After coaching in the North Halton Twisters organization for seven years, Sarah Sinclair began to notice a trend. Each year she saw fewer women behind the bench.
“We had as many as nine female coaches at one time,” she said. “Last year we had two.”
It caused Sinclair to take a closer look. Her research showed that in the 1970s, more than 70 per cent of women’s sports teams were coached by women. Today, despite growing participation of girls and women in sports, that total has dipped to 25 per cent.
Rather than lament the trend, Sinclair decided to do something about it. That led to Empower to Lead, a junior coaching program the Twisters are launching this year. Open to players 16 and older, it pairs players with a mentor and provides opportunities for them to get an introduction to coaching.
It's based on a model created by the Coaches Association of Canada and Canadian Women in Sports
“They found through research that women are more likely to stick with (coaching) if they’ve been mentored,” Sinclair said. “When you look at the benefits of mentoring, it talks about significantly increasing learning, motivation and confidence and reducing feelings of isolation.”
The program is open to Twisters players 16 and older. It will be coupled with another new initiative, Leap Forward, to form the Emerging Leaders Program.
Open to players ages nine to 18, Leap Forward teaches leadership skills and fosters a sense of community, helping players become better teammates and citizens.
It provides opportunities for players to help in skills development of younger players, with the First Shift program, which introduces new players to the game, or assist with other Twisters events like the championship day. By providing a variety of opportunities, players can sign up for what interests them, or works best with their schedule.
Letitia McDougall, who will lead Leap Forward, said the two programs are meant to complement one another, though one is not a prerequisite for the other.
“Ideally, they would start with Leap Forward, build some skills through helping with on-ice and other organizational initiatives, and then hopefully that would set them up really well and then, if they’re interested, go on to do the Empower to Lead coaching program,” McDougall said. “Then almost like a cycle, we’d hope that graduates from the Empower to Lead program would then help coach teams the following year.”
Both Sinclair and McDougall say with the success of the Professional Women’s Hockey League’s first season, it's an ideal time to introduce a leadership program. Sinclair - who started in ringette because it was the only sport available for girls, before transitioning to hockey - took her 16-year-old daughter to a PWHL game.
“You would expect someone like myself who has seen the struggles the women’s professional hockey players have had (to understand the importance of the pro league),” she said. “I didn’t expect how emotional it would be for my daughter and her generation. I think that generation really gets what a significant moment it is, and how impactful it is.”
Milton’s Victoria Bach, who plays for Toronto in the PWHL, has participated in several Twisters events. McDougall said having that connection with pro players helps inspire others.
“To have her at our awards banquet and then to be able to see her playing on TV, it feels more real and feels more attainable for them.”
And that's the goal of the Emerging Leaders programs - to show players that whether or not they go on to play pro, they can still be a role model for younger players.
“Yes, they’re female athletes, but they are part of something bigger,” McDougall said. “They’re still part of the community. There are kids coming up that look to them as role models, so how can they embrace that and keep that cycle going for the kids younger than them.”
And while the goal is to inspire players to pursue coaching, Sinclair said the programs can provide skills that will benefit in all aspects of their life.
“The bottom line is to see females who are inspired by the program want to continue their coaching journey,” she said. “The end result is seeing the leadership skills and the confidence grow with the girls. To me, that’s a success.”
To learn more about or to register for the programs, visit the Halton HIlls Twisters website.