Book Looks at Increase in Men Coaching Women's Sports

Print Story | Email Story
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — As women's sports have grown in the last 30 years, the percentage of women coaching women has declined from above 90 percent to under 45 percent. A Williams College researcher has asked, why?

"Past studies demonstrated that women coaches encounter gender issues that persist due to the inherently male-centered nature of sport," said Christina Cruz, author of "Gender Games: Why Women Coaches are Losing the Field" (March 2009, VDM Verlag).

Cruz, a research analyst in the strategic planning and institutional diversity department at Williams College, examines the "intertwining aspects of gender, relationships, coaches' struggles, and the resultant sense of self as coach in her book.

"Women coaches do not feel the effects of the gender inequities on the fields and courts, but in the hallways and staff meetings, in their roles as 'colleagues,'" she writes. "These issues force women into 'micro-competitions' (seemingly inconsequential, private struggles that female coaches have within the context of their relationships) in an effort to gain respect, to stand their ground, to find voice, to survive inappropriate behavior, and to be accepted as part of the athletic department."

Today, women's collegiate sports have been absorbed by men's athletic departments and are coached by more men than women. In 2008, women directed only 21.3 percent of the programs and coached only 42.8 percent of women's teams as head coaches.

In her book, Cruz points out that female coaches endure a value system that puts men on top, the perception that men work harder than women, and the problems of juggling family and work. They constantly face comparisons to their male counterparts, and men's athletics often garner more attention than do women's athletics.

The book includes compelling stories from five female coaches, which shed light on the "strong sense of self as coaches and diminished sense of self as colleagues."

Cruz said, "When I began this study, I questioned what happens to a coach's sense of self. I hypothesized a linear movement from gender issues within the culture of sport to micro-competitions in female coaches that influence their relationships, which in turn influence their sense of self as coaches."

What she found is the importance of reaching beyond issues of gender to consider the culture of sport and its effects on relationships, micro-competitions, and sense of self in coaches and athletes.

She argues that instead of encouraging cutthroat competition, sport culture should encourage team spirit, sportsmanship, and camaraderie.

"Coaches need to move the culture of sport beyond its male-centered origins, to leave behind a masculinity that has long outgrown its usefulness in a culture that touts team spirit, sportsmanship and camaraderie," she writes. "Careful attention to leveling the playing field and enlivening the honorable elements of athletics will do much to enrich lives on college campuses and beyond."

Cruz was a member of 1980 U.S. Olympic Rowing Team. She served as head coach of women's crew at Williams College for 12 years before pursuing her doctorate in education at the State University of New York at Albany. She received her bachelor of science degree in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her awards include the Civilian Congressional Medal of Honor.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

North Adams Regional Reopens With Ribbon-Cutting Celebration

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff

BHS President and CEO Darlene Rodowicz welcomes the gathering to the celebration of the hospital's reopening 10 years to the day it closed. 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The joyful celebration on Thursday at North Adams Regional Hospital was a far cry from the scene 10 years ago when protests and tears marked the facility's closing
 
Hospital officials, local leaders, medical staff, residents and elected officials gathered under a tent on the campus to mark the efforts over the past decade to restore NARH and cut the ribbon officially reopening the 136-year-old medical center. 
 
"This hospital under previous ownership closed its doors. It was a day that was full of tears, anger and fear in the Northern Berkshire community about where and how residents would be able to receive what should be a fundamental right for everyone — access to health care," said Darlene Rodowicz, president and CEO of Berkshire Health Systems. 
 
"Today the historic opportunity to enhance the health and wellness of Northern Berkshire community is here. And we've been waiting for this moment for 10 years. It is the key to keeping in line with our strategic plan which is to increase access and support coordinated county wide system of care." 
 
Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, under the BHS umbrella, purchased the campus and affiliated systems when Northern Berkshire Healthcare declared bankruptcy and closed on March 28, 2014. NBH had been beset by falling admissions, reductions in Medicare and Medicaid payments, and investments that had gone sour leaving it more than $30 million in debt. 
 
BMC was able to reopen the ER as an emergency satellite facility and slowly restored and enhanced medical services including outpatient surgery, imaging, dialysis, pharmacy and physician services. 
 
But it would take a slight tweak in the U.S. Health and Human Services' regulations — thank to U.S. Rep. Richie Neal — to bring back inpatient beds and resurrect North Adams Regional Hospital 
 
View Full Story

More North County Stories