After reading these articles, I realized how much I could sympathize with these women.  Like most of them, I had a great experience with my coach, although he was a man.  The first article talks about what kind of problems and successes women face when they begin coaching, and bring up strategies and ways to support women coaches.  The second article talks about what really brings women into the career of coaching.  For me, it’s the love of the sport, and the desire to share that passion by teaching others how to play.  I think beginner coaches really need to stay focused on developing their style, to be attuned to their athletes, and to not sweat the small stuff.  It’s really important that coaches have a strong support system because the job is demanding, low-paying, and very time consuming.  Despite all that, coaching is extremely rewarding, which is why most women decide to stay a coach.  It’s great to see athletes “find” themselves and to be a part of that development.

Membership in USA Water Polo as a coach, including participation in USA Water Polo sanctioned events, is a privilege, not a right. Due to the influence of coaches upon athletes, and their position as spokespersons for the teams that they coach, the role of coaches is particularly important to USA Water Polo’s fulfillment of its goals and mission. Accordingly, coaches are expected to adhere to the highest standards of conduct on their own part and also to insist that the athletes under their supervision observe the rules applicable to those athletes.

Sportsmanship

Coach members of USA Water Polo are expected to demonstrate good sportsmanship. This includes, but is not limited to, avoiding the following conduct:
1. Hazing or taunting an athlete, coach, referee or any person participating in, or conducting, USA Water Polo sanctioned events;
2. Physically or verbally abusing an athlete, coach, referee or any person participating in, or conducting, USA Water Polo sanctioned events including, but not limited to, making derogatory comments about such person’s race, sex, religion, age, disability, national origin or sexual orientation;
3. Using obscene gestures, or profane or unduly provocative language toward an athlete, coach, referee or any person participating in, or conducting, USA Water Polo sanctioned events;
4. Publicly and unduly criticizing an athlete, coach, referee or any person participating in, or conducting, USA Water Polo sanctioned events including, but not limited to, inciting others to engage in conduct in violation of these Rules; and
5. Negative recruiting by making unduly derogatory statements about the members or coaches of another team. In addition to not engaging in the foregoing types of conduct themselves, USA Water Polo coach members are expected to disassociate themselves from others who may be engaged in such conduct and are responsible for ensuring that athlete members under their supervision do not engage in the foregoing conduct.

Violent Behavior

Although water polo is a physical sport, coach members of USA Water Polo are expected to refrain from encouraging athlete members from engaging in any act with the intent of causing injury to another athlete.

Drugs and Alcohol

Coach members of USA Water Polo shall not: (a) encourage an athlete to commit a doping
violation as defined by the International Olympic Committee, the World Anti-Doping Agency, The United States Anti-Doping Agency, the United States Olympic Committee or the Federation International de Natation or (b) use or provide alcohol or drugs in violation of local, state, or national laws.

Relationship with Athletes

Coaches shall not engage in any financial or sexual relationship with athletes. Coaches shall actively promote the good health and well-being of athletes, deferring to the judgment of medical advisors and, in the case of athletes who are minors, the parents of such athletes, regarding an athlete’s ability to participate in any athletic activity. Coaches shall not discriminate against athletes based upon their race, sex, religion, age, disability (except where such disability affects an athlete’s ability to perform), national origin or sexual orientation.

Reporting Rules Violations

Any person who believes that a violation of USA Water Polo’s Rules Governing Coaches’ Conduct has occurred may report such violation by submitting a written grievance to USA Water Polo at the following address:
Office of the CEO USA Water Polo, Inc. 2124 Main Street, Suite 240 Huntington Beach, California 92648 Fax: (714) 960-2431 E-Mail: mlam@usawaterpolo.org
All grievances must: (a) identify the coach against whom the grievance is being filed, (b) provide the details of the complained of conduct, (c) request the imposition of a specific sanction, such as the suspension of the coach member’s membership in USA Water Polo and (d) either a filing fee in the sum of $100.00 or a request that the filing fee be waived for reasons of financial hardship. Any request for a waiver of the filing fee will be acted upon by the Judicial Committee of the Board of Directors and, if the requested waiver is not approved, the filing fee must be paid prior to the time that the Hearing Panel appointed to hear the grievance acts with respect to the grievance Notwithstanding the foregoing, the following persons need not pay the filing fee referred to above: (a) a referee with respect to any Rule violation that is alleged to have occurred during, or in close proximity to, any game officiated by that referee, or (b) any official of a tournament with respect to any Rule violation that is alleged to have occurred during, or in close proximity to, the tournament for which that official was responsible.

Enforcement

Alleged violations of these Rules may be brought to the attention of USA Water Polo as provided in Article 15 of the Bylaws of USA Water Polo, Inc. and shall be addressed by a Hearing Panel appointed as provided therein. That Hearing Panel may impose such sanctions as the Hearing Panel deems appropriate including, but not limited to, placing the offending coach member on probation, suspending the coach member’s membership in USA Water Polo for a period of time, or permanently barring the coach member from membership in USA Water Polo, depending upon the severity of the violation and the history, if any, of previous violations of these Rules, or the Rules Governing Athletes’ Conduct, by the coach member.

Visit USA Water Polo for more details.

The coach shall be aware that he or she has a tremendous influence, for either good or ill, on the education of the student-athlete and, thus, shall never place the value of winning above the value of instilling the highest ideals of character.

The coach shall uphold the honor and dignity of the profession. In all personal contact with student-athletes, officials, athletic directors, school administrators, the state high school athletic association, the media, and the public, the coach shall strive to set an example of the highest ethical and moral conduct.

The coach shall take an active role in the prevention of drug, alcohol and tobacco abuse.

The coach shall avoid the use of alcohol and tobacco products when in contact with players.

The coach shall promote the entire interscholastic program of the school and direct his or her program in harmony with the total school program.

The coach shall master the contest rules and shall teach them to his or her team members. The coach shall not seek an advantage by circumvention of the spirit or letter of the rules.

The coach shall exert his or her influence to enhance sportsmanship by spectators, both directly and by working closely with cheerleaders, pep club sponsors, booster clubs, and administrators.

The coach shall respect and support contest officials. The coach shall not indulge in conduct which would incite players or spectators against the officials. Public criticism of officials or players is unethical.

Before and after contests, coaches for the competing teams should meet and exchange cordial greetings to set the correct tone for the event.

A coach shall not exert pressure on faculty members to give student-athletes special consideration. A coach shall not scout opponents by any means other than those adopted by the league and/or state high school athletic association.

Go to the National Federation of State High School Associations for more details.

July 2009: My high school water polo coach and I at the wedding of two of his former players/my teammates

I always think, what’s the point of knowing how to do something really cool if you can’t share that knowledge with others?  In my 7 years of playing, I’ve had such a great experience playing with so many different people and I’ve learned several styles and ways to play.  I’ve had such a unique experience with water polo because I’ve played on both a women’s and men’s team.  My main reason for wanting to coach is to be able to share my experience with other girls and to help guide them through life playing water polo.  My high school coach has been one of the biggest influences and role models in my life and I can only hope to be as wonderful of a coach and person as he is.  Throughout the years, I’ve really learned to love the sport and the people I’ve played with.   It’s so amazing to social and surround myself with people who share the same values that I do and I think coaching is a great way to share my knowledge and passion.  Coaching is unique because while I may be sharing my knowledge and teaching other people, I know I will be learning a lot about life and about myself.

Winning is awesome!  Athletes are competitors and have a natural disposition to win.  Winning comes as a result of hard work, dedication to the team, sport, coach, and individual.  As a coach, I would encourage my athletes to work hard and do the best they can, but never at the expense of both their physical or mental health or academic work. 

My objective about helping athletes have fun is:

to have fun myself.  If I personally enjoy what I do, I know I will make the best effort to ensure that my athletes are also having fun while learning.  It’s important to teach athletes in a way that is constructive to building up performance both mentally and physically. I find a lot of satisfaction in seeing others really love water polo and to ensure this, my job as a coach is to make sure I work just as hard as I expect my athletes to. 

My objective about helping athletes develop physically, psychologically, and socially is:

be a good example and role model for my athletes.  I was so lucky to have a great experience with my high school coach who basically became another parent to me.  I want to make sure I myself am a representative of good behavior, values, and character.  Being a coach means that I’ll be spending 2-5 hours in a day with my team so I know that my attitude on the pool deck is going to influence them.  I know that I will not only be teaching them sport skills but also skills that they will use forever in life.  My purpose as a coach is to help my athletes develop their own personalities, discover their strengths and weaknesses, to overcome challenges, to improve their athletic talent, to incorporate life skills into sport, and provide them with an environment to have fun.

Coaches often use these dry erase boards to set up "plays"

When situations arise in which I must choose about these three objective, my priorities will be:

to always put my athletes first. Being a coach comes with the expectation of being someone who is responsible and dedicated to their team.  I think it’s important to really evaluate both the individual and the team to assess how to approach teaching them so that I can create an environment that is both fun and physical.  Athletes are like plants.  You have to nurture plants for it to fully blossom.  Winning should never come at the expense of health, academics, or having fun.