How to Coach Girls Book Review and Free Sports Awards

Sports Awards for teams are included in this book review post. It is a free editable PDF for parent or teacher coach use.

How to Coach Girls by Mia Wenjen and Alison Foley

This book is available as of March 1, 2018 and the publisher is Audrey Press. Find them on Twitter, as well. The ISBN/SKU is 9781936426034, the ISBN is 978-1-936426-03-4. The publication date was February 26, 2018, and it is now on sale. It can be found on Amazon as well as Barnes and Noble.

Whether you are a parent or teacher coach, this book would be a welcome addition to your library as it has a wealth of information, wisdom, and experience that will enhance any coaching experience. If you wish someone could sit down with you and share what really works, doesn’t work, and why in coaching girls, read this book for such advice. The authors state that 70% of all kids quit organized sports by the age of 13, with girls quitting at six times the rate of boys? This is certainly true in my experience. Team sports help children develop friendships, learn cooperation skills, have increased fitness, and understand expectations. It is wonderful when coaches offer their time to help students develop in these ways.

Chapters include such topics as keeping it fun, promoting a growth mindset, and developing good people (not just good players). The focus is on the overall development of the person (girl) and not only athletic skill level. There are solutions to specific issues such as when coaching your own daughter and handling a losing streak. Body image is another important topic covered. There are specific “code of conduct” lists for players and parents. Having parents sign a contract is a proactive method of preventing specific issues that could arise. This book has it all! Armed with this book, any coach could be confident and ready for the season. It has checklists and how to be prepared for medical emergencies. It is very well thought out and covers every aspect of planning to and actually coaching teams. It certainly will help prevent sports drop-outs.

Although I was on a synchronized swim team in high school, it became more difficult at the college level. Our team was basically not coached and we just did individual practice. I know first hand that coaching is important and could have helped me stay in the sport. I quit early in my freshman year. Exercise classes were easier, but many had one teacher, one day/time option, and quite strict attendance rules which could be difficult during finals. There are more flexible schedules for such classes now.

I was happy to read this book and realize there are answers for coaches and that girls do need different coaching from boys. Being on teams doesn’t just result in one best player, and everyone on a team brings special skills to the group effort. I was inspired to make an editable PDF with 30 different awards for coaches to use. I asked for and secured permission to use the ideas found in the book, How to Coach Girls. For your free instant download, please click on the link below. Save it with different names so there is always a clean copy in your files.

Sports Awards

EDITABLE-for-girls-sports-teams-PDF-free

This video demonstrates how to use the awards PDF.

MIA WENJEN: Mia Wenjen co-founded Aquent in 1986 with two friends as a dorm room entrepreneur at Harvard University. She has been a member of the Board of Directors ever since and has held a number of roles at the company, including founding the West Coast operations and growing the Los Angeles, California office into the company’s largest market. In 1992, Aquent (then called MacTemps) placed #12 on the Inc. 500 list for Fastest Growing Private Company.

How to Coach Girls provides the most comprehensive guide available to the many issues associated with coaching girls teams across the spectrum of sports, from soccer to lacrosse, field hockey to softball. Volunteer parents and experienced coaches alike will find invaluable advice on the process of making a successful team, encouraging girls to stay in sports beyond the middle school years. Twenty-two chapters cover all the major issues, including how to pick captains, the importance of growth mindset, issues around body image and puberty, as well as the intricacies of coaching your own daughter.This invaluable guide is the brainchild of Alison Foley, Head Coach of Women’s Soccer at Boston College and Mia Wenjen, a parenting and education blogger at PragmaticMom and mother of two daughters, who provide personal accounts to illustrate issues discussed throughout the book. The combination of Mia’s voice of parental experience coupled with Alison’s professional expertise provides an innovative and highly accessible approach to considering potential pitfalls and how to avoid them.In the final section, a broad range of experienced college coaches, including former Olympians, give crucial guidance on what it is that girls need from a coach to allow them to flourish in sports, and most importantly, have fun.–Amazon

Volunteer parents and experienced coaches alike will find invaluable advice on creating a successful team that motivates girls to stay in sports beyond the middle school years. Twenty-two chapters cover major issues, including how to pick captains, the importance of growth mindset, issues around body image and puberty, as well as the challenges of coaching your own daughter.

In addition, fifteen professional coaches from a range of sports, including former Olympian athletes, give their advice on what girls need from a coach to allow them to flourish in sports, and most importantly, have fun.

Order HOW TO COACH GIRLS

To learn more, please check out How To Coach Girls website, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

So what can be done to retain girls in sports? The answers and so much more can be found in HOW TO COACH GIRLS. I am so proud to be able to support my friend Mia while also offering such a well-written guide that help parents and coaches understand the needs and tactics to make sports fun while cultivating WINNERS.