I'm convinced that the question we can ask ourselves as coaches is not "what is the difference between coaching girls vs. coaching boys?" but rather "what do I need to change/adapt for the group I have right in front of me?" Learning the group of players and what gets them going has been more important for me than trying to fit them into gendered stereotypes. Now with that being said, if I do choose to generalize, I might say that the main reason most (not all) girls play is because they are friends with their teammates and they like coming to practice to have fun together. I have learned that for my U11 group this is true, and I will acknowledge that's a pattern I've seen with many, many players who identify as female. Therefore, socializing and connection has been central to my Zoom sessions.
On Tuesdays we have a session that is not practice but just a time to hang. I'll prep something to chat about (like the social impact challenge) or do together (like a short video). They all seem to enjoy some time to just socialize esp. since "distance learning"/school is not that, at least according to my players. They are 4th and 5th graders so a lot of them do not have their own phone, social media, or email...which means they are pretty disconnected from their friends so this gathering is special for them.
On Thursdays we have practice where the majority of time is spent with mics muted and bodies moving. So I am sure to open the session with a quick round of responses about how they're doing so they all get to talk and/or type into the chat box. Then at the end there's time built in to unmute mics. We do 5ish minute breakout rooms to allow for more voices and better engagement. My preference is pairs or 3 players max. Usually when they return to the main room the energy is high and goofy. We'll end with our cheer (funny sounding with the lag) and lots of laughter before saying bye
Hope that's helpful! Would love to hear thoughts and ideas from others
Great info and ideas!! Thanx
Thank you