Who is this Toolkit for?

All sports organisations are encouraged to use this toolkit on a regular basis. It should become the constant reference for all organisational planning relating to the coaching workforce (staff or volunteers) in sport. There is no one sport in Ireland that cannot benefit from understanding more on recruiting, developing or retaining women in coaching.

The main user of this toolkit is expected to be the strategic lead within an organisation tasked with overseeing the development and implementation of plans for recruiting, developing and retaining coaches in sport.

This toolkit and the key messages within it will also help CEOs, Board members, Performance Directors and other senior managers who play a vital and essential role in ensuring their sport caters equally for all coaches.

The following outlines the roles of those in sport in relation to women in coaching and the sporting environment.

• Key leaders and decision makers (CEOs, Directors, Board members) – to lead the cultural environment in which women feel valued and equal in sport, to drive change in their organisation to get more women into coaching and support the growth and effectiveness of these coaches; to assist in raising awareness and understanding of the current landscape and issues, set targets and aspirations, allocate resources and support achievement in these areas.

• High Performance Directors and Heads of Coaching – to support development of strategies, succession planning and take proactive steps to identify, develop, deploy and employ women at High Performance (HP) levels; to develop and sustain a pipeline of female coaches to support enjoyment, progression and wellbeing of all participants.

• Coach Developers and development staff – to identify, recruit and develop female coaches through specific interventions which enable access to qualifications, experience and deployment /employment into coaching roles for women at all levels; to allow women to thrive within sport and to develop a diverse, effective and sustainable coaching database. For the purpose of this toolkit, it is anticipated that Coach Developers will be the first point of contact for female coaches looking to enter and/or progress as a coach within their NGB and it is the NGB’s responsibility to ensure the Coach Developers are trained, supported and ultimately available to coaches.