Men and Women; Coaches and Skaters

[TheAquarian]

Why does it seem like there are so many more male coaches relative to the total number of coaches than male skaters / students relative to the total number of people in that category?   Shouldn't the numbers be about the same?  Is there something about being a guy that promotes coaching, or a woman that discourages it?   I don't know if this is  true everywhere but it is definitely true at my local rink.  Equally puzzling is that in spite of these numbers, I feel like that the female coaches at my rink seem to have a better grasp on on instruction techniques from what I've noticed. There's a couple of the guys that I've already decided I'd never consider working with if for some reason I needed a new coach because they seem to do a lot more complaining about being "sloppy" than instructing their students in different ways to approach or think about the exercises that are giving trouble.

I'm curious if anyone else has noticed this, and why you think it may be true.

[jjane45]

I too feel there is a higher male : female ratio in coaches compared to skaters. Hmmm maybe coaches on this board could give us some insights?

So far most of my favorite group lesson instructors are male, but I barely had any female instructors anyway (by chance).

[Sierra]

The majority of coaches at my rink are female. In fact, there is only two professional coaches and one LTS coach that are male.

My rink is a pretty big rink with many very good skaters that are landing triple jumps/double axels and compete in faraway competitions. The two male coaches- one is a retired Oly coach and one is a retired Worlds champ, and they've got the most expensive rates in the whole rink, so I guess they're elitist coaches. There are nine or so female coaches (I think). Five or six of them coach regularly and have many high level students. The others seem to do more group lessons with few privates. The skating director is female, and she is one of the coaches with many regular privates.
Almost all the LTS coaches are female. And there's a LOT of them. But that's directly related to the female:male ratio of actual skaters in the rink, and I've only seen 2 or 3 male figure skaters in the rink.

I, frankly, would be uncomfortable with a male coach, especially when being told to 'squeeze my butt' or 'close my legs (in my sit spin.)' And my coach really emphasizes prettiness- in everything, including jumps- and it wouldn't come across so solidly were it a guy delivering the 'is this pretty' speech. I have never been coached by a male coach, not even the LTS one.

[FigureSpins]

The more-recreational rinks I've worked at have had mostly women coaches and directors, but I've noticed that rinks with programs geared towards competitive skaters tend to have more male coaches on staff.

I think some of it has to do with the area itself.  For example, many male skaters emigrated from Russia and the Ukraine to settle in NYC and become coaches.

[MimiG]

Perhaps the ratio is closer to the ratio among "serious" skaters? I know plenty of girls that kept skating through high school who enjoyed the social aspects and the fun of competition, but were never particularly driven to improve (but helped fill ice sessions all those years), but almost all the older boys in the sport that I've known have been very serious about their training, because if they weren't they probably would have quit when the teasing set in...

[Sk8tmum]

1. Less male skaters in general than female; this is also dependent on the area, i.e. some regions/countries have a higher male to female ratio than others.
2. Some rinks attract male coaches more than others.
3. In our region, male coaches are more sought after than female due to their rarity, which means that having male coaches on staff will help bring in those skaters who want to work with a male. Also, they can double nicely as dance partners, if they care to.
4. Male coaches can be as good as, better than, or worse than, a female coach. It's not gender determinate; we have male coaches in our region who are immensely effective, as well as female coaches who are immensely effective.
5. My DD works with male coaches; we've never had a problem with the idea that she is being directed physically or handled physically, any more than we have had a problem with our DS who has female coaches who also direct him physically and handle him physically.  Both are equally comfortable with coaches of both gender, as it's simply - sports - not anything else.  Same thing, for us, as using a female doctor for a guy or vice versa; it's just personal preference.

My own "thoughts" on this, which are simply subjective observation over the years and also discussions with a range of coaches, is that, at the lower levels, coaching is more likely to be a part-time job. More women than men are able/willing/interested in part-time work. However, at the higher levels, where it is more likely to be a full-time job, men are more likely to coach as they are more likely to want a full-time position. Look at other branches of employment: where work is "less than full-time" you often have a much higher proportion of female to male due to the nature of female work patterns.

[fsk8r]

I don't think this is a universal truth. Having skated on two continents I think I've found more female coaches than male. I'm sure in certain rinks there'll be more of one gender than another, but it doesn't necessarily mean that the balance everywhere is the same.
But the standard of coaching isn't gender determinate. I've had very good male coaches and very good female coaches in the same way there are good female teachers and good male teachers.