ABSTRACT

Volunteer women coaches in non-elite sport are underrepresented in coaching literature. To address this gap, 14 women were interviewed to explore their lived experiences as volunteer coaches within a female-only team sport of ladies Gaelic football at non-elite level in Ireland. The participants met the following inclusion criteria (i) over eighteen, (ii) with at least five-years coaching experience and (iii) a coach education qualification. The Ecological-Intersectional Model informed the design and analysis phases. The findings show how support within the home is essential for their coaching involvement. The relationships with fellow coaches and athletes are integral to a positive experience and all coaches indicated a player-centred coaching philosophy. However, there are still some negative perceptions of women in coaching at societal level such as conscious and unconscious gender bias. The findings highlight the need for club-based support structures to attract, support, develop and retain volunteer women coaches at non-elite level.

摘要

非精英运动中的志愿女教练在教练文献中的代表性不足。为了解决这一差距，我们采访了 14 名女性，以探讨她们在爱尔兰非精英级别的女性盖尔足球女子团体运动中担任志愿教练的生活经历。参与者符合以下纳入标准 (i) 超过 18 岁，(ii) 具有至少五年的教练经验和 (iii) 教练教育资格。生态交叉模型为设计和分析阶段提供了信息。调查结果表明，家庭内部的支持对于他们的教练参与至关重要。与其他教练和运动员的关系是积极体验不可或缺的一部分，所有教练都表示以球员为中心的教练理念。然而，在社会层面，仍然存在一些对女性执教的负面看法，例如有意识和无意识的性别偏见。调查结果强调需要以俱乐部为基础的支持结构来吸引、支持、培养和留住非精英级别的志愿女教练。