Excellent article on coaching females v. males

Aug 7

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The other day I came across an excellent article by Jeff Janssen on the differences between coaching men and women. It’s kind of long, but well worth the effort to get through. 

If you’re a male coaching females, you’ll definitely want to check it out. If you’re a male who’s been coaching boys up ’til now it’s critical that you read it. There’s a huge difference, and techniques that work with boys don’t always work so well with girls.

One of the key ones is how each gender reacts (generally) to criticism. I’ve always said if you yell at girls they tend to take it very personally, and feel that they’ve let you down. If you tell at boys like that they just think you’re a jerk. This article pretty much bears that out.

By the way, if you’re a female coaching females, or a female coaching males, you’ll find this article valuable as well. Whatever combination you have, you’ll probably want to keep this one handy.

About Ken Krause

Ken Krause has been coaching girls fastpitch softball for nearly 20 years. Some may know him as a contributing columnist to Softball Magazine, where he writes Krause's Korner -- a regular column sponsored by Louisville Slugger. Ken is also the Administrator of the Discuss Fastpitch Forum, the most popular fastpitch discussion forum on the Internet. He is currently a Three Star Master Coach with the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA), and is certified by both the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) and American Sports Education Program (ASEP). Ken is a private instructor specializing in pitchers, hitters, and catchers. He teaches at North Shore Baseball Academy in Libertyville, IL and Pro-Player Consultants in McHenry, IL.

Posted on August 7, 2008, in Coaching, General Thoughts. Bookmark the permalink. 3 Comments.

  1. The Little League Coach | August 7, 2008 at 3:07 am

    Fantastic Link! I coach 2 of my daughters and 1 of my boys. It seems I always have an assistant that has come from one or the other and does not relate well. In 19 years, (I have a boy 24 and a boy 3 as well!) the toughest transition I had to make was from boys to girls. It is a brutal transition, one that I made a ton of mistakes on.I have to admit, girls are more fun to coach though! That’s for sure! They absolutely love their coaches when they do well. The impact we have on these kids should never be underestimated.

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  2. Phoenix | August 7, 2008 at 2:22 pm

    Outstanding article. Would love to be able to read the other parts without having to subscribe if they’re available to post.

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  3. Ken Krause | August 9, 2008 at 7:33 pm

    Phoenix, I’m not a member either so I don’t have access to the rest. Maybe one of the readers of this blog can help. Coach, the girls are definitely more fun. I’ve coached both as well. Boys can definitely be more resistent to coaching, even when it will do them some good. If you treat them right, girls will do everything they can to absorb all you say, execute it, and succeed. They also tend to smile more, as a rule.

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