The Goal
The goal of the coaching girls guide is to help coaches create sport spaces that are more inclusive and welcoming for girls and other young people on the gender spectrum who are traditionally marginalized from sport.
You can download the Coaching Girls Guide by clicking on each of the following languages:
English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian and Turkish.
How to Get – and Keep – Girls Playing Sport: What Coaches Need to Know
Around the world, girls love sport every bit as much as boys do. They enjoy competing, mastering skills, building friendships and being active. Yet the data is clear: girls start later, participate less, and drop out earlier than boys—often not because of lack of interest, but because of the environments around them.
The Coaching Girls Guide, developed by Nike highlights what really matters for engaging girls in sport, and how coaches can create experiences that help girls thrive. Drawing on global research, expert input and field‑tested practice, the guide offers practical, actionable strategies that every coach can use—regardless of sport, age group or setting.
Why Girls Drop Out – and Why Coaches Matter
Research shows girls face unique pressures in sport:
- Conflicting messages about femininity and athleticism
- A lack of visible female role models
- Fear of judgement or making mistakes
- Teasing and exclusion in male‑dominated spaces
- Fewer opportunities, resources, and accessible facilities
Despite this, the biggest predictor of whether a girl keeps playing is how she feels about her coach.
A great coach helps girls feel:
✅ Safe
✅ Seen
✅ Supported
✅ Challenged
✅ Capable
And most importantly: welcome in sport.
5 Essentials for Coaching Girls Well
1. Create Safe, Welcoming and Inclusive Spaces
Girls cannot perform—or even participate—if they don’t feel physically and emotionally safe. Coaches should:
- Ensure facilities are clean, well‑lit and hazard‑free
- Make sure bathrooms are accessible and stocked
- Display images and examples of women in sport
- Provide chances for girls‑only spaces
- Adapt equipment (lighter balls, modified rules) to help build confidence early
Even small changes—like starting in a circle so no one’s excluded or intimidated—go a long way.
2. Build Real, Supportive Relationships
For girls, relationships are central to feeling motivated and valued.
Great coaches:
- Learn and use every girl’s name
- Hold regular 1‑to‑1 check‑ins
- Ask questions instead of just giving instructions
- Celebrate different kinds of contribution (effort, teamwork, encouragement)
- Encourage meaningful peer relationships
Research shows that girls stay in sport when they feel connected—both to their coach and to one another.
3. Let Girls Compete (They Want To!)
One persistent myth: girls aren’t competitive.
In reality, girls love competition—when it is structured in ways that feel positive and purposeful.
Girls thrive when coaches:
- Encourage competition and connection
- Celebrate effort and bravery as much as scoring
- Provide multiple forms of challenge
- Make room for personal bests and team goals
- Design fun, inclusive competitive moments (e.g., celebration dances, “Girl of the Game” awards)
Competition should build confidence, not fear.
4. Focus on Progress, Not Perfection
Girls often experience pressure to “get things right” the first time. That fear of mistakes can stop them from trying new skills.
Coaches can counter this by:
- Celebrating improvement over outcomes
- Giving specific feedback (“I loved how you kept trying after slipping”)
- Setting personal goals with each girl
- Helping them track their progress over time
- Asking reflective questions like “How did you do that?”
When girls see themselves improving, they stay.
5. Encourage Bravery, Not Perfection
Girls are often praised for being “good” rather than being bold. But sport is all about risk-taking, experimenting and learning through mistakes.
Help girls be brave by:
- Rewarding courage (e.g., “Bravest Player of the Day”)
- Normalising mistakes—coaches should share their own!
- Using gestures or routines for “letting go” of errors
- Creating activities that push girls gently beyond their comfort zone
- Praising attempts, not just successes
When bravery is valued over perfection, girls flourish.
Additional Tools Coaches Can Use
The guide offers practical resources, including:
✅ Girl‑Centered Environment Checklists
A way for coaches and programme leaders to review safety, inclusion, equipment, language, and team culture.
✅ Ready‑Made Session Plan Templates
Designed to weave in team‑building, skill development, risk-taking and reflection.
✅ Behaviour Bank
Daily coaching “micro‑behaviours” that build equity, confidence and belonging—for example:
- Track how often you say “girls” vs “guys”
- Ensure girls have space to speak without interruption
- Introduce role models from women’s sport
- Create regular feedback opportunities
✅ Activities to Address Gender Bias
Simple group activities that help coaches recognise inequity and challenge assumptions about female athletes.
Coaching Mixed-Gender Teams
Mixed-gender sport can be powerful—especially before puberty, when variations in ability are individual rather than gendered.
Key steps for success:
- Group players by skill level, not gender
- Avoid different standards or special rules “for girls”
- Praise and challenge all athletes equally
- Address teasing or stereotypes immediately
- Ensure girls have leadership opportunities within the team
What helps girls thrive usually helps boys thrive too.
The Bottom Line
Girls love sport—and they deserve sport environments designed with their needs in mind. When coaches:
- Prioritise safety and belonging
- Build relationships
- Support healthy competition
- Celebrate progress
- Encourage bravery
…girls stay, grow and shine.
Coaches have enormous power to shape a girl’s sporting journey—and in many cases, her life far beyond the pitch.
Let’s use that power wisely.
ICOACHKIDS is committed to supporting coaches everywhere to make sport a place where every girl can belong, play, and thrive.
