The team at Title Nine has many players — and many coaches. Our own athletic and personal lives have been shaped and influenced by coaches we’ve had, making the decision to embark on the same path an important one. We look up to those who lead the way for us: it’s time for us to lead the way for the next generation.
Do YOU coach? Tell us why below.
I coach because I love to feel alive and nothing makes me feel more alive than being active and helping young athletes become stronger, smarter and healthier. I love helping young women feel confident in their dreams and who they are. Coaching strength and conditioning allows me work with a great variety of athletes. I love that!
I coach because I love to feel alive and nothing makes me feel more alive than helping young athletes grow stronger, better, smarter and healthier in whatever sport they love. It’s a gift for life. I am a running & strength and conditioning coach.
I’ve been coaching since 1972. Then I started because Title IX was introduced, which stated that in high schools, there should be a corresponding girls’ sport offered for every boys sport.
What fun it was! Tons of opportunities, clinics, new camaraderies to explore. Basketball, Tennis, Volleyball, Softball, Lacrosse…they were all available to girls !
Then I discovered that coaching gives back to the coach 10-fold. Players want to be there, they are focused, want to improve, and think that pearls of wisdom drip from your mouth! Imagine teaching a classroom of students that motivated!
Now, even though i am a retired Physical Education teacher, I just can’t give the coaching up. I love being with the kids, and love teaching them a life-time sport. (tennis)
I coach 3-4 graders on a coed SYSA track team in Spokane, Washington. This is my first year coaching and so far it’s been a lot of fun. I decided to coach because my daughters prior soccer coach thought I might be interested, since I have been a runner most of my life. My goal with the season is to teach the kids how to run, jump and throw properly. I am really focused on trying to keep good form. That way in the future when they are competing they are doing everything properly, and avoiding any injuries. I have also been pushing each of them to try to beat their previous times, distances versus always winning. I want to see improvement but I also want to keep it fun and encouraging for all of them. That way even my kids who don’t run as fast will still see themselves improving and I hope that they come back to my team again next year. Some days may be challenging but there is the kid who will come up to you after a hard practice and say “Coach I have really learned a lot from you” and after hearing that from just one kid I know I am doing what I am suppose to be doing. I am learning so much from the kids, myself and the parents. It really does take a lot of work and energy to run a team. More than I ever would have anticipated. I hope the parents and kids out there appreciate all the hard work that we volunteers put out to hopefully teach their kids skills that we hope will last a lifetime. My hat is off to all the Coaches out there!
I have been coaching Girls on the Run at a Vermont elementary school for the past six years. I love this program because it combines a curriculum with running-which is a passion of mine. I am by day a clinical social worker and have worked with at risk children and families for many years-what I love about doing this is that I truly feel that movement is one of the best forms of therapy-and the combination of learning plus running is perfect. This area is very rural and many girls do not have great opportunities to shine and this program helps them boost their confidence and learn team work.
I coach U14 girls fastpitch softball. I started doing it because I saw girls who we’re being told they weren’t good enough at an age that they need to know they definitely are! I love teaching them skills and making them work hard to see the transformation that happens during the season, both on and off the field. Not only do they become very good, very confident ball players, they also become a close-knit team and build friendships that extend far beyond the field. My proudest moments are not the wins (although they’re pretty awesome!) but the way the girls treat each other and build each other up so that no one is left behind. Their smiles and laughter are my treasure.
There’s a bond between any beach lover and the ocean and surfing just takes that passion to a new level. Through lessons I concentrate on surfing etiquette and ocean awareness so anyone can ultimately go out in the lineup and feel confident to catch their own wave. I teach surfing because I know that first wave carries will them through life even after they leave the beach. Coaching allows me to share the stoke!
I currently coach high school lacrosse in WA state. I am a former college lacrosse coach at the University of Washington, Pacific Lutheran University, University of Puget Sound and Western Washington University. I started the HS program here in WA in the early 80’s after having played college lacrosse at the University of Massachusetts. I have tried to “retire” many times but keep getting drawn back into the fold because of the passion I have for the sport, that I wish to pass on. To have passion for anything in life is a necessity- so I am committed to passing mine on to those girls who love this game. Besides HS girls are such a joy and a pain.
I have been playing baseball, softball and soccer since I was 7 years old and continue to play at the age of 41. My 6 and 8 year olds have grown up every weekend on the sidelines since they were 6 weeks old watching me play. Now we both play both sports together, them on weekdays and Saturdays and me on Sundays. I play soccer in the morning and softball in the late afternoon. I decided to coach both their teams because it was very meaningful to have their mom their on the sidelines as their mentor and their biggest fan, at all times. Their childhood goes so fast, so this was my chance to BE THERE for them, to inspire them, to the first one to give them a high five or a hug after they score a goal or strike a batter out. At the age of 11, I was the first girl in my league to play for the Majors baseball. The boys wouldn’t talk to me until I proved I could play the sport. Our team ended up as the champions of our league and we continued on to the tournament of champions play. I am currently the only female coach with my son’s team of 8-11 year olds. We are in 2nd place and trotting our way to first. I also manage our co-ed softball team I put together. A coach is very rewarding! The kids look up to you as their guidance, their mentor. You can have such a great impact on these young athletes.
the athletic path of
I coach because there were those before me who showed me that sport was the means to finding confidence, finding out that I wouldn’t break, that I could focus and find success. Now I coach hoping that those I work with will find those precious moments of “I can and I am”. There is nothing more rewarding than watching the growth of those you coach and often your own growth from what you have learned from them.