Transitions and Representations
Coaching Female Athletes: It’s Time to Prepare Coaches for the Differences
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Megan Buning, Hannah Bennett
In an effort to better understand the challenges youth sport coaches face when coaching female athletes, focus groups were conducted with male (n = 5) and female (n = 19) youth sport coaches (n = 24) of female sport teams to examine perceived differences in coaching female versus male athletes. Purposive snowball sampling was used to recruit coaches in three neighboring states in the southeastern United States. Of the sample, 14 coaches had coached both male and female athletes between the ages of 12 to 18 years old. Coaches had experience coaching a variety of sports and variety of levels ranging from recreational teams, school teams, and competitive travel teams. Although there were perceived similarities to coaching both genders, thematic content analysis exposed several themes indicating distinct differences in coaching between the genders. Within this sample, coaches believed coaching females presented unique challenges including issues associated with: inequality of funding and attention, drastic emotional responses from female athletes, the need for more emotional support, perceived less athleticism, less confidence and resiliency, and more non-sport distractions and parental protection. The findings provide valuable information for coaches and coach educators on how to help coaches better develop and assist female youth athletes. The results of this study will be used to help develop and on-going professional development experience for local coaches.
Enhancing Participation of African Females’ in Physical Activity in the North West of England
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Anika Leslie-Walker, Claire Mulvenna
The influx of female students from an African origin to universities in the United Kingdom (UK), have supported inter-culturalism and practical foundations of career development. Limited research has focused upon African student’s participation in physical activity in the UK, albeit governmental statistics highlight those from an African origin participate in physical activity less than other ethnic groups. Additionally, the importance of physical activity lends itself to numerous health and well-being benefits. Moreover, this study aimed to understand the challenges to participation for this group, by considering the participant’s demographical profile and implementing a physical activity project to create change. Research shows that students who experience diaspora, can find it difficult to engage with local communities which can become detrimental to their inter-cultural awareness and impede on sustainable relationships and the students well-being. Employing a mixed method approach utilising questionnaires and focus groups, this study bestowed female African students were uncomfortable attending physical activity sessions due to self-confidence, cultural judgements, awareness of their capabilities in recreational sport sessions and family constraints. The findings of the study advocate the environment needs to be a safe space for females to participate, a clear explanation of each activity is required and female instructors increased participation.
The Female Footballer Void: Women's Football Career Transitions
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Jackie Day
Transition models (Wylleman and Lavallee 2014 holistic career model) have framed a previous study to explain how the players transition through their football careers. The previous study examined the developmental experiences of female footballers within three age groups and from six different countries. Despite these complexities the players navigate through their careers, however there is little known about the player to why they continue playing football with all the challenges they face. This study aims to redress this, a case study narrative approach (Douglass and Carless 2006), has been adopted during this study to elicit the players own life experiences and to identify and evaluate the decision-making processes they go through, to play at the elite level. Two players from a previous study were interviewed five years on from their original interviews to explore how they have continued to navigate through the complex journey of women’s football. The stories gave a more in-depth insight into the player’s careers and about the player. Resilience and player identity emerged to why these players continue to play at the elite level. The themes of migration and having to combine an academic/ vocation and elite sporting career successfully continued to develop from previous studies.
Postnatal Team Sport Participation: Access through Resistance
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Talia Ritondo
Transitioning to motherhood is a notably drastic change in a woman’s life, significantly altering how they access leisure and physical activity (PA). Research shows the positive influence of PA on postnatal mothers’ physical, social, and psychological well-being. Despite its importance, studies indicate that postnatal mothers constantly resist patriarchal ideologies, such as gender roles, and the ethic of care, as barriers to participating in PA (Lloyd, O’Brien, & Riot, 2016). Post-partum women are at high risk of weight gain, depression, and anxiety, negatively affecting their health as well as their child’s health, yet limited research has critically examined mothers’ experiences resisting patriarchal ideologies to participate in PA. Moreover, research highlights strong relationships between individual exercise and PA on postnatal women’s’ health (Cramp & Bray, 2010). Little to no research has been conducted about return to team sport participation. Team sports are crucial to investigate as they promote social support, identity affirmation, and a sense of community in women’s lives (Litchfield & Dionigi, 2012), which have the potential to counter the negative health effects of social isolation and postpartum depression (Saligeh, McNamara, & Rooney, 2016). Drawing on literature from feminist leisure studies, postnatal PA research, and sport sociology, this study plans to use a feminist lens to critically examine the leisure experiences of postnatal women and their return to community-based team sport. Understanding how postnatal mothers resist patriarchal ideologies to participate in team sport allows researchers, policy makers, and practitioners to create better opportunities for postnatal women’s participation in PA.
