She’s Got Game - She Can Coach
Project Overview
Guelph Soccer’s latest initiative, called She’s Got Game - She Can Coach, is a federal government-funded project with the goal of ensuring more women and girls are able to enjoy the benefits of soccer by addressing the current challenges that they face relating to participation. Female sport leaders play a critical role in creating a welcoming and safe space for girls in sport. This project will strive to support and advance gender equality in sport by breaking down the barriers of entry for women to coach, with the hope that this will increase female registration and help to balance the gender gap in participation between boys and girls (currently the Club’s player registration ratio has been 60:40, boys to girls, for the past 20 years).
Cohort #1 Report
Click here to view the Cohort #1 Report.
The research report goes into detail about barriers, facilitators, and motivators for women in coaching, the program design and delivery, evaluation of the experience of our coaches, and the future direction of our program. Read through to find snippets of actual comments from our participating coaches which are one of the best parts of the report!
We are extremely grateful to our coaches from Cohort #1 who contributed their time and experience to make this report possible. Together, we have created a well-documented, successful, and transferrable model for women in sport, one that will hopefully be replicated across various sports in our country. Change across the entire industry (as opposed to just the soccer landscape) in Canada is now a real possibility, and it couldn't have been possible without the participation of our fierce female leaders!
Cohort #2 Report
Click here to view the Cohort #2 Report.
This report delves into how the program addresses the underrepresentation of women coaches in sports by offering various forms of support to mitigate existing barriers such as financial constraints and caregiving responsibilities. The program, evaluated through surveys and focus groups, revealed positive outcomes including increased confidence, professional development, and a sense of community among participants. Feedback from the evaluation led to adjustments in the program structure to better accommodate the needs of participants, resulting in improved recruitment and retention of women coaches in soccer. The report also highlights comments from many of our coaches who share their experience with She Can Coach!
We extend our sincere thanks to the coaches of Cohort #2 for their invaluable contributions to this report. As a team, we've created a winning model for women in sports to ignite broad industry change. Our inspiring female leaders' dedication fueled the success of this program!
COHORT #3: IS Wrapping up!
Cohort 3 of our She's Got Game - She Can Coach program is wrapping up! This year, we focused on recruitment, training, and development of coaches for our competitive stream. Cohort 3 report will be available soon. Thank you No Frills for being our sponsor!
COHORT #4: Recruiting female coaches now!
We are wrapping up Cohort 3 and are excited to begin recruitment for Cohort 4 of our She's Got Game - She Can Coach project. This year we will have a focus on the recruitment, training, and development of coaches for our recreational AND competitive stream. If you are interested in participating, please complete our Expression of Interest Form.
Please connect with Caitlin Dunsmore, at caitlin.dunsmore@guelphsoccer.ca if you have any questions.
What we have achieved so far: SHE CAN COACH - COHORT #1
Our She’s Got Game- She Can Coach Cohort #1 has completed Year 1 of the project. Their effort and passion saw the Guelph soccer community’s female role models grow by over 50 coaches, who are keen on affecting positive change for future generations of young athletes!
“The Government of Canada is committed to building and maintaining an inclusive Canadian sport system and providing opportunities for women and girls in all aspects of sport, including coaching. We are proud to support She’s Got Game – She Can Coach, Guelph Soccer’s new project that will help place more women and girls into leadership roles in soccer.”
Project Details
Title and Partner
She’s Got Game - She Can Coach
The University of Guelph is a strategic partner of Guelph Soccer. Our agreement allows Guelph Soccer to use the University’s She’s Got Game logo and branding. Utilizing this existing brand will provide immediate recognition and trust from our community.
Target Population
Girls and Women, Aged 16+
Our target population is girls and women aged 16 and above, who are looking to further their personal and professional development through coaching.
Project Description
Address Specific Barriers to Coaching as Identified by Women
We will aim to reduce the barriers brought to our attention by women, specifically:
Time scarcity
Lack of confidence
Costs to pursue coaching certification/other financial constraints
Guelph Soccer partnered with the University of Guelph branding
“For many young athletes, a good coach can make all the difference in the world, so I’m proud that we are partnering with Guelph Soccer to break down barriers and make it easier for women to get involved as soccer coaches. Our government understands the need to ensure the development and engagement of women and girls at all levels in sport, because we know that when we promote gender equality in sports, we all win.”