Coaching Girls and Women

In recent years, there have been many advances in sport to support girls and women, however, they are still experiencing instances of discrimination (Adams & Leavitt. International Review for the Sociology of Sport 53(2):152–172, 2018) and in some cases are still considered second rate to men (McGinnis, Chun, & McQuillian. Academy of Marketing Science Review 5:1–24, 2003); all of which are indicative of the continuing, predominant view of sport: the androcentric model. In this chapter, the authors build on LaVoi, Becker, and Maxwell (Women in Sport and Physical Activity Journal 15(4):7–20, 2007) synthesis of literature by discussing additional key papers on coaching girls and women. It is our hope that synthesizing current research findings and the scarcity of literature on this topic may inspire researchers to contribute to this area and sport administrators to take actionable steps to support girls and women in sport. Following the synthesis, the authors provide practical recommendations (e.g., including more women coaches on girls’ teams) and future recommendations for research (e.g., coaching non-binary/gender non-conforming/transgender athletes/children). Finally, we provide personal stories from the field and the practical implications of those experiences.