Nike hosts youth coaching conference to address gender gap

The GIST: Last week, Nike hosted its first-ever Coach The Dream event at its world headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon. The goal was to highlight the impact of coaching on the next generation of athletes and discuss how the sports ecosystem can evolve to keep kids in the game through conscientious coaching, which could lessen the gender gap in youth sports. Put her in, coach.

The experience: Nike brought together athletes (including retired WNBA star Sylvia Fowles), coaches, nonprofit orgs, and journalists to address participation gaps in youth sports, especially when it comes to gender. Attendees experienced the benefits of Nike coaching firsthand from running global head coach Chris Bennett and master trainer Kirsty Godso.

• Plus, Nike Community Ambassadors — store employees trained to coach youth athletes in their communities — led a session on inclusive coaching practices. Leveling the playing field.

The context: Last October, data from Nike and Dove’s Body Confident Sport project showed teenage girls drop out of sport at twice the rate of boys, which is unfortunate considering the Women’s Sports Foundation (WSF) has found that sports participation lowered girls’ levels of depression and anxiety.

• There’s also a gender gap in coaching at the youth level — of the 6.5M youth coaches in the U.S., only 26% are women, according to Nike’s director of social and community impact Matt Geschke.

The impact: Coaches are uniquely empowered to make a difference: 74% of respondents for the Body Confident Sport project said their coaches had a positive impact on body confidence. Nike VP chief impact officer Vanessa Garcia-Brito told The GIST it was helpful to learn that girls want their coaches to directly address issues that impact their body confidence.

• “They want that from them, they expect it from them, and when they don’t get it, that is demotivating as well,” she added.

Zooming out: Beyond providing clothing and equipment, Nike can leverage its roster of expert coaches to shape the global sporting pipeline. By addressing the gender gap in participation and coaching, Nike has a head start in creating the next generation of women athletes — ones that will be lifelong ambassadors of the “coolest” Gen Z brand. We stan.