pokes head in and looks around. Yep, I think this is the place. Ok. So, let's start thinking aloud I've got a jumble of thoughts but not a coherent (and possibly not consistent) view. I also have done zero actual research and am working on anecdotes and my own memory/knowledge of who's coaching and so forth. I also don't know what is required to get USSF coaching licenses. I suppose that I should start out by saying that I don't have a problem w/ men coaching women. It does bother me (of course) that men basically have twice the job opportunities since women are not hired to coach men. I am also bothered when the same male retread gets job after job with mediocre results. I do want to avoid ghetto-ization. There was one female head coach (Hayes) in the WPS at the start of the season. And additional female head coach (Lindsey) for about a month/month & a half. Hayes is a Brit. Lindsey American but didn't last the season. Both expansion clubs have hired men (Philly twice). I have the perception that more former female players in Europe have risen to top coaching levels than in the USA--more visible, anyway. Anyway, that's a start. I should prolly do some research b/f my next post. You know, like see if I can find any sort of numbers for male vs female head coaches in the NCAA Div 1. And look to see which former WNT players are currently coaching. Comments, thoughts, concerns, general derision?
A thread for the discussion of women as coaches at top levels. Although originally intended to be a discussion about the lack of female coaches in the U.S., I have no doubt this will also discuss women coaches around the world.
I'm just going through Frauen-Bundesliga. Not too impressive: Duisburg, Jena: women Bad Neuenahr, Tennis Borussia Berlin, Essen, Frankfurt, Freiburg, Hamburg, München, Potsdam, Saarbrücken, Wolfsburg: men By contrast, three out of four semifinalists at this year's EUROs were coached by women: Vera Pauw (Netherlands) Hope Powell (England) Silvia Neid (Germany). Coincidence?
As for my random thoughts/questions, here's a few. And much like you, I'm still doing some research on it myself. -- It seems to me that (a lot of) former top U.S. players don't choose to coach once they're done with playing. At least not like other countries. How many former USWNT players went on to coaching jobs? How many went on to coach a Div. I school or pro(ish?) club? -- Are they really not getting jobs because men keep beating them out, or are they simply not going out for the top jobs? Is it a matter of gender, or is it because the women may not be as qualified as the men? For instance, WPS. If you were Becky Burleigh (UF) or Jill Ellis (UCLA) would you walk away from that to coach in a league that may or may not be here in 5 years? Even coaches like Mark Krikorian (FSU) and Tom Stone (Texas Tech) didn't pop up on any WPS team this time, nor does it seem like they will in the future. This is probably going to be a nightmare of a thread , because I honestly can't put my finger on any one thing. There's so many possibilities and directions to go.
Off the top of my head from Norway: Margunn Haugenes, Goril Kringen, Hege Riise, Eli Landsem and Trine Lise Andersen. Gro Espseth also did an asst coach stint at her old club, and Nordby's just kicking off her career as a GK coach. Of those, Eli Landsem is the only one to have the highest UEFA Pro coaching license, with Kringen and Riise set to get theirs as well at the next session. (And don't forget Maren Meinert, Micol. I'd still consider youth national teams as being a top job.) Of course, maybe they're more visible since there's not as many other places for them to coach, unlike here in the U.S. They have the main women's league, with lower divisions, maybe a handful of sport schools or colleges, and that's about it. Here in the U.S. we have NCAA, NAIA, W-League, WPSL, etc.
Anyone know much about Marika Domanski-Lyfors? I sasw her a few times wwwhen she headed the SWNT, and liked her demeanor. Something didn't go well in China. Now she's apparently back in Sweden, coaching the cU-21 damlandslaget. Any of you have much impression of her? Does she follow WPS at all?
I still haven't done the research I promised I would do. Other things getting in the way. Instead, I'll provide a semi-useful list of former USA WNT players who I know are coaching or have coached. It should go w/o saying that this list is completely flawed since it relies upon my memory and desire to type (ie after about 8, I'll likely get tired. I'm lazy). I'm sure the helpful folks here will fill in my many blanks. April Heinrichs (NCAA: MD & UVA. WNT) anyone know what she's doing now? Carin Jennings Gabarra (NCAA: US Naval Academy) she is often noted as being a mystery as to why she hasn't taking "bigger" gigs. If it is simply a matter of location, the MD job alone has opened up several times. As have other DC area jobs. And I don't know that she's been involved in the youth nat's set up. Tracy Bates Leone (NCAA: Clemson & ASU -- I believe a "co-head coach" w/ her hubby. USA U19 or U17--I've forgotten) Carla Overbeck (NCAA assistant: Duke--seemingly no desire to head coach) Joy Fawcett (NCAA head coach: UCLA )(I think. maybe Cal Fullerton.) before she had kids but not coaching now, to my knowledge Shannon Higgins-Civoski (NCAA: MD and somewhere before MD in the DC area that I don't remember) Linda Hamilton (NCAA: University of North Florida --I cheated and googled her b/c I was curious as to her whereabouts.) Tiffany Roberts (NCAA: VCU "co-head coach" w/ her husband) Amanda Cromwell (NCAA: UCF. rumored to be a WNT assistant but the current site sucks and I can't get good info) Jill Ellis didn't have a WNT playing career but has coached at a high level in both the NCAAs and the youth national team set up. Lori Walker didn't get caps that I remember (but I could be wrong) and is head coach at OSU. And Lauren Gregg has no desire to coach anymore, right? All of this being said, I don't even know the licensing procedures for coaches in the USA. I should look that up. But then I'd have to go to the ussoccer site. (yes, I do have a bee in my bonnet).
Cindy Parlow has a youth coaching job somewhere in Triangle United (I think that's what it's called) in the Raleigh/Chapel Hill area.
Thanks. I should have remembered that. I saw her a week or so ago at a UNC game, even. I am not at all tapped into youth coaching and who is or is not coaching there. I did just see this announcement--pdf warning about a Canadian initiative. This seems to have more info on same initiative.
Yeah, I'm clueless on the youth scene. Never played soccer due to a medical condition. Seems like most coaches in the US have done at least some youth at some point. I'd love to see Cindy get into WPS coaching though. But I wonder if that's too much of a leap. I wonder how her PCD is. Seems like it can be permanent for some, but shorter term for others.
Shannon MacMillann used to be an assistant coach at UCLA as well but I believe I read she is now the DMCV Shark's director of coaching.
That would be correctamundo. You beat me to the punch on the Mac update. http://www.dmcvsharks.com/About/LeagueOffice.htm
The Swiss also have a female coach: Béatrice von Siebenthal. I just read an interesting comment saying that the Germans' success at the EUROs is due not least to the DFB's consistent policy of establishing women as coaches at both A team and youth level. Another comment adds that there is a lot to be said for the hypothesis that women know better how to deal with the teams than their male colleagues, who occasionally have a rather dictatorial approach. Many male coaches, of course, would have started out with boys or men before coming to women's football. I'm trying to remember which Frauen-Bundesliga coach it was who talked about the difference between coaching men and women's teams... if I find it again I'll post it here.
I cannot help but think its discrimination. I think many US women players want to coach, I dont think they are given the opportunities within the us soccer community especially in college. I think this is truly something that is unique to soccer. Softball for example is a whole different ball of wax. The MAJORITY of top players move on to coach college programs. Even though I think softball still sufferers its own issues of sexism in coaching (like how the national team has never had a female coach) there are nonetheless many more female coaches in softball. Also look at college basketball. Historically there have been a lot of female coaches and a lot of player coaches. I think there is still something very male dominant about soccer. Colleges have across the board hiring policies, so clearly its not as simple as pointing the finger at the athletic directors themselves. There is something within the soccer community itself that is leading to such a discrepancy compared to other sports.
Does anyone here follow NCAA women's college basketball? I ask because "a while back"* a bball blog I check out every couple of weeks had a couple of posts about female/male coaches in women's college basketball. sound familiar? In some quarters, "family pressures/concerns" (ie coaching takes up too much time if one wants to have kids b/c of course only women care for kids...) are seen as one of the larger obstacles for women coaches to enter and/or stay in the profession. The aforementioned blog later posted info on a survey of female coaches, done by I have no idea whom, which showed that for the group surveyed, family pressures were not the primary (or secondary) obstacles to their chosen career but work place issues (such as unsupportive athletic departments) and other gender in athletics related issues were. I wanted to post a link to that survey here but now I can't find it. I thought I had decent search skills but I'm getting nada. At times my memory is scarily good but then there are times like this where I wonder how I even manage to find my way to work in the morning. *I really have no idea when this thing came out. And now I question whether I saw it on the blog I thought I saw it on...
Doesn't someone keep figures on the ratio of fe/male coaches in women's bball? I thought I remembered reading something about that...(yes, again w/ the memory failings). I'm s-l-o-w-l-y looking at the various DI NCAA teams and counting the number of female head coaches and assistants. I'm doing that b/c I didn't find such info on a search of the NSCAA site or a (basic) google search. Does anyone have numbers or better resources cause I'm not going to make it through all the conferences anytime soon. (I've only done 8).
There's a report you can read here that breaks down the numbers for all college sports over many years. http://www.womenssportsfoundation.o...al-Study-Thirty-One-Year-Update-19772008.aspx It says 34.4% for Division I in 2008, which is fairly steady over the last 15 years, though it looks like it is higher than it was back in the 80's and early 90's
WPS team SkyBlue hire a Finnish woman for their next head coach. She's got some USA college coaching experience. I do find it interesting that the only two female coaches hired to be head coaches in WPS are not American (keeping in mind that SkyBlue claimed they were not going to hire Lindsey for 2010).
I remember reading an interview with the Potsdam head coach striking that topic. Might be worth a look. Not really. For whatever reason it seems there is a vacuum when it comes to the combination of female coach-American-soccer. When it comes to clichees/images I picture the `99 U.S. soccer heroes becoming the poster-girls for ideal soccer moms while their European counterparts did not have to fullfill that role model and went for influential positions. Exaggerating trends here ... still might hold some truth looking at who became what after their active career. I don`t even think it is based on country rather than national federation. Most names that come to mind have coached a WNT. In case of the strong (nowadays) German representation I am sure the women in power(!) are strictly looking to continue to install further female coaches/staff ... exactly knowing they have to break a cycle.
Mosan, I think there is more to than that but I don't think you're wrong, either. How's that for confusing I mean the most famous of the '99 "soccer moms," Joy Fawcett was in fact a successful college coach at one point. But, afaik, she's not coaching now. There are members of the '91 team coaching but it has taken longer (seemingly) for them to gain the sorts of visibility of coaches in Germany. Except, of course, April did get the WNT gig and was a successful college coach before that. (what's she doing now, besides leading occasional NSCAA coaching training sessions?).
Not sure how useful this is for most of you, but I just discovered that a qualitative study about female coaches in women's football was already published in 2006 (in German): [ame="http://www.amazon.de/Trainerinnen-Frauenfu%C3%9Fball-Eine-qualitative-Studie/dp/3778072102"]Trainerinnen im Frauenfußball[/ame]
Cricket, you say https://www.ecb.co.uk/video/685621/...ring-the-next-generation-of-women-cricketers- Football, you say
From Canada: "At the Canadian university sport level, where most full-time coaching positions are, the number of female head coaches is declining. These numbers are discouraging, especially considering the growing participation of women and girls in sport." More women and girls are playing soccer, but where are the female coaches? https://www.thechronicleherald.ca/s...ccer-but-where-are-the-female-coaches-372620/ (Archive) And Casey Stoney has advice: 6 tips for women coaching boys https://www.soccercoachweekly.net/soccer-coaching/blog/six-tips-for-women-coaching-boys/
Female coaches are still rare in men's football - Natasha Orchard-Smith was coaching the English club Arlesey Town (interviewed about it by Suzanne Wrack below). https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...m-football-arlesey-town-natasha-orchard-smith (Archive) In 2019 she left and is running a youth coaching company, 4 Corner Coaching.