Since 2001, TASL has promoted women in coaching and sport leadership through a dynamic combination of action learning programs, internships, mentoring, conferences, and advocacy.
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Creating a Pathway for the Next Generation of Female Coaches
In 1972, the year Title IX became law, approximately 90% of all women’s sports programs were headed by female coaches.
Since then, interest in women’s athletics has exploded— with more girls and women participating in more sports than ever before.
And yet today, just 42% of women’s sports teams are coached by women, according to the most comprehensive and current study of the issue. (http://www.acostacarpenter.org)
The Academy for Sport Leadership (TASL) is a Michigan-based nonprofit organization dedicated to reversing that trend by encouraging and training the next generation of professional female coaches.
Through our Future Coaches Camp, Coach-Mentor Training Workshops, Athletic Administration Internships, Women’s Sport Summit and TASL's web-based education programs, we inspire and educate young women—and prepare them for leadership positions in the world of women’s sports.
Latest News
Michigan Coaching Paths Survey: Initial Findings
At this time a year ago, The Academy for Sport Leadership conducted our first survey of the career pathways and satisfaction levels of Michigan high school coaches.
Survey Goals
When we constructed the survey, we had two purposes in mind:
1. To encourage current coaches in Michigan to pool and publish information about their own professional experiences; and
2. To find out from current high school coaches in Michigan the formal and informal pathways as well as the distinctive and shared journeys they take to become satisfied coaches.
Encouraging Response
We are pleased to say that 277 coaches responded to the electronic notice we sent to Michigan high school athletic directors, requesting them to encourage their school coaches to participate in the survey.
Of the total 277 who decided to participate, 99 were women and 178 were men. Among them, 75% currently hold or have held a paid coaching position for four years or more.
We are heartened by this inaugural response. Special thanks, as well, to all the coaches who took time to complete the survey. We appreciate the many thoughtful comments coaches included at the end of the survey. We are still processing all the rich information these coaches have passed on to us.
In the meantime, we want to make sure the survey's findings, particularly the key findings that are statistically meaningful, are published and available for the coaches who participated, and the public, for further review and discussion.
Initial Findings
Here are the survey's findings:
Coaches in the survey had an interest in joining the profession at a young age. Close to 60% responded that they first wanted to be coaches between the ages of 16 and 22.
