Handball: Coaching Boys vs Girls - An important issue that you must understand!

A while back I conducted some research into the personal differences between the girls and boys I coached around that time. I carried out the research to demonstrate that just as all coaching contexts are different (participation - performance, junior - senior, male - female), so too is every individual athlete in every single coaching situation. Being able to adapt is a vital function of a sports coach and a primary challenge for a coach is to respond to the many challenges presented by their athletes (Nash, 2015).

Two challenges which require a change in approach from the coach are gender and age - specifically during highly stressful periods of their lives.

Here is a 4 minute read that scratches the surface of the complexities associated with the role of the coach when working with girls and boys at different ages, from my perspective as a coach and coach educator.

In general, young girls put an enormous amount of pressure on themselves to succeed. They are so determined to perform at 120% in all areas of life in order to achieve success, and commonly have the feeling that it is never quite enough. In fact, the phrase ‘the 12 century girl’ has been coined in Danish schools due to the fact that most girls are desperate to achieve a grade 12 (the highest grade) in all subjects, this self-inflicted pressure put on themselves can be reflected negatively in other areas of their lives.

In the modern day world, where social media, earning money, friends, relationships take up so much time and effort, the feeling that there is not enough hours in the week can be a sensible conclusion for many young people. This issue represents a huge challenge for youth Handball coaches as participation in sport can often be the first activity to be cut from a young persons’ week schedule.

It is therefore important for the coach to speak openly with the girls (and their parents) about the pressures of everyday life, and how sport might be an opportunity for girls to have a mental break from their otherwise stressful or busy schedules. For the talented, success orientated Handball players, it is okay that their ambition takes a back seat occasionally and this must be communicated to them..

Contrary to girls, in my experience boys do not generally place the same pressures on themselves. In adolescence, boys often require (and can adapt well to) a well-intentioned kick in the behind, usually at school or at home. Boys will typically use Handball as a way to meet friends and teammates and momentarily forget about other pressures.

So while girls might attempt to give 120% in all areas, boys have a tendency to give 80% and are usually more able to be pushed to give more, given that they have a little left in the tank.

We would urge you the coaches to take this into consideration when working with your players, particularly during stressful periods in their lives, even if their level of ambition requires full dedication!

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Scott