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Coach mentoring in Para sport 

In many ways, coaching athletes with and without disabilities is comparable as their training, dedication, and motivation to succeed are the same. However, there are contextual differences that make coaching in the Para sport setting unique. For example, it is important for coaches to have a strong understanding of specialized equipment, medication, travel considerations, and accessibility constraints to coach effectively (Alexander & Bloom, 2020).  

Often, Para sport coaches must be creative in getting this unique contextual information. Sometimes it is through structured learning opportunities like sport-specific coaching courses or webinars, self-directed learning such as reading books, watching YouTube videos or talking to athletes, or learning from their peers through communities of practice or mentorship (Culver et al., 2020; Duarte et al., 2021).  

Sports coach mentorship has received increasing attention over the last 25 years in pursuit of enhancing coach development (Lefebvre et al., 2020). One of the first studies on coach mentorship in Para sport was by Fairhurst et al. (2017) who interviewed 6 Canadian Paralympic coaches on their mentoring experiences. All coaches reported how mentoring helped them learn Para sport-specific coaching information, and perhaps most importantly, that structured mentorship would benefit coaches who often had a smaller network to connect with and learn from.  

The mentorship program 

In 2020, the Coaches Association of Ontario developed a year-long Para sport coach mentorship program designed to provide mentee coaches with a structured network to enhance their coaching practices. As Para sport coaching researchers, we were interested in understanding mentee experiences in the program, including what they gained from it and how to make it better in the future.

Our coaches 

We had 29 mentee and 15 mentor coaches participate in this program. Mentor coaches were experienced leaders in their respective Para sports, while mentee coaches had less than 5 years of experience coaching in the Para sport context.  

For example, some mentees had never coached in Para sport but were interested in learning in a proactive manner, some were coaching 1 or 2 athletes with disabilities in their programs, some had wanted to start their own Para sport programs, and some were coaching established Para sport teams. Mentor and mentees met for a minimum of 30 minutes per month and collectively completed 3 assignments, 3 webinars, and 3 workshops over the year.  

How we collected and analyzed the data 

We conducted focus groups (Krueger, 2014) at the half-way point of the program and individual interviews (Smith & Sparkes, 2016) at the end to understand the strengths of the program, preferences regarding coach learning, and recommendations for improvement. 

We talked to the mentee coaches in groups halfway through the program and interviewed them individually at the end. This helped us find out what was good about the program, what kind of learning coaches prefer, and how we can make it better. 

We used a method called reflexive thematic analysis to understand more about how mentee coaches learn from their mentors and how it makes them feel more confident in coaching Para sports. Reflexive thematic analysis is a way of studying people’s experiences, views, and perceptions in detail. 

Our results: Experiences of coach mentorship 

All coaches were grateful for the opportunity to take part in the mentorship program. Mentee coaches appreciated having a supportive, knowledgeable, and genuine mentor to guide them in a context where they had little to no experience.  

Mentorship provided the mentee coaches an opportunity to get tailored coach development specific to their needs, goals, and coaching situations: 

“I think I would have had a lot of problems if I wanted to start [a Para sport program prior to mentorship]. I wouldn’t have known where to start. But going through this whole program, it’s really helped me to understand ‘this is what I need to do’ and get the resources needed. I’ve learned a lot, it’s been so good!” (Janet, Interview). 

One of the main reasons for joining a Para sport-specific coach mentorship program was to learn about disability-specific information from a more experienced Para sport coach. Coaches valued learning about classification and appropriate terminology: 

“I learned more about classification. I figured if you broke your neck at the shoulder blades, from their downward you will be paralyzed but that’s not [necessarily] true. You could be paralyzed but still have function down your arms so it was a learning curve for me because [my mentor] jumps up and down on his chair like there’s no problem.” (Mackenzie, Interview) 

“I always thought that it’s so important for everyone to be treated equal, no matter if they have a disability or not. Now my word is ‘inclusive’… He also advised me [of] certain terms we should not be using, so we have to be more careful in the choice of word.” (Erin, Interview) 

Along with the learning opportunities offered through the program, like disability-specific webinars, mentee coaches felt their Para sport-specific coaching ability and confidence improved based on their mentoring experiences.  

At the end of the program, we asked our mentees to provide advice for incoming mentee coaches based on their experiences. Mentees suggested that coaches ask questions, be adaptable, and trust their mentors: 

“Don’t be afraid to ask questions. You’re there to learn as a coach, to improve your coaching, to educate yourself. Mentors are there to help you, to assist you, so you can further your coaching.” (Erin, Interview) 

“I think just be open minded with everything and feel the excitement and passion that your mentor has.” (Yvonne, Interview) 

Conclusion 

Our study was the first that we know of to explore mentee coaches’ experiences in a one-year structured Para sport coach mentorship program. We saw that coaches valued the opportunity to learn from someone more experienced and knowledgeable who could guide them along their coaching journey.  

In a setting characterized by a small community of coaches and limited opportunities for connection, it is essential to continue providing opportunities for Para sport coaches to network in pursuit of high-quality coach learning for all.  

To access the full published academic paper, click here 

Over the last 50 years, significant progress has been made in access and opportunities for girls and women to participate at all levels of sport in Canada. Despite this progress, the number of women in coaching remains alarmingly low (Banwell et al., 2019; Burton, 2019; Serpell et al., 2023). This is particularly true in the university sport system. For example, Canadian Women and Sport (2021) has reported that women hold head coaching roles for only 26% of women’s teams, 18% of mixed-gender teams, and 3% of men’s teams in Canadian collegiate and university sport.

While many Canadian universities have policies in place to address the gender gap, women remain underrepresented in coaching. Policy alone does not create change; people do. Unless there is engagement and commitment to support and sustain equitable sport environments, policies remain a guideline rather than a standard. Through the acknowledgment of the work that coaching involves, the practices that limit women from participating in coaching can be challenged and reimagined.

As a researcher who studies gender equity in Canadian university sport, I recently conducted a study on the underrepresentation of women coaches (see Finn, 2022). Alongside the current literature, this blog will explain why it’s important to address the underrepresentation of women in coaching at the university sport level. Further, it will focus on the need to explore the common, taken-for-granted practices, including the gender binary, work-life balance, and privilege, that may be sustaining gender discrepancies in university sport coaching. To conclude, practical recommendations for organizations looking to support women in coaching roles will be provided.

The gender gap in university sport coaching

It is crucial to work towards closing the gender gap in Canadian university sport coaching because if women’s leadership is missing from these organizations, so are important role models. Coaches remain visible leaders who impact the day-to-day experiences of their athletes. If women are continuously excluded from these positions, a lack of diversity in coaching and sports leadership becomes normalized (Wallick, 2018 When diversity is not prioritized in coaching positions, university athletic departments miss out on the benefits of varying perspectives and lived experiences, which may limit new insights, ideas, and skills (Finn, 2022).

There is a high degree of consistency in the sport leadership scholarship about barriers that women coaches face when seeking to achieve and maintain a coaching position, which can be vastly different than their male counterparts. For example, current literature has highlighted issues with hiring practices, as most selection committees are comprised only of men (Darvin & Lubke, 2021). Further, women still continue to experience covert and ambiguous displays of discrimination, even when they are successful at achieving a coaching position. For example, a recent study by Norman and Simpson (2023) found that women coaches experience gendered microaggressions within their positions, highlighting the subtle challenges that need to be navigated. Compounded by challenges to achieve work-life balance, lower salaries, and poorer job security, the lack of diversity in coaching and sports leadership remains (Burton, 2019; Finn, 2022).

Current supports for women in university sport coaching

In 2018, the Government of Canada announced its goal to achieve gender equity across all levels of sport by 2035. In efforts to work towards this goal, several programs and supports for women in coaching have been established at the university level. For example, the Coaching Association of Canada’s University Female Coach Mentorship Program, which has been in place from 2015-2021. Further, the Coaching association of Canada offers NCCP coaching education grants to support a more equitable sport coaching landscape.

Beyond mentorship programs and educational opportunities, sport organizations are working on actionable items that extend beyond coaching qualifications and experiences for women. To demonstrate, the University of Guelph has implemented the She’s Got Game initiative. The program includes a commitment to recruiting at least one-woman coach on every woman’s team. Further, the She’s Got Game initiative provides gender equity with pay of coaches, and equal opportunities for coaching development.

Existing programs and initiatives demonstrate that governments, sport organizations, and universities alike are aware of women’s underrepresentation in university sport coaching and taking steps to reverse the trend. However, more can be done. For instance, many of these programs and initiatives are focused on helping women to improve their coaching skills or offer mentorship opportunities. While mentorship and educational training are essential, we must also reflect on how these programs may perpetuate women’s marginalization in Canadian university sport coaching by not challenging the current culture (Finn, 2022). Additionally, these approaches focus on enhancing individual abilities, yet women are returning to coach within a system that remains unchallenged and unchanged (Demers et al., 2019).  Therefore, rather than asking how women can fit within the male-dominated landscape of Canadian university sport, we need to ask how our assumptions about sport and how it functions impact or limit women in coaching. The following section will highlight this initiative, challenging the taken-for-granted nature of university sport. .

Taken-for-granted nature of university sport

The culture of Canadian university sport continues to be a critical limiting factor to women’s advancement in coaching roles. In other words, even if development opportunities are available to women and women are hired into coaching positions, coaching practices, and processes (such as demanding practice schedules) will continue to act as a limiting factor for women throughout their careers. The work of Norman, Rankin-Wright, and Allison (2018) has encouraged us to recognize the underrepresentation of women in coaching as “an outcome of a deeper issue, rather than the problem in itself” (p. 395). By doing so, we can engage with and challenge the current taken-for-granted nature of university sport to envision new ways to support women in coaching.  

For example, to obtain and maintain university sport coaching positions, coaches must often adapt to the practices and processes in place within their sport and the university athletic department in which they are working (Clarkson, Cox & Thelwell, 2019). Because of this, women coaches are faced with the individual responsibility to advance their leadership by navigating the organizing practices of Canadian university sport. In my study on the underrepresentation of women coaches (Finn, 2022), I found that these organizing practices include a distinct gender binary, the challenge of achieving work-life balance, and the privileges required to obtain and sustain university coaching positions. The gendered organizational practices of sport have been further highlighted in the recent work of Clarkson, Cox and Thelwell (2019), and Krahn (2019).

Practice #1: The gender binary

One of the key organizing practices of Canadian university sport is the distinct gender binary. This binary functions to segregate athletes, teams, and programs by gender (Knoppers et al., 2022). Since university sport operates within a distinct gender binary, there is a responsibility to ensure that opportunities are equitably distributed between men and women. While ensuring equitable opportunities for men and women is ultimately a good thing, it can draw attention to differential treatment of men’s and women’s teams. For example, a study by Norman, Donnelly and Kidd (2021) found that men experience more participation opportunities within Canadian university sport than women. Specifically, for men there were between “2.8 and 3.0 participation opportunities per 100 men students, whereas for women there were just 1.7 to 1.8 opportunities per 100 women students” (pg. 218). Therefore, this data demonstrates the fact that male athletes enjoy significantly greater participation opportunities, highlighting how the gender binary has been institutionalized.

The longer gendered practices take place in sport organizations, the more an organization will engrain and normalize gender bias in leadership. As a result, the gender binary can reinforce the notion that men in sport must be distinct and separate from women. We see the binary in action with women holding just 3% of head coaching roles for men’s teams within university athletics. With men holding the dominant role in sport, the binary places women coaches at a deficit, impacting access to support, positions, and opportunities.

Practice #2: Work-life balance

Another normalized practice within Canadian university sport that my research demonstrated is demanding practice and competition schedules and their impact on achieving work-life balance. The impacts of this practice have been further highlighted in the work of Pankow et al. (2022). Team and administrative meetings, practices, games, travel, recruiting efforts, early mornings and late nights are often a working reality for university coaches. A schedule that is inconsistent, unpredictable at times, and highly demanding can result in sustained challenges for any coach, but often places an especially high burden on women coaches who are also bearing a disproportional share of family responsibilities (for example, housework or childcare).

It is also essential to recognize how navigating the struggles to achieve a work-life balance within coaching is an individual responsibility. Since university sport maintains high working demands, individuals who can successfully navigate these positions are rewarded, recognized, and supported. Individuals unwilling or unable to meet the demands may be limited in their coaching careers. Therefore, schedules influence issues of access and equity within Canadian university sport.

Practice #3: Privilege

To navigate the current structure of university sport, women coaches require certain privileges and advantages to do the job. For example, because of the gender pay gap and limited funding for certain coaching positions, several women expressed the need to work other jobs or have their partners support them financially to pursue and maintain a coaching career. Therefore, we must recognize how certain financial privileges may allow some women to apply and stay in coaching positions over others. Further, due to a coach’s demanding schedule, several women indicated the need and impacts of a strong support system (such as family members or paid staff to support with childcare). This leaves coaching as a career opportunity that not all women may be able to consider or maintain.

By recognizing the privilege required to work as a university coach, there is a need to increase awareness of the missing and muted voices in these positions. For example, due to a lack of racial diversity in Canadian university coaching, the Black Canadian Coaches Association (now known as the Inclusion in Canada Sports Network) was developed to cater to historically excluded populations in coaching roles, including Black, Biracial, and Indigenous women coaches. Thus, it is important to highlight that just because some women hold coaching positions, it does not mean that it is an equitable experience for all women or that all women have access to coaching opportunities. We need to direct more support (financial, educational, policies, and practices) toward women who experience systematic marginalization to work toward equitable opportunities for all women in coaching.

Working towards closing the gender gap

This article has illuminated how current practices and processes within Canadian university sport may make it challenging for women to obtain and sustain a coaching career, highlighting a need to challenge the basic assumptions and culture that inform work practices and processes within university sport settings. We must also identify ways of contesting the taken-for-granted nature, values, and beliefs held in university sport. By doing so, we hope that universities and sports organizations will recognize the support needed for both current and aspiring women coaches.

Through a reimagining of university sport, we can explore conversations about alternative practices with the intention of better-supporting women in coaching.

To address barriers including the gender binary, work-life balance, and demanding schedules, the following evidence-informed recommendations may help university athletic departments and sport organizations further support women in coaching:

The underrepresentation of women in coaching at Canadian universities can lead to   organizations excluding women’s experience, interests, knowledge, and perspectives. With a persisting gender gap in Canadian university sport coaching, the barriers women experience must be continuously illuminated, discussed, and challenged. This article has argued that a reimagining of current practices offers a way to support current and aspiring women coaches. By doing so, we hope that one day all young women in sport will have an opportunity to envision themselves as coaches, and ultimately, sport leaders of the future.

A recent global study shows that sports psychology professionals must prioritize cultural competence beyond a checklist, considering it an ethical duty for effective practice. The research highlights the need to actively develop this competence through learning from mistakes and open conversations, grounding it in personal and professional experiences for meaningful cultural understanding.

KidsAction Coaching is an evidence-based coaching approach developed by researchers at the University of British Columbia (UBC) to support the development of children with neurodevelopmental or intellectual disability (NDD). KidsAction offers free resources and tools to community-based coaches, organizations and families to make physical activity more accessible and enjoyable for all children, of all abilities. Developed in collaboration with Indigenous advisors, KidsAction Coaching offers a holistic approach to physical activity.

Creating safer spaces to promote belonging and community, particularly among Black women, helps address feelings of isolation and otherness. Offering opportunities for knowledge exchange can prevent the loss of notable talent and stimulate peak performance and retention. Safer spaces, sponsorships and platforms for dialogue all help promote diverse and equitable coaching spaces.

University sports’ coach-athlete relationships are complex, with short seasons intensifying the challenge. Based on research findings, coaches should prioritize closeness, encourage trust through vulnerability, clarify commitment expectations, enhance communication, and ensure alignment with their coaching philosophy. Addressing the complexity and power dynamics can help create inclusivity and foster effective and stronger bonds.

Women are often underrepresented in leadership roles in sports. As such, there is a need to build organizational capacity for women leaders. Researchers suggest that some best practices for organizations include creating family-friendly activities that encourage women to become more involved in an organization and partnering with external organizations to bring new women and girls on board.

Understanding the dynamics between athletes, coaches, and support personnel is important. This study was among the first to explore these relationships and how they impact wellbeing. Shared values and the ability to cope with challenges were factors that we found to boost wellbeing. The study also reveals how wellbeing can spread among team members through emotional sharing and social assessment. This can help teams create a more supportive and positive environment, enhancing the well-being of everyone involved.

Athletes who experience strong support and a sense of belonging within their team are less likely to burnout. Coaches should encourage this sense of belonging to enrich athletes’ experiences and prevent dropout. However, too many team rules can burden athletes, impede support, and exacerbate burnout. Striking the right balance between team unity and support is crucial.

A study delving into the impact of expectations on the well-being of young students in talent schools for sports found that while coach and parental expectations provided motivation, students also faced self-doubt and stress. Coaches played a crucial role in progress, yet excessive dependency on their approval could pose problems. Parental support was appreciated, but it also brought about performance pressure. Juggling these expectations proved tough and often led to fatigue and stress. The research highlights the need for coaches, teachers, and parents to be mindful of fostering healthy expectations for the well-being of young performers.