Some notes on Coaching Girls

Don’t be misled by the title. I don’t know much on the subject but I’ve been thoroughly intrigued by the discoveries I’ve made concerning female basketball players. The discovery is actually more like a revelation, something that when excavated has a profound impact on how you think as a leader.

There are many obvious differences between female and male athletes but here’s what I’ve picked up.

#1 Loyalty

Girls have lots of it if they respect and trust the leader. There isn’t much my girls won’t do to compete at the level of expectation. You want a girl to take four charges in a game? You got it. She’ll fall down more willingly than a boy in many cases, not because it’s easy on a woman’s frame but because that’s what a loyal athlete does – exactly what the coach asks.

#2 Smile-Cry-Smile

There’s an allowable range of emotions among the girls that I’ve never seen in boys. They possess the ability to smile before during and after games flowing from frustration to harmony. Girls hold grudges but in the heat of competition it just looks like they’re enjoying more of the journey instead of waiting for an outcome.

#3 Honesty, Comparison and Competition

Girls don’t always appreciate honesty in a coach. Who does? It can be brutal. But girls are under immense pressure to mimic an image from media. They need the reinforced message that fraudulent comparisons are a bad form of competition. It’s imperative that girls have a trustworthy mentor who removes superficial expectations and replaces them with sincere ones.

#4 Detail is King

Girls appreciate the detail you pay to them and the skills they’re trying to improve. There’s enough cross gender comparisons to ruin a coaching experience. My girls always value that someone knowledgeable takes the time to explain a skill or concept that will make them successful. They have foresight (most of the time).

It’s one of the best kept secrets that coaching girls is a service made even more precious by the unique group of ladies who cherish whatever you’re willing to share.