What Happens When Girls Walk Into the Weight Room?
I want you to think about last season for a minute. Go back to last season and picture the two or three places your team gathered most often to practice, lift, or train. Got the images?
Now, I want you to remember times a young woman, a group of women or a team in your athletic department of women walked through those spaces. How did you guys act? Was there cat calling? Was there snickering? Was it business as usual?
Why did I start today’s blog with this? Because the post I screenshotted to share above (originally posted on IG by @mentalhealness) is probably one you could share in a one off with your guys. Put it up, ask them to think about the weight room, and then walk through how ridiculous it is for a group of guys to admit (without knowing it) that they are unable to finish their own set of weights simply because a woman is present.
As if women wake up every morning and choose their workout attire to tempt men, as if women’s sole purpose on this earth is to convince men to have sex with them, and that men are so feeble of mind that they immediately go into a cartoon-like trance of assaulting anything that moves in their presence if skin is visible. The implication is that women bear responsibility for men's thoughts simply by existing in shared spaces. That shifts responsibility away from men's own choices and self-control. I HOPE you could share this and have that conversation with your guys.
However, I started this entry with the exercise I gave you because while your players may not be to this level of weaponized victimhood, they may have failed miserably in the moments I asked you to visualize. If you are a hoops coach, what happens in the transition time between the girls team leaving the floor and your guys taking the floor? If you’re a football coach, how do your guys behave while waiting for the soccer team to finish their practice before you take the field? If you are a strength coach, literally what happens when you have mixed gender training sessions (and if you avoid them, is it rooted in the silliness of the supposed Jesus is King guys in the graphic’s “lust free” desires)?
Today's post isn't really about these men or their gym. It's about using their argument to #MirrorTrain and examine what actually happens in your own spaces when women enter them.
Coach Prompts
Think about your shared athletic spaces. What behaviors consistently appear when girls or women enter the room?
Where are athletes receiving the clearest message about respect: during formal team meetings or in everyday transition moments?
If a female coach or athlete observed your team for one week, what would she say your culture communicates?
Player Prompts
Do you act any differently when girls or women enter the weight room or practice space? Why?
What message does your behavior send to someone who doesn't know you?
What does real self-control look like in shared spaces, and who is responsible for it?
Run Your Program's System Audit
If today's post made you wonder what your athletes actually communicate in the moments you're not addressing directly, don't guess.
Click here to run the free Decision Confidence Analysis™ and discover where your program is reinforcing healthy decision-making—and where hidden gaps may still exist.
