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"women leaders in sport inspire women and girls from all walks of life to strive for their dreams. They defy gender stereotypes and shift attitudes about gender roles"
While female athletes are achieving gender parity on the field, representation in the boardroom and among coaches still lags behind. Let's go to the stats:
WCA’s signature training and development program "Coach Today, Lead for Life" serves young women athletes in their formative years (ages 15-26) and builds their foundational leadership skills and confidence through coaching youth sports. Even better, by increasing representation of female coaches in youth sports, a virtuous cycle begins, inspiring the next generation.
“Where are all the women coaches?”
The Women's Coaching Alliance (WCA) was born from the vision of Pam Baker, who sought to honor the legacy of her beloved husband, Doug Friedman, who passed away in 2020. Doug was a firm believer in the power of sports to shape the lives of girls and develop lasting confidence. But when he went to coach their daughters’ teams, he often found himself asking, "Where are all the women coaches?" WCA honors him by growing the number of inspiring women coaches and a pipeline of future leaders.
By earning the Platinum Seal of Transparency by GuideStar, we have met the highest standards for measuring and reporting on our progress and results.
We believe that each of us has in us more than we ever believe or think possible. That it’s the people around us who see in us what we don’t or won’t. And that this is especially true of women. We are often the first to praise, shout out and congratulate our friends and the last to take credit for ourselves.
We believe that confidence is developed over time, through trial and error, through successes and misses and that lessons are
learned when we pause to notice them and reflect on their impact. We believe that some of the most valuable learning happens in the difficult moments. As cliché as it may sound, challenge and
adversity are very good teachers.
We believe that the best leaders push and motivate but never at the expense of knocking us down or questioning our character. We believe leadership is not a zero sum game and that we are all better off when more of us take the reins to lead in our own unique ways.
We believe that we stretch ourselves further when we have the support and trust of those around us and the belief that they want the best for us. That regardless of the outcome, they will be there, cheering on our victories, and helping us process the learnings from our misses.
We believe that teams work best when we’re clear on our responsibilities and that sometimes getting things accomplished means pitching in wherever it’s needed. We
also believe in aligning our work
responsibilities with what we do well, while, also having the opportunity to discover interests and skills.
We believe in not taking ourselves too seriously. That laughter is a most powerful medicine. The work we do will be at times messy, imperfect and challenging, and
when we can laugh at ourselves it helps keep things in perspective and simply more fun.
Director, Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport
"A concerted effort to recruit, support and engage women sport coaches is important in so many ways! Data supports that same identity role models matter for girls' self-perceptions, confidence, and inspiration to name a few! Girls rarely get a same identity role models in sports, and that needs to change!"
Coach, Athlete, Advocate, Positive Coaching Alliance Trainer
"I'm old enough to have ONLY had women coaches when I was a younger athlete and I'm thankful for, and changed by, their leadership. Sports consistently proves itself to be one of our most effective frameworks for leadership, character, and socio-emotional development. When we have a major institution like youth sports with leadership that is only about 15% women, we are missing critical voices, perspectives, and role models that would benefit all kids."
CEO, Women Leaders in College Sports
"Coaching can serve as a springboard into leadership roles outside of sports, helping girls and women develop their communication skills and build their confidence. A future with more girls and women coaching sports means a future with more women leaders, which is why the work of the Women's Coaching Alliance is so important."
Deputy Athletic Director, Wake Forest. Retired
"All of us are more successful in relationships and careers when we learn at an early age how to compete and achieve goals as a team. The lessons learned in sport are invaluable. Having more women involved in a young girl’s life especially in sports sends the message that anything is possible."
Head Coach of U.S. Under-20 Men's National Team
“Because we have a wealth of untapped human potential that has not been provided the same opportunities. As a man, if I truly value diversity, equity, and inclusion then I need to take a close look in the mirror and recognize I've done more to benefit from this paradigm than to change it."
Head Coach, Stanford Women’s Basketball
"Getting more women involved in coaching sports will help women develop the leadership skills and confidence to be strong and impactful leaders in our organizations, institutions, businesses, and communities. Seeing more women in coaching roles will help everyone recognize, respect and value women as leaders in all areas of our society."
NFL, Senior Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
"Excluding half the population in any profession means you're leaving out half the talent. Women have the drive, talent, knowledge and passion to coach as much as any gender does. Athletes truly appreciate their coaching environments reflecting society."
Commissioner of the NFL
"Excluding half the population in any profession means you're leaving out half the talent. Women have the drive, talent, knowledge and passion to coach as much as any gender does. Athletes truly appreciate their coaching environments reflecting society."
NBA Head Coach, Golden State Warriors
"The Heart of Coaching is empathy, compassion, and values. That's what coaching is. You'll figure out the x's and o's but what do players feel every day when they walk in the gym. Coaching is about values - knowing your values. And for me it's teaching the players to have empathy and compassion for each other, that grows the bond to have a successful season. And it's the exact same stuff - whether you're coaching at the professional, grade school or high school level."
Pro Flag Football World Champion
"That's what inspired me and connected me with this mission. It starts with good leaders. I wish when I was younger that I had these female role models to follow. Someone who brought me hope through my journey, someone to look up to, someone who would be proud of what I did. I feel blessed and happy to be where I am but I wonder how the journey would have been having a role model who I could identify with."
Stanford Women's Basketball Coach 1985-2024
"A lot of times women feel like you have to take a hundred classes in something. Like you've got to have all these degrees, all this background but sometimes you've just got to jump in the pool and swim. I think it's really important that we as women have confidence in other women that they're going to do a great job. We have to encourage and develop pipelines so women can get the opportunity and get the experience and get the confidence."
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CEO Bay FC
"It is not to say there are not amazing women's coaches out there because there absolutely are. It's just that there's not enough to get to critical mass. There needs to be just a richer pool."
Former WNBA President
"You cannot be what you cannot see. Having women be coaches and having young athletes see these women as role models and exemplars of what could be, what can be, ultimately will be."
Former NFL WB 49ers
"Women need to coach girls flag football. We need to build up the whole ecosystem of women coaching."
