Developing female coaches: strategies from women themselves

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore strategies for the development of aspiring female coaches based on the ideas of existing high-performance female coaches. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with national-level female coaches in the United Kingdom, four recurrent ideas for developing female coaches in a male-dominated profession emerged. These were (1) role modelling and mentoring, (2) greater frequency and quality of coaching opportunities, (3) the creation of supportive networks, and (4) a policy of positive discrimination. Using a feminist cultural studies conceptual framework, this paper highlights how a culture dominated by masculine hegemony restricts the participants' opportunities for career development. Their experiences also reveal a lack of responsibility taken by governing bodies for the development of aspiring female coaches. As a result, I make a call for the inclusion of a more complex, sustained programme of socio-cultural education for coaches to inform women of the reasons for their underrepresentation as coaches, and call for greater action and leadership to be taken by sporting governing bodies.

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