Chapter 4: Suggested Actions

  • Gather data to understand how long your coaches stay coaching your sport. Is there a difference between men and women? Are there any patterns around the age at which a coach starts or drops out of your sport, or the level they drop out at.
  • Issue a questionnaire or encourage clubs to use an ‘Exit Questionnaire’ to collect feedback from coaches who exit /decide to stop coaching in their club.
  • Write a set of guidelines encouraging clubs to establish coaching networks, or opportunities for coaches to connect, network and learn from one another within the club. For example, monthly coaching forums online or in the clubhouse where certain topics are discussed.
  • Establish a coaching network for all women coaches in your sport. For example, this may involve four online forums a year where they hear from a guest speaker. It also means the sport has a contact group when sending out the latest information on coach development and other news.
  • Link up with another sport and establish a joint coaching network. This can provide an opportunity for coaches to be exposed to different ideas and concepts when it comes to coaching. Have you got networking initiatives/opportunities for women coaches? E.g. An annual conference for coaches? An annual conference/forum for women coaches?
  • Set up a Women in Coaching group on LinkedIn and/or Facebook. Use it as a platform to promote female coaches, share interesting stories, coaching tips/guidelines, coaching books to read, etc. 
  • Develop a set of guidelines for clubs on how to support coaches through life transitions. This might include the follow suggestions:
    • Offering the coach time off.
    • Encourage a ‘back to coaching’ programme/workshop. All clubs host a back to coaching week where they promote recruiting coaches and inviting past coaches to re-engage.
    • Increase the number of coaches per team so that not all the responsibility falls on the women coach.
    • Make part-time coaching an ok thing, e.g. A new mom may not be able to commit two evenings away from home so it’s ok to coach one evening a week.
  • Add content to coaching workshops/modules to highlight life-transitions and the impact it can have on coaches, and ways for the coach/club to manage these, and support the coach.
  • Run an annual survey for women coaches. Publish results/findings and show one or two key actions that the organisation wants to implement based on the coaches’ feedback.
  • Send a virtual Christmas card to all coaches thanking them for the time they give to volunteering/coaching.
  • Encourage clubs to run annual surveys with their coaches seeking feedback on how the club can support them.
  • Encourage clubs to run ‘Coaching Social Nights’ (or similar) for coaches to bond, get to know one another and feel a sense of belonging to the club.
  • Ensure the organisation, and advise clubs where necessary, that fair and transparent payment processes (where they exist) occur for all coaches regardless of gender.
  • Develop a ‘Player to Coach’ Transition programme for elite athletes. This programme might involve steps such as:
    • Running a coaching course for players interested in coaching.
    • Setting up coaching opportunities for players to assist with underage squads/athletes, provincial squads, development teams, schools/3rd level team/athlete training, etc.
    • Help the potential coach to develop a personal development plan for their coaching career.
  •  Support clubs to transition players to coaches. This might be providing tips to clubs such as: Offer to pay for athletes/players to attend a Foundation Level coaching course and link them up to help with underage athletes/teams in the club. Encourage all senior athletes/players to help train the youngest age group monthly.
  • Develop a campaign or ‘call to action’ for men to join in and support female coaches, e.g. ‘Male Champions of Female Coaches’. Create a week in the year where this tagline is used and all men are urged to find ways of championing women they know in coaching.
  • Have a way (e.g. social media/website) of congratulating all coaches who attend your coaching events

    (workshops and courses).
  • Analyse your current recognition and award events to ensure a fair gender representation.
  • Establish a ‘Female and Male Coach of the Year’ award if women are not reflected in current awards.
  • Profile female coaches on your website, e.g. interview them and post on your social media channels.
  • Profile and promote female coaches on your website via case studies and interviews.
  • Share profiles/case studies with other media outlets who could be interested in promoting the coach even further.
  •  Set up a Women in Coaching page on your sports website to tell stories and promote women coaches.
  • Utilise existing promotional opportunities by ensuring gender balance (i.e. on podcasts, interviews, on social media/website) so that females are highlighted.
  • Add images of women coaches to all coaching resources and all promotional material.
  • Spend time and budget to build up a bank of positive images of women coaching and participating and help your sport market itself as one that welcomes and values women in all aspects of your sport.
  • Write up guidelines for clubs to outline the importance of promoting female coaches and using images of female coaches on their websites and social media.