Gophers staff to be featured at Women Coaches Symposium

Gophers Associate Head Coach Krystle Seidel (Photo Credit: Jeremy Olson)

Gophers Head Coach Stefanie Golan (Photo Credit: Jeremy Olson)

Did you know that in 1972, 90 percent of collegiate women were coached by women? Today that figure is only ~40 percent. That type of startling statistic is what the Women Coaches Symposium is meant to address.
 
Since 2014, the event has provided professional development for women coaches, featuring speakers from across the country who have excelled as coaches in every sport from swimming to tennis. The WCS is a collaboration between the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, the Alliance of Women Coaches, and the University of Minnesota Athletics.
 
Golan and the Gophers
 
This year, a second day will be available for women soccer coaches specifically. The on-and-off field workshop is being put on in collaboration with We Impact Soccer Excellence (WISE) and the Twin Cities Soccer League (TCSL) at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie and it will feature Gopher Head Coach Stefanie Golan and Associate Head Coach Krystle Seidel.
 
"We are excited to take part in the Women's Coaches Symposium,” Golan said. “We recognize that we are the only D1 program in the state, and we welcome opportunities to interact with and serve as mentors for other women coaching in the community.”
 
Based on the Tucker Center’s recent report, the University of Minnesota is doing fairly well, at least relative to its peers. It received a B+ because just over 64 percent of it’s women’s teams are coached by women. In women’s soccer in particular, women make up half of the coaches in the Big Ten.
 
Golan knows that the best way to improve those numbers is to be a strong example for other coaches. She’s proud that the Gophers program has two strong leaders who can bring others into the field.
 
“One of the things I'm not sure everyone realizes is that both Krystle and I are married with young families, and we want younger women to realize that you can have the best of both worlds,” Golan explained. “We want to embody ‘If I can see her, I can be her,’ and this is an opportunity to bring other women into our world."

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