News

SPARK Presenters Revealed for WCS Line-up

We are excited to announce our SPARK PRESENTER line up for the 2018 WCS.

This year we added a SPARK! = Speak. Personally. About. Relevant. Knowledge component to the program because coaches have great experiences and wisdom to share.

spark

We invited coaches to submit their “big idea”, best practice, lesson(s) learned, “how to”, or a novel idea. Coaches could also give advice, educate, motivate, provide insight, tell an inspirational or funny story, create awareness, or instigate a call to action. There’s only one rule... when 5 minutes have passed, the bell sounds and time is up!

We got an overwhelming response and have an amazing group of women SPARK Presenters which compliments our already high quality speaker list.

Scroll through the Speaker Bios to see who might SPARK you!

 

WCS Closing Keynote "Changing our Narratives Together"

Tucker Center Co-Director Dr.Nicole M LaVoi will close out the WCS with a keynote focused on Changing the Narratives for and about Women Coaches, a subject she feels passionate about and has focused her work on in 2018. You can read Dr. LaVoi's five-part blog series on this important topic here.

NARRATIVES MATTER! When a narrative is repeated over and over, it becomes truth.... and then in turn it begins to affect how women are evaluated, perceived and interacted with in the recruiting and hiring process.

Everyone must take an active role in changing the narratives on and about women coaches! You won't want to miss this!

WCS Keynote Speaker Susan Teeter

Susan Teeter
In her 33 years as head coach of the Princeton women’s swim team, Susan Teeter established herself as one of the most decorated swim coaches in the country. Princeton’s all-time leader in wins, Teeter tallied over 220 team victories and guided her program to 17 Ivy League titles.  During one stretch of seven seasons, Princeton won a school record of 47 consecutive meets; they also won five consecutive Ivy League titles during that time. Her legacy earned her an American Swimming Coaches Award of Excellence for four straight years, from 2006 through 2009; in 2011 she was awarded the prestigious College Swim Coaches Association “Lifetime Achievement Award”. Most recently, Teeter was elected President of the College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association by her colleagues. She was also named USA Aquatics Sports’ Most Outstanding Woman for 2015 and will be the fourth Jean K. Freeman Keynote speaker for the WCS.

Introducing our 2018 Media Partner!

Our Media Partner for 2018 is See47 Productions, owned and operated by Colleen Carey! Colleen has over 20 years of experience coaching club, high school, college and ODP soccer. She is a current staff member with Minnesota ODP and the Woodbury Soccer Club. She was previously the Director of Coaching for the Eagan Wave Soccer Club and Head

Colleen Carey
Women’s coach at the University of St. Thomas.  She created and owns the media production company See47 Productions. She is passionate about telling stories and recognizes that stories of women and girls in sports need to be told more.  She will be behind the camera at the symposium but would love to say hi, so don’t be shy!  Check out her website www.see47productions.com.

Meet our 2018 Programmatic Partner!

TCSL
Our Programmatic Partner for 2018 is Twin Cities Soccer Leagues(TCSL). TCSL aims to provide the highest quality soccer league experience in Minnesota, offering competitive soccer for all levels of play. 

We are excited to share that TCSL is partnering up with We Impact Sport Excellence (WISE) to offer a soccer education event for women coaches the day after our symposium! Female soccer coaches of all levels are invited to Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium for a FREE soccer-specific on-and-off field workshop on Saturday, April 21, 2018. Registration is open here

 

Tucker Center releases annual Women in Coaching Report Card

2017-18_select_7_cover
The Tucker Center, in collaboration with the Alliance of Women Coaches, is proud to announce the release of the 2017-18 Head Coaches of Women’s Collegiate Teams: A Report on Seven Select NCAA Division-I Conferences [AAC, ACC, Big East, B1G Ten, Big 12, PAC-12, SEC] report and infographic. 40+ years after the passage of Title IX, female sport participation is at an all-time high but the percentage of women coaching women at the collegiate level is stagnant. While the number of collegiate coaching opportunities is also at a record high, only 20% of all college coaching positions for men’s and women’s teams are filled by women. One goal of this report is to change that trend. Highlights of key findings:
  • The percentage of women head coaches of women’s teams went up for the 5th year in a row and is now at 41.5%
  • In 60% of vacant head coach positions, a male was hired, 14% were of female head coaches were replaced by a new male head coach
  • Cincinnati and University of Central Florida were the only institutions to be awarded an A grade.
  • Nine institutions earned F grades
  • None of the select 7 NCAA D-I conferences received above a C grade

Download full report and infographic, as well as reports from D-III and D-II here.

"A Person of Influence" Molly Grisham added to WCS program

Molly Grisham
Molly Grisham has 20 years experience coaching club, high school, and college soccer coach.She now owns Influence LLC where she works with teams all over the country on leadership development, team building, group facilitation, and personality assessments. She is also a partner at Success for Teams LLC where she provides coaches with a path to help their teams overcome adversity.

In her WCS session Molly will focus on how to use Icebreakers and the Experiential Learning Cycle to help build a team.

adidas to Sponsor WCS Happy Hour

adidas logo
We are pleased to announce two important developments for the 2018 WCS.

1. We are bringing back a post-WCS happy hour based on feedback from you! This will be a great time to continue conversations, network, catch up, and unwind "off the court". Happy hour will be held across the street at Buffalo Wild Wings immediately following the WCS from 3-5pm.

2. adidas has generously agreed to sponsor the happy hour!

 

 

Mindful Coaching with Dr. Missy Price added to WCS program

Missy Price
We are excited to announce and welcome Dr. Missy Price to the speaker line-up for the 2018 WCS! Dr. Price brings valuable experience and knowledge to share with attendees. She will share insights and strategies in her talk "Mindful Coaching: Tools you can use right now!"

She is the Head Soccer Coach and an Assistant Professor at Wellesley College. Price also serves as a Vice President on the Board of Directors for United Soccer Coaches (Formerly NSCAA) and will ascend to President in 2021, and on the Coaches Council of the Alliance of Women Coaches. She is a graduate of the NCAA Women’s Coaches Academy and the newly created Academy 2.0. Price became the first attendee of these academies to earn both the Judy Sweet and Cecile Reynaud Coaching Mastery Awards.

Read more about Dr. Price in her speaker bio.

Meet the Founder of the Sports Bra Project

Sarah Dwyer-Shick
Meet Sarah Dwyer-Shick, Founder of the Sports Bra Project our chosen philanthropic partner for the 2018 WCS! Attendees are invited to bring a new sports bra and/or hold a sports bra collection drive at their school/club before the WCS. In return your donation will get you additional raffle tickets which can be applied to win amazing prizes and in turn will make a difference in the lives of girls. A drop-off station will be available on site.

For some girls and women, lack of access to a sports bra—due to logistical, cultural or financial factors—can be a barrier to sport participation. Utilizing networks of female coaches and athletes to collect and distribute sports bras, The Sports Bra Project is striving to eliminate one barrier to increase the likelihood of sports participation for all girls and women. Twitter: @SportsBraProjec

We have added group registration!

We have added a group registration option for this year's coaching symposium!

If you are registering a group, please note that you will need to supply the following variables for EACH participant in order to complete the registration process: 

  • Name
  • Ethnicity 
  • Coaching position 
  • Sport 
  • Athletic affiliation (NCAA or NAIA division, high school, etc.
  • Year started coaching (if applicable) 
  • Year retired from coaching (if applicable) 
  • Highest level of education 
  • Lunch choice (Grilled chicken club sandwich on toasted wheat; Turkey, feta, spinach, and sun-dried tomato ciabatta; Thai beef wrap; Mozarella, red pepper, balsamic and kale ciabatta; or Garden salad
  • Plans to attend post-symposium happy hour (Yes, No, or Maybe
  • State of residence
  • School/club/organization affiliation
  • Preferred Email

If you have any problems with the group registration process, please consult the following instructions or reach out to Matea at [email protected]



- Detailed Group Registration Instructions -  

On the registration landing page, you will be prompted to use an existing University of Minnesota account to complete the registration process, or to create a guest account. When you choose the appropriate option, be sure to select "I am registering one or more people".

registration landing page

You will be prompted to choose a “registration package” (Administrator, Coach, Student, or VIP). Choose the registration package that applies to at least one member of your group; you will be able to add different registration packages in a following step. Hit continue.

choose registration

On the next page, you will be prompted to add one or more participants to the package you selected. Your name should automatically appear if that is the name you used to initiate the registration; below your name is a link to “add another participant”. Use this to add your group participants you are registering for this registration package (for instance, if you selected “coach”, add all of the group members who will register as “coaches”). A pop-up window will appear to prompt you to add basic information for each participant.  

add participant to package

Once you have created your group members, be sure to click the “Add” button next to each group member’s name to add them to the registration package you selected (for instance, “coach”).

add participant

If you need to register other participants for a different registration package (for instance, “administrator”), you will be able to do so in a following step. Once you have added all group members for this package, hit continue.

You will be asked “Would you like to add more participants and/or packages?” If you need to add more participants, click “Yes, add another”, which will redirect you to the registration packages page. Repeat the process from above with the appropriate registration package.

would you like to add

Once you have added all participants, click the appropriate buttons to complete the checkout process. You will be prompted to enter the following information for all participants before you pay:

  • Name
  • Ethnicity 
  • Coaching position 
  • Sport 
  • Athletic affiliation (NCAA or NAIA division, high school, etc.
  • Year started coaching (if applicable) 
  • Year retired from coaching (if applicable) 
  • Highest level of education 
  • Lunch choice (Grilled chicken club sandwich on toasted wheat; Turkey, feta, spinach, and sun-dried tomato ciabatta; Thai beef wrap; Mozarella, red pepper, balsamic and kale ciabatta; or Garden salad
  • Plans to attend post-symposium happy hour (Yes, No, or Maybe
  • State of residence
  • School/club/organization affiliation
  • Preferred Email

Please reach out to Matea at [email protected] with any questions about the group registration process!

Expert speaker Dr. Cindra Kamphoff back by popular demand!

Cindra Kamphoff
Dr. Kamphoff is recognized nationally for her work and contributions to the field of performance psychology. As a leader, high performance coach, author, professor, and speaker, Dr. Kamphoff brings passion, energy, and authenticity to her work with athletes, performers, business people. She recently appeared on KARE 11 discussing, "Top ten practices of the world's best."

She is back by popular demand at the WCS and is always a coach favorite! Read more about Dr. Kamphoff in the Speaker tab.

 

Registration is now open!

To celebrate a new year and to invest in yourself, register now! Early Bird Registration for the 5th annual Women Coaches Symposium is now open!

 

WCS Program is Action Packed!

The program for the 2018 WCS is nearly complete!

We have a line-up of networking, experts, engaging discussions, and a new, exciting, dynamic, element where coaches (you!) will SPARK = Speak.Personally.About.Relevant.Knowledge. To submit your SPARK contact Anna [email protected] for more information or read about the SPARK post in the "About Us>News" tab.

Registration opens January 1.

You can see more details about the WCS under the "Program" tab including our speaker biographies.

If you or your organization wants to be a partner, vendor or sponsor please see our "Partners" tab.

 

 

Share your SPARK at the WCS

For the 2018 WCS we have added a new, exciting, dynamic, and engaging programmatic element: SPARKS! 

Coaches can learn a great deal from each other and we encourage YOU to participate!!!

spark

Coaches will SPARKSpeak.Personally.About.Relevant.Knowledge. Coaches can share a personal or professional “big idea”, best practice, lesson(s) learned, “how to”, or a novel idea, give advice, educate, motivate, provide insight, tell an inspirational or funny story, create awareness, or instigate a call to action. There’s only one rule... when 5 minutes have passed, the bell sounds and your time is up! Submit your SPARK for consideration by Feb.15, 2018 by emailing a 150 word explanation of your SPARK to Anna at [email protected].  Applicants will be notified by March 1.

Expert Speaker on Supporting Student-Athletes in Distress Added to WCS

Student-athlete mental health is a common issue all coaches deal with, often with very little training or knowledge on the subject. Coaches have a role in supporing athlete mental health and Emily O'Hara will provide practical strategies and best-practices to help this process.

Emily O'Hara, a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker and Care Manager in the Office for Student Affairs at the University of Minnesota, has been added to the WCS line-up! She will give a breakout session titled: Supporting Student-Athletes in Distress: We All Have A Role.

To learn more about Emily, find her bio in Program>Speakers tab.

Download & Post the WCS Promo Flyer

To help promote the Women Coaches Symposium to the women coaches in your department, school, club or community, please download the flyer. We hope to see you April 20th!

WCS 2018 Flyer

Expert Panel on "The Art of Negotiation" Announced for WCS

According to a recent article in Forbes magazine, "The act of professional negotiation has a completely different definition for men than for women. For women, negotiation is seen as an improper act of appearing “greedy” or desperate. It is frowned upon by women, who are often intimidated by the act of asking for their worth in business and the workplace." Many women coaches fail to realize they possess numerous resources that continue to remain under-utilized, as well as have leverage and a unique value proposition (UVP; defines the replacement value of your professional contributions to workplace and departmental culture). Often women need assistance and the tools to help eliminate the stigma of asking and improve their negotiation skills, because they are often aware that negotiation might not always be in their best interest according to the Harvard Business Review.  How then, do women navigate the art of negotiation?

Panelists
A trio of highly experienced women with a variety of perspectives in collegiate athletics will lead a panel discussion on The Art of Negotiation for attendees of the Women Coaches Symposium. Lori Kerans, Julie Manning, and M. Dianne Murphy(pictured L to R) will share their advice, perspectives and insights on how women coaches can leverage their positions and negotiate more effectively in the marketplace.

Recently the Tucker Center added a resource to help women coaches realize their UVP titled, "The Women Coaches' Playbook for Being Hired and Retained."