
Ability to coach males, and being successful coaching males, is not the question. In fact, having a coach of any gender will not determine the results. So ability is not the question. Women are capable of running Fortune 500 Companies, having a voice in Congress, fighting in war. Women are capable of coaching a middle school soccer team or an NFL team.
So next time you encounter a female coach, no matter what gender you identify as, treat her with the same level of respect. Provide her with the same amount of trust. Have faith in her experiences, her struggles. Know that she is capable. Think of her in the same light you think of any other coach. She deserves at least that.
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