Job market in college softball

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Jun 27, 2021
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Every year it happens like clockwork. Coach steps away to focus on family, coach is fired, coach gets another job etc. In the game of softball does it matter if the coach is male or female? As my daughter went through the process she said she wanted to play for a female coach. I didn't think much about it at the time. She was camping at schools that had both but dwindled it down to 3 school made up of different dynamics. All male, all female and female HC with one female and male asst. In the end, she chose the mixed bag.

So does it matter and if your daughter wants to pursue coaching after college. Does it limit her chances going up against males just looking to coach a game they didn't play.

*For the record there are tremendous male coaches out there in the game, this is just for discussion.
 
Jul 29, 2013
6,782
113
North Carolina
So does it matter and if your daughter wants to pursue coaching after college. Does it limit her chances going up against males just looking to coach a game they didn't play.
No, I don't think it limits her at all.

We've had excellent coaches and downright horrible coaches from both male and female! The three most absolutely horrible coaches were all three female.....

*Anna's MS coach for one year, she was made to coach but nevertheless she was one stupid and mean human being! No business being there!
*Anna's 14U National travel team, she was a complete drunk. and just an asshole! The worst year....and only bad year with this organization!
*Anna's college coach, no idea how she got this job?? Mean and vindictive, just a demon! She doesn't crack the top 5 in TB coaches we've had! I've drove 90 miles one way so many times to watch this lady's decisions lose games in late innings! Like WHAT ARE YOU DOING?? Not your girls....YOU!!


EDIT:
on the flip side, Anna's 18U Travel coach was awesome, can't say enough good about her!
 

radness

Possibilities & Opportunities!
Dec 13, 2019
7,270
113
So does it matter and if your daughter wants to pursue coaching after college. Does it limit her chances going up against males just looking to coach a game they didn't play.
No I do not think gender makes a difference.

However the discussion of equal pay for women should be addressed and found solution. Of which that topic revolves around a lot of different jobs.
 
Jun 27, 2021
418
63
No I do not think gender makes a difference.

However the discussion of equal pay for women should be addressed and found solution. Of which that topic revolves around a lot of different jobs.
agree wholeheartedly on the pay. Personally I'd like to see majority of the coaches be female across the board and that goes for any female sport.
 

LEsoftballdad

DFP Vendor
Jun 29, 2021
2,838
113
NY
Does it matter if they're male or female? To me? Not at all. To the girls? It might. Like Buttermaker, we've had good and bad female and male coaches. It's all about the person, not the gender.

Daughter #1 had an awesome final year of TB coach. Female.
Daughter #1 had a horrible 14U/16U coach. Female. She started out wonderful, but she left her teaching job to take a job as a PO, and it all went downhill from there. She played D1, so she knew the game, but she was a pathetic trainer who treated the girls like they were 8U, not prepping for college. When we left, she used her authority to give me a ticket after I presented the other PO with her PBA card. She was eventually fired by the softball organization for incompetence, but she's still a PO.

Daughter #2 had horrible 12U coach. Female. She too was a drunk and berated girls at early tournaments because she was hungover. She knew more than you because she played the game, and she was going to make sure you knew. Eventually, the parents banded together to show the organization what she was doing, and she was fired.
Daughter #2 had a wonderful 14U coach. Male. He played high-level college baseball and was one of the nicest people I have I ever met in softball or regular life. His only downfall was he was too loyal to some girls who vacillated between softball and volleyball, so rather than cut them, he let them linger. I still talk to him regularly to this day, and my daughter wishes she had stayed with him.
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
Hey this thread looks interesting. Let me see what..

AIiCPTA.gif
 

marriard

Not lost - just no idea where I am
Oct 2, 2011
4,312
113
Florida
So does it matter and if your daughter wants to pursue coaching after college. Does it limit her chances going up against males just looking to coach a game they didn't play.

*For the record there are tremendous male coaches out there in the game, this is just for discussion.

Not at all. Opportunities for woman coaches are accelerating - almost all the HC in my DD's conference are woman. And for the most part, they are making good money. Certainly more than even a few years ago.

Also the opportunity to be a grad assistant having just come off playing are plentiful (my DD college has 2 who she played against over the past couple of years. I know of 5 or 6 ex-players of mine who are getting free grad school as grad assistants - that is a good deal.
 

radness

Possibilities & Opportunities!
Dec 13, 2019
7,270
113
The highest paid softball coach in the country is Patti Gasso.
Yep.
Nice that there are some female employees who are paid correctly for their job. Her seniority is top notch!

Unfortunately it does not equalize the gap of all pay comparison issues.
Only reason brought up pay scale is because OP post is a consideration for a job.

Not on a bandwagon about this topic because I don't think gender makes a difference on who can get hired. But when considering a 'job' there may be some jobs that will pay more equally than others will. 🤷‍♀️

(Considering how much a private instructor can make yearly is another good option in coaching and staying in softball! )
 
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