A few minutes before practice, a  Paly athlete, who asked that The Campanile not use her name due to the sensitive nature of the topic, stands at the edge of the field, rehearsing the same sentence in her head over and over. She wants to tell her coach she’s on her period and isn’t feeling well, but she can’t seem to get the words out. 

Talking about personal topics can feel hard with a male coach who doesn’t understand the experience of being a teenage girl in sports, but a study by researchers at the University of Canterbury showed gender stereotypes and societal expectations influenced how athletes rated their coaches, with the “ideal” image of a coach at an elite level being male, regardless of whether the athlete was male or female.

Senior track athlete Lilia Kuzmicheva, who has had both male and female coaches saidmany stereotypes exist about male coaches. 

“Male coaches are stereotypically harsher, stricter and scarier,” Kuzmicheva said. “I think approaching female coaches and building a relationship with them is a lot easier.”

Junior track athlete Anaira Khurana agrees and said she feels more comfortable talking about sensitive topics with female coaches.

 “(For things like) body image, weight concerns, stuff about appearance, periods, I would go to a female coach,” Khurana said.

Kuzmicheva has also found some topics are more difficult to discuss with coaches of the opposite gender.

“Topics like nutrition, for example, are harder to talk about, because obviously, the female body is very different,” Kuzmicheva said.

And when approaching male coaches, Kuzmicheva said she is more cautious around them.

“There would be a certain distance I would keep,” Khurana said. “But if it’s a female coach, I feel comfortable telling her absolutely anything.”

But these coaching stereotypes can negatively impact male coaches, even those focused on providing equal opportunity. Girls wrestling coach Jon Kessler said it can be difficult to find a balance between coaching and compassion.

“We always have a positive atmosphere in the wrestling room, and sometimes it’s tough because you have to coach hard,” Kessler said. “(We want to create) opportunities for everybody to compete and learn the same way, get the same type of coaching.”

Ultimately, Kessler said his coaching staff tries its best to be approachable to everyone, regardless of gender.

“(We keep) open conversations (and are) happy to chat with any wrestler about any issue or concern that they might have … on or off the mat,” Kessler said. “If they have any questions, (we) help guide them.” 

Still, discomfort can linger, andKhurana said she is more conscious about clothing choices when around male coaches.

“A lot of the time in the weight room, with a male coach, it does get a little awkward, especially because it gets really hot, and we’re training in sports bras,” Khurana said. “Sometimes I do get conscious of that. I’m hoping that the coaches are nice people who wouldn’t really care about it, but with a female coach, I’ve never had to worry about stuff like that.”

Kuzmicheva said in a perfect world, there would be coaches of both genders on staff. 

“Female coaches are more supportive and easier to talk to, and it’s just nice having someone of the same gender to practice with and get advice from, because it can be different than the advice male coaches give,” Kuzmicheva said.

Kuzmicheva also said as she progresses in her sport, it gets more important to have a role model of the same gender. 

“A lot of high school sports just have one male coach, and that’s fine,” Kuzmicheva said. “Collegiately, when you become more serious, it may be helpful to have someone of your gender that you can talk to about your problems with. They are more understanding.”

Kessler, though, said said finding gender balance in a coaching staff can come down to availability.

“It would be great, but unfortunately for our sport, it’s still growing in the girls and women’s field,” Kessler said. “One of our (female) volunteers (has) been out. … Any time we have her here, it’s great for our girl wrestlers to (talk to) her, because sometimes maybe they’re not as comfortable talking to a male.”

Khurana said the issue is important enought that she hopes schoolstake into account diversity when hiring a coaching staf.

“A lot of times, female coaches can be role models, showing us that women can lead and be good athletes, and male (coaches) can do the same for boys,” Khurana said. “It definitely matters to have both , and both bring different perspectives and approaches into a sport.”