Anissa Tann-Darby is Australia’s most capped playerwith 92 appearances for her country. She is a Graduate in Physical Education who is a qualified Coach at the highest level in Australia, and the only woman to Coach winning teams at the National State Championships (New South Wales) and National Club Championships (Marconi). She has been a regular contributor to Women’s Soccer World Magazine.

Should Women Coach Women?

Due to the incredible success of the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup in the USA and the tremendous publicity generated, women’s participation rate in soccer will continue to grow rapidly world wide. A tangible example of this in Australia is the 64% growth rate in women players in 1999 in New South Wales alone. The World Cup plus the Olympic exposure has set alight the imagination of many young female athletes.

The next question in the development of our game is that with this growth, are female coaches more suited to coaching women players than male coaches? If so, are there enough female coaches? The classic example being that there were only 2 female Head Coaches at the 1999 World Cup.

I will attempt to answer these questions and reveal that soccer's dilemma is only a reflection of sport and society in general in Australia, yet the questions posed and possible answers could I be also related to other countries, though the USA is maybe a decade ahead in its sporting social development.

The questions I pose are complex questions to answer, particularly as any female writer has to be wary of being either patronising or politically incorrect. Of course any view from a female writer will have been influenced by an upbringing in the male conservatism of soccer. As Hay an Australian Sports Historian states "Soccer was, and remains an extremely conservative social institution."

THE ELITE LEVEL

If the game of Soccer is analyzed into its components of technique (Biomechanics) and fitness (Physiology), there is certainly no difference in approach to male and female players, particularly at the elite level. The International female player works to physiological training programs devised by the top sport scientists and the performance indicators are comparable to elite males., whether this be the multi stage aerobic test or a vertical jump.

The techniques of the game are skill based and the timing of a strike of a ball is more important than the power factor. Many elite girls can kick a ball further than more muscular men.Tactical awareness and "vision" in the game are mainly learned through playing as often as possible and female coaching programs are now as lengthy as male programs.

However, at the elite level the psychological approach would seem to differ, and at times could be considered confusing. Interviews with International female players at two World Cups revealed that they wanted to be treated in the same manner as elite male players and in fact most wanted to be coached by males. As Mia Hamm has stated in Newsweek “ Coach us like men..but treat us like women” Not an easy concept for a male coach to grasp. However interviews with male coaches of international female soccer players (from a number of countries) reveal that these players react differently to criticism in that they take comments on their play as personal rather than professional. it was suggested also that directions to tasks were interpreted differently by elite females in that they were followed rigidly and often without creative intuition from the player.

These responses were not criticisms, but perceptions and often caused behavior modification of the coach. There must however be strong arguments that these elite female players only have experiences of male coaches and have minimal knowledge or experience of elite female coaches. As coaching gender equity programs evolve, and the present few elite female coaches are given opportunities, then eventually female players will have a choice and the best person may be a realistic choice. It is essential that the elite female soccer players are targeted, encouraged to enter the coaching system and supported and nurtured to reach the top. Semantics will dictate if this is called fast tracking or positive discrimination. Obviously Germany, England and Sweden have done this and the USA with Lauren Gregg and April Heinrichs are in the process.

The world evolution of the women’s game and its political acceptance and encouragement by the International governing body the Federation of International Football Associations (F.I.F.A) has led to a growth in the self esteem and ambition of the elite players. Not only do we have a World Cup and an Olympic medal to play for, but also they now have a career path to follow, in that in Europe and Japan many females are professional. The evolution of a professional league in the USA will be a major breakthrough in a career path for females.

THE GROWTH AREA

If the growth in female participation continues through both development programs and a raised awareness of the game, then a new and more important problem may occur. For this growth will be at the beginner level and quite often the beginner female participant is at the teenage adolescent stage of development. Therefore the role and attitude of the coach at this stage in the player's life will be a particularly important factor in the continuance of the young players' career in soccer and possibly continuance in any form of physical activity.

If soccer is to accept that this influx of new female players is quite likely to have a low skill level and be at an age where self esteem is a vital factor, then identification of the right type of coach is vital. The traditional authoritarian task orientated coach would be a disaster for the inexperienced adolescent female player, as this stereotype would care little for the person. Fortunately coaching research is showing that coaching styles are evolving with improved coach education programs and people orientation is a more prominent philosophy than task orientation. The player must be involved at this age in the decision making process and feel that she belongs to the game of Soccer, in fact she must feel that it is her game, as opposed to a woman playing a man's game. This shift in the perception or attitude of the female player is vital if the sport wants these new participants to stay in the game and to reach the elite level. The present elite level of player is only a small population, this must be expanded for greater success on and off the field.

A key coaching factor in this scenario is the role modeling effects of the coach. As Julie Foudy has openly confirmed “girls need soccer role models.” It would seem essential that the adolescent female sees a successful female as the role model coach. Many young females are hindered by the belief that they cannot improve, when they see a talented male player demonstrating a skill. However, if they see the same skill being demonstrated by a talented female player, then the skill is tangible and they are more prepared to go through the important trial and error process of learning. The profile of Mia Hamm, Michelle Ackers, Brandi Chastain and Briony Scurry can only be a positive for girls all over the world not just the USA. There is no doubt that Sun Wen and Goa Hong are vital role models for the game in China.

In an objective analysis the gender of a coach for the beginning female player is irrelevant, all that matters is that they are sensitive to the specific needs of the player and have the patience to ensure that skill development is allowed to progress at the appropriate pace. Also the intelligence to understand that self esteem plays a vital part in skill development.

The role modeling influence however adds a different perspective to this argument, for this is a major influence on the continued participation of the player.

The challenge for soccer is to continue the development programs that are creating this growth in female participation. Identify talented female players and encourage and assist them to participate in coach education programs. Henny Oldenhove, an elite female hockey coach, described the lack of female coaches in predominantly amateur sports being due to the fact that it was often their third priority ...after work and their home. Possibly equity development as a whole in society will change this, and the talented pool of ex-players now emerging after three World Cups can be identified and encouraged to continue their vital role in the development of the game.

I believe that the answer to the question, should women coach women is a definite _Yes! At all levels of the game. It leaves the perceptive reader with the ongoing question should elite women coaches go on to coach elite male players. Immediately a range of cultural and historical influences are raised. Revealing once again, that coaching is a mirror of society in general and once again emphasizing the importance the role and the style of the coach is to sport in general. Coaching educationalists in soccer and in sport in general must constantly evaluate philosophical questions and produce the answers that are appropriate to a constantly evolving society.