The Women Coaches Symposium (WCS), established in 2014, provides high-quality educational programming and professional development for women coaches. This full-day women-focused event serves as an avenue for networking and provides space to build community among women coaches. Women coaches of all sports and all levels are welcome. The WCS is a LGBTQI2S+ inclusive, safe space. While the WCS is a women-focused event, we welcome male allies who support women.
The scope, size, and value of the event, the quality of our speakers—all of whom are women—the relevancy of topics, the high level of our partnerships, and especially the women-centered focus distinguishes the WCS from other events in the coaching education landscape. To our knowledge, it is the largest event of its kind in the United States and perhaps the world.
We developed the WCS to address, and hopefully reverse, the historic decline of women in coaching leadership. In 1972, over 90% of women's collegiate teams were led by female head coaches; today, that figure has dropped below 50%—and representation is even lower at high school, club, and youth levels. Data shows that same-identity role models are vital, and women coaches serve as passionate, essential mentors for young athletes. Through research, education, outreach, and advocacy, the WCS supports these leaders to create a lasting impact across sports and communities.
The purpose of the Women Coaches Symposium is:
- to provide high quality educational programming
- to provide an avenue for networking for women in the coaching profession
- to build community among female coaches
- to recruit, retain and support women in the coaching profession
The WCS is a collaboration between the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, WeCOACH, and the University of Minnesota Athletics.
Support the WCS
You can support the WCS by contributing to the Women in Sport Leadership Fund and the Jean K. Freeman Endowment. Click here to make a donation.
Registration or WCS questions? [email protected]
This project is associated with the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport.
School of Kinesiology | College of Education and Human Development