The Coach’s Journal: Experiences of Black Female Assistant Coaches in NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball

Abstract

In NCAA Division I women’s basketball, Black female coaches make up only a small percentage of the total number of coaches (i.e., 26%; NCAA, 2016) even though the majority of student-athletes are Black (i.e., 51%). Although these discrepancies have recently been recognized in sport studies literature (Borland & Bruening, 2010; LaVoi & Dutove, 2012), sport psychology researchers have yet to explore the underlying structural and psychological issues that lead to the underrepresentation of Black female coaches in NCAA Division I women’s basketball. To this end, we utilized narrative inquiry (Smith & Sparkes, 2009a) in the current study to explore the stories of eight NCAA Division I women’s basketball assistant coaches who identify as Black females. During face-to-face interviews, participants described the roles they are asked to fill and the ways they cope with the multiple oppressions they experience as Black women in coaching. The first and second authors co-constructed four themes, (a) Pregame: Learning to coach; (b) First half: Experiences from the first 10 years; (c) Second half: Experiences from the last five years; and (d) Overtime: Thinking about the future, throughout their thematic analysis of these narratives (Braun & Clark, 2006). It is hoped that these findings will lead to the development of interventions that can empower NCAA Division I Black female coaches as well as challenge current structural ideologies that disadvantage Black female coaches in this context. Further, creating a more inclusive environment at NCAA Division I institutions could enhance the experiences and coaching career aspirations of Black female student-athletes by allowing them to see empowered Black female role models in coaching positions. Implications for certified mental performance consultants (CMPCs) working within NCAA Division I women’s basketball, who are well positioned to contribute to these efforts, are also discussed.

Women from Culturally Diverse Backgrounds in Sport Leadership: A Scoping Review of Facilitators and Barriers

“…Coping strategies identified in seven studies primarily facilitated women to become and remain as leaders in sport and were largely focused on managing gendered racism. Strategies included the use of humour, downplaying the severity of discrimination, lowering expectations, dressing and acting professionally, relying on social supports and prayer (Larsen et al, 2019; McDowell & Carter-Francique, 2017; Welch et al, 2021). Professional development (e.g., seminars and workshops) supported women from culturally diverse backgrounds to independently explore strategies to improve their competence and prevent pigeonholing for certain roles (Larsen et al, 2019; Rankin-Wright et al, 2019).…”

College coaches’ engagement in advocacy for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and other gender and sexual minorities (LGBTQIA+) rights and racial justice: Experiences, facilitators, and barriers.

“…Indeed, all four BIPOC women in the present study—three of whom also identified as lesbians—reported experiencing pushback. Prior research has shown that prejudice and discrimination toward LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC coaches exist (Carter-Francique, 2020; Krane & Barber, 2005; Larsen et al, 2019; Scheadler et al, 2021). Previous research also has acknowledged that BIPOC women in sport are subjected to both racism and sexism (Cooky et al, 2010; Litchfield et al, 2018).…”

“…By doing so, however, these leaders ignore critical problems and allow racial injustice to persist. Furthermore, there even is evidence of prejudice and discrimination toward LGBTQIA+ (Krane & Barber, 2005; Scheadler et al, 2021) and BIPOC college coaches (Carter-Francique, 2020; Larsen et al, 2019). Thus, some college coaches may consider engaging in advocacy to support their student athletes or the broader student population, university, and community and to challenge the complicit nature of many sport leaders.…”

Women coaches at top level: Looking back through the maze

“…35 This analogy suggests that the higher the women climb, the more constricted the pathway and opportunities become, and only a few women manage to reach the top of their profession 35(p.455) This narrow road causes women coaches to experience marginalization and lack of control of their coaching progression, especially when aiming to high-performance contexts. 34,[36][37][38] In response to the need of advancing in the study of women's coaching careers, LaVoi and Boucher developed the Stages of Career Progression Model (SCPM) as an evolution of the original EIM, 27 which considers different stages in women's coaching careers. The stages are as follows: (a) entice, characterized by encouraging, convincing, and enticing women into sports coaching; (b) entry, referring to the initial movement into a coaching position; (c) engagement, containing aspects related to the participation of women with, and in, their workplace and colleagues; (d) exit, related to voluntarily or involuntarily leaving a coaching position and (e) energize, where resilience is fostered and the focus is on renewal and personal growth.…”

“…35 This analogy suggests that the higher the women climb, the more constricted the pathway and opportunities become, and only a few women manage to reach the top of their profession 35 (p.455) This narrow road causes women coaches to experience marginalization and lack of control of their coaching progression, especially when aiming to high-performance contexts. 34,36–38…”