Coach education as a female coach
Some thoughts after my recent coaching course with the Crusaders
Sometimes, being a female coach is hard, especially when in a coach education setting. I’ve often been the only female in the room.
I’ve encountered different examples of gender bias. I’m often perceived as female first, coach second.
For two weeks at the end of May, I was in New Zealand on a coaching course run by the Crusaders and their international academy.
It was amazing. Not just because I spent two weeks at Rugby Park, Crusaders HQ learning from brillian people. It was because I felt seen as a coach.
I was embraced as a coach. Not just by anyone who delivered on the course, but by players from the International Academy and fellow attendees.
It’s left me feeling confident about my practice. I feel supported and energised. It’s also got me thinking about coach education and my past experiences.
How do we create supportive education environments for all coaches?
I don’t have definitive answers.
There is absolutely a place for female-only coach education courses. The supportive collective that occurs from women supporting women in sport is amazing.
I’ve been on a female-only course, I loved it.
I also loved being on the Crusaders course, with a mixture of male and female coaches.
At the moment, not all coach education systems are equal. I worry that a growth of female coaches doesn’t automatically equate to a fully supportive coach pathway and education.
I want all coach education systems to leave people with the same feeling I have after the Crusaders course.