Is there an advantage to having a female coach?

I've seen teams with female coaches and it seems to be a good role model for girls in fastpitch. I have seen male coaches who are patient with the players and teach as they coach. I have also seen male coaches who yell and scream for results. (Does that work with female athletes??) Just wondering what your thoughts are out there on this subject or if it is even an issue.

summerfun10 said:

I've seen teams with female coaches and it seems to be a good role model for girls in fastpitch. I have seen male coaches who are patient with the players and teach as they coach. I have also seen male coaches who yell and scream for results. (Does that work with female athletes??) Just wondering what your thoughts are out there on this subject or if it is even an issue.

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It depends on the female coach. Good players do not always make good coaches or even good role models.

I'd say there is an advantage to having a good coach, either male or female. I'm sure there are some female coaches that have an edge because they may have played softball, rather than some male coaches that have played baseball. I'm still amazed that softball is played at such a higher speed than baseball. But, there are some great coaches out there that have never played either. It depends on the coach, not the gender.

My DD, from a very young age, has tended to look for female role models (even before she was in sports). She has had contact with only a couple of female coaches and I think she would really like to have a female coach. Didn't work out that way this year. She would look up to any female coach, but as others have said I'd prefer she have a quality coach whether male or female. But a quality female coach would be ideal for her.

my dd has had male coaches. she has done very well with them. but girls will get along with other girls(coaches).

How' bout answering with rhetorical questions? Is there an advantage to having a mother in your life? Is there an advantage to having a female wife? Seriously, I think both men and women have something to offer. God bless all the coaches volunteering for an often thankless job.

I'm a female coach and I used to play ball in the travel and college level. I believe it does make a difference. I know many great male coaches who teach the game well, don't get me wrong, but the girls react to me differently than the men. We are on our 4th practice with a pretty new bunch of girls, and they already talk to me, joke with me and HANG on me like we've known each other for years. They don't respond at all like that with my male coaches and are still a little shy with them. Although my male coaches have as much to offer the girls as I do, they just plain react, respond, and produce differently for me. I can't explain it, but I like it!!

Ok, less generic answer. Klump is saying something that I have seen to a degree. I don't know if it's just a year of travel under her belt but with her female coach this fall my DD seems to be coming out of her shell a bit. On the other hand her male coach pushed her hard and I wouldn't trade that away for her first year of learning. I have no preference and I don't think my girls do either.

Although not all former players are good coaches. To be able to play well and to be able to break it down and teach it in a way the girls will understand are 2 different things. I know some great players who can't coach to save their butts. I've also seen some mediocre players who can teach the game much better than they can play it. When you find someone who played it well and can teach it well, that is when I think the advantage comes in.

I use to look for female coaches for my DD's, but I have found it doesnt matter if the coach is male or female. If they are a good coach they are a good coach. The gender of the coach is irrelevant IMO.

Klump said:

I'm a female coach and I used to play ball in the travel and college level. I believe it does make a difference. I know many great male coaches who teach the game well, don't get me wrong, but the girls react to me differently than the men. We are on our 4th practice with a pretty new bunch of girls, and they already talk to me, joke with me and HANG on me like we've known each other for years. They don't respond at all like that with my male coaches and are still a little shy with them. Although my male coaches have as much to offer the girls as I do, they just plain react, respond, and produce differently for me. I can't explain it, but I like it!!

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Klump hits on what I was really trying to express on my earlier post. My DD just reacts differently to a female coach and bonds much quicker to the female coach. Not that she doesn't listen to and respond to a male coach - her pitching/hitting coach is male and they get along well, just took a lot longer to build that trust and relationship. We'd take a good male coach over a bad female coach. But all things being equal I suspect she would respond better & sooner to a female. So to me that is the answer to the original question - yes, there could be a real advantage to having a (good) female coach.

Depends on the kid as well. Same bloodline one worked much better with females who were awesome, other it didn't phase one bit male or female. As long as they can coach, teach and help the girls, so be it.

summerfun10 said:

I've seen teams with female coaches and it seems to be a good role model for girls in fastpitch. I have seen male coaches who are patient with the players and teach as they coach. I have also seen male coaches who yell and scream for results. (Does that work with female athletes??) Just wondering what your thoughts are out there on this subject or if it is even an issue.

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I have seen female coaches who yell and scream as well. You see more males do it because there are more male coaches. Not sure how we could establish a "percentage" of who does what one way or the other.

I think a good coach gets what they need out of the players regardless of gender. I know several very very good female coaches on different layers. Males as well.

In my DD's case, she tends to be quiet, more focused on doing her job,and her feelings seem to be more easily hurt when it comes to male authority. With female coach, more relaxed, talkative and has more fun playing softball!

summerfun10 said:

I've seen teams with female coaches and it seems to be a good role model for girls in fastpitch. I have seen male coaches who are patient with the players and teach as they coach. I have also seen male coaches who yell and scream for results. (Does that work with female athletes??) Just wondering what your thoughts are out there on this subject or if it is even an issue.

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are you saying female coaches dont holler.we have had several coaches with us in past few years one of the women coaches was the loudest yet.and me i virtually never scream raise my voice a little but mainly pull them aside and talk to them

My dd's org. uses both male and female coaches. The male coaches are usually the managers and they try to have at least one female (current or former college player) to help them. This way they have someone on hand if there is a "delicate" injury and the parents are not there (common at 16U). The girls also enjoy the female coaches for the fun side of things as well as the teaching. After Nationals, when their college player was saying goodbye, there was not a dry eye in the group.

The best coach in our league is female. She has played and is experienced. I'm very happy to see that and happily submit to her knowledge when we are on the same team. Just like any other coach but I am ESPECIALLY happy when that happens.

I won't grade myself... but.. it took me many years (probably 2 of 8) of coaching b-ball to figure out what works best for connecting with girls. Then I jumped into rec softball and was lost again on connecting with them. Now after 3 years in travel I'm doing pretty well with relating. The point is it took honest personal critiquing to get to the point where I'm "ok" with connecting but know it's not over...now the girls joke, kid, and poke fun at me from the very second I open my car door. I will say we (Static) have been trying to get female coaches at the top positions more now than ever due to the fact that the "man vs. woman" thing for the girls is behind them at day one plus the likelihood is higher (but not always true) to have them knowing the game more intimentally due to playing before. Now, whether or not the coaching is good or bad... that's as others have said...person dependent. Ultimately it's not just coaching... it's whether or not the male/female can see what is necessary to connect with the girls and adjust their style to match the team's (dd's) needs and ultimately have to work to make it effective "coaching" regardless of gender.

Mini-hijack...This debate could be put out on the national level and you can consider teams such as Pat Summitt's Tennessee BBall team http://www.utladyvols.com/sports/w-baskbl/mtt/summitt_pat00.html vs UCONN's team headed by Geno Auriemma http://www.uconnhuskies.com/sports/w-baskbl/mtt/auriemma_geno00.html. I know there are plenty of softball Div I examples but this one has been debated before in the media and I like it .

Not to answer a question with a question, but here it goes...On the other hand, would a female coach work for a High School football team....??

While attending a NFCA convention in 2004, the speaker pointed out women are wired differently and want more information by nature and that girls can be as competitive as any boy however they want to know how to do it (perform the activity required) and do not like to make mistakes whereas the boys will usually just jump in and try it. She pointed out that in her WNBA career she was going for a ball out of bounds and did not get it and her coach screamed he had boys that tried harder than she did and it it did not sit well with her. The coach tried to buddy up to her and for the next four days she did not speak to him unless it was mandatory. She said he was a good coach however he did not know how to handle women.

The speaker pointed out that in the room there were about 1,100 coaches and mainly men coaching women. She stated she did not want anyone to raise their hand however consider how many times you men coaches had been married or where in failed relationships and then she said for you women consider how many times you had been married or where in failed relationships. The issue she was pointing out was communication and that the female by nature wants more information and unless you are willing to communicate better your relationship will normally fail. She said now consider you are going to coach 10 to 15 females on a team and that if you could not communicate well with just one what are your chances of being successful with 14 more? They had a happy hour that night and the topic was how many times have you been married or where you currently going through a divorce or separation? I was with a group of coaches that started pointing out flaws of coaches they knew and then it was of course he or she had been divorced or married twice etc. It was pointed out the number of transfers of kids leaving the team and that this coach had never been married and was doing a great job etc.

In the Big Ten I don't think there are any head coaches that are men. One womens head softball I think that won a WCWS from Michigan. There are good high school coaches male and female as well as travel coaches and college coaches. You don't have much of a choice as to high school coaches unless you can afford to move out of the district however travel and college ball you certainly do have a choice....do your home work! Talk to previous players and current players and see if that coaches style fits your daughters style. You would be amazed at what some parents put their kids through just because they think he or she is a great coach however they do not understand the mental abuse they go through and in fact turn a deaf ear to their own child when they complain you are not there when he or she said this and did that or said that to me in front of the team. These coaches know how to apply peer pressure so it is not traced back to them to try and get the results no matter how much it effects the mental stability of your child the player and I wonder why some of you put up with it....the end does not justify the means and some of you are willing to put your daughters through it all with these coaches just to say your daughter played softball in college or played for a particular travel team. Their grades and education and mental stability are more important than softball in my opinion. Male or female coaches makes no difference it is how well they communicate and treat your kids on and off the field. If their personal life is not in order I doubt their coaching life is either.

Hitter said:

... You would be amazed at what some parents put their kids through just because they think he or she is a great coach however they do not understand the mental abuse they go through and in fact turn a deaf ear to their own child when they complain you are not there when he or she said this and did that or said that to me in front of the team. These coaches know how to apply peer pressure so it is not traced back to them to try and get the results no matter how much it effects the mental stability of your child the player and I wonder why some of you put up with it....the end does not justify the means and some of you are willing to put your daughters through it all with these coaches just to say your daughter played softball in college or played for a particular travel team. Their grades and education and mental stability are more important than softball in my opinion...

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Preach it Brother Hitter.

To my shame, have been guilty myself of not believing the dd at first when she tried to tell me what was going on.