Why I Love Coaching Girls

In my fourth year of coaching the Teton Region team, which has grown so large it's now split into Teton Valley and Jackson Hole, I've gained confidence in myself as a leader. For the first two years I was so hesitant, unable to articulate lessons and advice, concerned I didn't have the respect of my audience. Last year I grew comfortable talking to the kids, yelling at them, teaching them. This year with additional training I've embraced the title of coach and, watching the kids progress through the program, I can now say with certainty that it has a positive impact on their lives.

Especially the girls. I've done some coaching clinics and led group rides with women but I much prefer girls. Women are busy and hard to pin down, and their fear has calcified and they aren't willing to challenge themselves as much. I've seen exceptions, women who charge forward into a new sport with passion and motivation, but girls are more reliably open to learning and hungrier to improve. It seems like girls have a more articulate learning style than boys. When I take a girl aside, give her praise, and then make a suggestion, I can see the processing. She thinks about it, tries it, analyzes the results. Boys are much more susceptible to actions than words so the best way to teach them is to beat them. (On the trail, not bodily.)

Our team has always had exemplary girls. We haven't gone a single race without at least one girl standing on top of the box. The coaches can't take much credit for it--most of these girls are genetically gifted athletes. However, we certainly don't hurt them.

It's not bragging to say that Amanda Carey and I are great role models, women who are strong without being too type-A and intense. All we care about is the kids, not our own racing, and we've been a consistent presence for the team through the years. Having women who are role models is great for the boys too. I don't think any of the boys who have stuck with the program think that female riders are weak or inferior--their coaches and teammates prove that false all the time.

The girls generally ride with the boys, divided up by skill level--they're not tagging along, they're in the mix, jostling for position. But once in a while we let them segregate and go on girl rides, in which the older girls thrive as leaders and the younger girls chase them, challenging themselves and feeling part of a separate, awesome group. Now we have the third generation of new riders coming up and while they were nervous and uncertain at the first couple of practices, now they've tasted success, grown in skills and confidence, and enjoyed the shock of being told they won spots on the podium. I absolutely love seeing that.