12 // Coaching Female Athletes
Learn how to help female athletes reach their potential with the latest knowledge from a stellar cast of experts and coaches.
Coaching the Athlete in Front of You
Lauren Vallee talks about how important it is to take into account an athlete’s background to truly do your best work as a coach.
Women Are Not Small Men—and Here’s the Research to Prove It
In this research digest Dr. Stacy Sims highlights some of the most pertinent female-specific research that every coach needs to know.
Training Through Menopause—with Dr. Stacy Sims
Dr. Stacy Sims gives her advice on how to coach women through all stages of menopause.
How to Coach Mom-Athletes with Empathy and Understanding
Being a mom and an athlete can require world-class juggling and coping skills. As a coach, how can you best support and empower these athletes? We find out from Coach Alison Freeman (who’s also a Mom-Athlete).
A Male Coach’s Guide to Understanding the Unique Needs of Female Athletes
It can be difficult for male coaches to know their role in helping female athletes navigate performance in context of the menstrual cycle and hormones. Coach Bevan McKinnon shares his experience and learning on this topic and some helpful tools.
With Is Greater Than Against
When female athletes are encouraged to work with their competitors—not against them—it raises everyone’s game, as Coach Lauren Vallee knows only too well.
What Gets in the Way for Women
Body image, underfueling, negative self-talk, comparison—these are just some of the things that commonly prevent female athletes achieving their best, yet they don’t have to. One coach shares her way of turning this around.
Coaching Resilience, Every Cycle
Lauren Vallee brings a unique perspective to an athlete’s menstrual cycle, viewing it as an opportunity for coach and athlete to build resilience every single month.
How the Menstrual Cycle Can Work to the Athlete’s Advantage
If an athlete is regularly tracking their menstrual cycle, it serves as a key performance indicator for adaptation and performance.
Changing the Conversation from Weight Loss to Performance
The misconception that “lighter is better” has undermined endurance athletes of all genders, but a shocking number of female athletes have been emotionally and physiologically destroyed by weigh-ins and negative body talk. Coaches can learn how to best navigate conversations on this topic with these simple guidelines.
Separating Fact from Fiction for Female Athletes—with Dr. Stacy Sims
When it comes to coaching female athletes there’s an abundance of myths and misconceptions. Physiologist Stacy Sims sets the record straight.