Friday, April 24, 2009
Equal Worth's Opinions
Be sure to check out all of the blog posts. Our group's likes and dislikes can be found on the next page!
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Who is Equal Worth?
Equal Worth consists of five group members: Alisa Goler, Ashley Eady, Ashley Pauly, Andrew Barnes, and Justin West. We decided to explore women coaches of Division 1 sports for our interview project, and found many feminist values in our research. The women that we explored are the 3 female head coaches at the University of Georgia for the following sports: Softball, Gymnastics, and Women's Golf. We hope that you enjoy!
Introduction/Statement of the Issue
Introduction/ Statement of the Issue
With collegiate sports competition at an all time high, it is time that we start to realize that women are on the rise when it comes to coaching professional Division 1 sports. This is a phenomenal achievement in what seems to be a male dominated industry. In one of the class readings, The Social Construction of Women, it explains some of the challenges that women face in order to conform to society norms; what a woman is supposed to be, how she is supposed to act, and the different tasks that she will be able to handle in her lifetime. It states that “men are usually the more aggressive type” and when most people think of coaches, it is almost impossible to think that they don’t envision a person of strength, or a face of intensity when it comes to competition. After speaking with females on collegiate sports teams here at the University of Georgia, we have found that most prefer a male coach; however, is it because they have never had a female coach? In an article called “Drop Sexist Female Views of Coaches” the sports columnist, Christine Brennan says “because men still are doing so much of the athletic hiring, they often end up picking one of their own.” This quote proves that is it hard for women to advance in the field, because they are not being given the same opportunities as men.
There are many different challenges that female coaches face; this is a feminist issue because they have to select their teams, and place them in positions where they will be most efficient and beneficial to the whole team. Why is it that people feel that a woman can’t accomplish the task of placing their athletes correctly? In “Female Coaches and Job Stress: A Review of the Literature,” it states that “the number of females playing sports has increased to over 1.8 million in the years of 1987-1988.” It would seem that with the jump in numbers that there would be more female coaches, but this has not been the case. Though we see many men that coach female teams, there aren’t many women that coach male teams. In direct correlation to the challenge of being a woman, some collegiate coaches also encounter racial stigmas inhibiting their progress towards becoming a head coach. Though it is not evident on this campus or in the coaches we examined, many top conferences such as the South Eastern Conference, Big East, and Atlantic Conference, only a few of them have hired head and assistant minority coaches. So, with the stats, what is the University of Georgia doing to get and keep more female head coaches?
With collegiate sports competition at an all time high, it is time that we start to realize that women are on the rise when it comes to coaching professional Division 1 sports. This is a phenomenal achievement in what seems to be a male dominated industry. In one of the class readings, The Social Construction of Women, it explains some of the challenges that women face in order to conform to society norms; what a woman is supposed to be, how she is supposed to act, and the different tasks that she will be able to handle in her lifetime. It states that “men are usually the more aggressive type” and when most people think of coaches, it is almost impossible to think that they don’t envision a person of strength, or a face of intensity when it comes to competition. After speaking with females on collegiate sports teams here at the University of Georgia, we have found that most prefer a male coach; however, is it because they have never had a female coach? In an article called “Drop Sexist Female Views of Coaches” the sports columnist, Christine Brennan says “because men still are doing so much of the athletic hiring, they often end up picking one of their own.” This quote proves that is it hard for women to advance in the field, because they are not being given the same opportunities as men.
There are many different challenges that female coaches face; this is a feminist issue because they have to select their teams, and place them in positions where they will be most efficient and beneficial to the whole team. Why is it that people feel that a woman can’t accomplish the task of placing their athletes correctly? In “Female Coaches and Job Stress: A Review of the Literature,” it states that “the number of females playing sports has increased to over 1.8 million in the years of 1987-1988.” It would seem that with the jump in numbers that there would be more female coaches, but this has not been the case. Though we see many men that coach female teams, there aren’t many women that coach male teams. In direct correlation to the challenge of being a woman, some collegiate coaches also encounter racial stigmas inhibiting their progress towards becoming a head coach. Though it is not evident on this campus or in the coaches we examined, many top conferences such as the South Eastern Conference, Big East, and Atlantic Conference, only a few of them have hired head and assistant minority coaches. So, with the stats, what is the University of Georgia doing to get and keep more female head coaches?
Purpose of the Research
Purpose of the Research
The purpose of our research is to highlight female coaches that have excelled in an area dominated primarily by men. We have interviewed three female head coaches to explore their experiences. We asked them questions to examine the everyday challenges they face, and talked to them about some of the techniques they use in order to stay in these positions of power. We asked these strong, accomplished women questions in an attempt to understand what has allowed them to be successful in their job, as well as how they got to where they are today. We considered the different stereotypes women must often overcome when coaching certain sports. Luckily, the University of Georgia is home to some of the most well known female coaches across the country, and their achievements thus far speak for themselves.
After talking with Lu Harris-Champer (softball), Suzanne Yoculan (gymnastics), and Kelley Hester (women’s golf) it is apparent what has driven each woman to reach their current position. Case in point, the University of Georgia only has female head coaches for three of its sixteen sports! In reality, if tomorrow our football program had a female become head coach, we would be the laughing stock of the NCAA. Although there are only 3 female head coaches of sports teams here at the University of Georgia, these women have definitely re-written the history books in their respective sports, and our school is extremely lucky to have them on the payroll.
The purpose of our research is to highlight female coaches that have excelled in an area dominated primarily by men. We have interviewed three female head coaches to explore their experiences. We asked them questions to examine the everyday challenges they face, and talked to them about some of the techniques they use in order to stay in these positions of power. We asked these strong, accomplished women questions in an attempt to understand what has allowed them to be successful in their job, as well as how they got to where they are today. We considered the different stereotypes women must often overcome when coaching certain sports. Luckily, the University of Georgia is home to some of the most well known female coaches across the country, and their achievements thus far speak for themselves.
After talking with Lu Harris-Champer (softball), Suzanne Yoculan (gymnastics), and Kelley Hester (women’s golf) it is apparent what has driven each woman to reach their current position. Case in point, the University of Georgia only has female head coaches for three of its sixteen sports! In reality, if tomorrow our football program had a female become head coach, we would be the laughing stock of the NCAA. Although there are only 3 female head coaches of sports teams here at the University of Georgia, these women have definitely re-written the history books in their respective sports, and our school is extremely lucky to have them on the payroll.
Interviews: Lu Harris-Champer
Lu Harris-Champe is the Head Softball Coach at the University of Georgia. She feels that the hardest thing for her to do nowadays is manage time. Now that she has a family and she is a coach, she feels that she has the best of both worlds; when she is at work, her team makes things fun, and it doesn’t seem much like work at all. She said, “I get to teach a group of great girl’s everyday and go home and do the same with my own girls.” When we asked her does she feel pressure because she is a woman, she told us that it isn’t because she is a woman; it is simply because she wants to win the game. With that said, she doesn’t feel like there is a gender bias here, but she looks at it more as an opportunity to do what she is good at and make a difference. Her one piece of advice is in order to succeed, you have to climb the ladder and pay your dues.
Suzanne Yoculan
Suzanne Yoculan- Yoculan is the Head Gymnastics coach that has taken our team to 5 straight NCAA National titles. She never thought that she would be a coach, and actually never wanted to be. When we asked her about her process, she said that everything happened by luck. She had the opportunity to own her own private business and also built a private club. One day, someone sent her a resume for the job and acting on instinct, she filled it out and was hired. Unlike Hester, who experienced her most difficult patch of sexism while growing up, Yoculan experienced most her hurdles when she got into the profession of coaching college gymnastics; however, the coaches for gymnastics are pretty evenly mixed between men and women. When she first got here in the 1980’s, she said that her progress was hindered in terms of pay, and just the overall thought that a woman’s place was not in college athletics. In the 80’s and 90’s, she had to fight for women’s rights because she found out that the football and baseball teams were receiving extra benefits. She wanted to make sure whatever was allowed by NCAA for men, she could get for women as well. One of her day to day challenges is fitting in with her colleagues. Guys huddle up with men, and women with women, but from a social standpoint it is definitely stratified; it is more about the sport than the females on the team. She has never felt like she wasn’t respected though, because she continues to win National Championships. Coach Yoculan said there is not any more pressure to succeed, but there is a stigma that the man should be the bread winner of the house. However, the salaries are not as bad as they used to be when she got here. She says that the one thing she truly treasures is the relationships with the girls. She is able to teach them about responsibility and also help them reach their potential athletically and academically. Her biggest advice to any female that wants to be a coach is to make sure you know what you’re getting into in terms of what it takes to become a high level winning coach, and also keeping your family first.
Kelly Hester
Kelly Hester- Hester didn’t always want to be a coach, but at the same time, she never felt like she was the best player on any one of her teams. She never considered being a coach until she was asked to be the Assistant to her former coach here at UGA. One of her biggest challenges has been Time Management. She has held many offices on the national level and with all of those comes much paperwork. She spends most of her office time sending out letters to Recruits, and sending emails to her players. The highlight of her day, though, is 2:00pm when her team comes out to practice. She deals with such a small number of players, and gets the opportunity to meet them young, and watch them develop. She also stated that winning is not the main objective, but getting to know her players is. Though Hester is the “new kid on the block,” she feels that most of the coachers here respect her, and look out for her best interest as a coach. She also feels that there is no pressure on her to become a certain thing, because she is the only one that can place pressure on herself. When we asked Hester for her advice on how to be a great coach, she said work hard and go out of your way to meet people that can help you advance.
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