Alliance of Women Coaches

A few months ago I got an email about the Alliance of Women Coaches. They are an organization that supports women in the coaching profession and helps them with professional development. I went to the website and discovered that the CEO is Marlene Bjornsrud, someone I met when I volunteered with the Bay Area Women in Sports Initiative (BAWSI), years ago. She has since turned BAWSI over to new leadership and is now promoting women who coach full time. I met with Marlene once to talk about women's sports, finding a job, and promoting women's athletics, and in that one time I was so impressed by her I knew that I too wanted to work in the field of promoting women's athletics. Long story short, I immediately joined the Alliance just because I saw her name.

 I attended the WeCoachU conference at CSUN that was put on by the Alliance yesterday and it was fantastic. All of the speakers, including Marlene, were compelling and I could relate to them. There were very few high school coaches, but I got to meet athletic directors, talk to DI head softball coaches, and share experiences of what it is like to be a coach. The National Convention is coming up in July and I am going to try to attend that too.

Before Title IX was passed in 1972 90% of women's sports were coaches by women. Now, that number is down to only 30%. Where are all the women coaches? I am a proud Alliance member dedicated to the cause of creating the future of coaching women's sports. We are doing a disservice to this generation who do not have strong women leading their teams. I am determined to help change that, one player at a time.