One of our goals as coaches is to create a team culture in which every player feels that their contribution is significant to the success of the team. If we are not aware of how our language, messages, and actions affect every person on our team, we can lose some kids. From managing parents/guardians to thinking about spirit days to being ready to address issues such as micro-aggressions, privilege, or ignorance, what we do as coaches is critical to bringing everyone together. This presentation helps coaches look at policies and practices so that we can be inclusive, proactive in our efforts to build unity, and appropriately responsive when there are issues.

1. Lakeside School Coaches
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee
Seattle Girls’ School
Coaching Them as People:
Using Sports to Create Inclusive School Culture
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)

2. About Seattle Girls’ School
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)

3. Agenda
• Most Valuable Players
• What’s Your Coaching Philosophy?
• Issues That Come Up in General
• Small Group Discussions
• Report Out
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)

4. Coaches - Most Valuable Players
• Students spend more time with you than almost any other
adult at the school.
• Students WANT to be there, have to earn their place
there, and have to work to keep their place there.
• Students are with you for several years.
• Students who have a healthy relationship to school sports
are more physically fit, have better grades, have better
self esteem, are less likely to engage in risky behavior,
and more.
• Students who have a healthy relationship to school sports
report the experience as the most influential teacher of life
skills.
• If done intentionally, sports is sometimes the only realm in
students’ lives where diverse groups of kids compete on
level playing ground and meritocracy works.
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)

5. Coaching Human Beings
• Integrity
• Resilience
• Learning from Failure
• Sportsmanship
• Collaboration
• Sacrifice
• Excellence
• Leadership
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)

6. Your Coaching Philosophy
Why did you become a
coach? How have you
seen the power of sports in
your own life or in your
students’ lives? Are there
core philosophies or
values in how you coach?
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)

7. Issues That Come Up
Across Identity and Difference
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)

8. Gender: Lower Status of Girls
• Girls decorate boys’ lockers for
spirit, but not vice versa
• “Girl push ups,” “running like a
girl,” “throwing like a girl,” calling
boys “ladies” when they are not
performing.
• Use of mascots – male players are
called “Spartans” but female
players are called “Lady Spartans”
• Photos of teams show strength of
boys and sexiness of girls
• “Locker room talk,” male athletes
“getting their pick of younger girls”
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)

9. Gender:
Gender Fluid and Transgender Students
• Questioning of gender
• Lack of private changing,
showering facilities
• Not respecting pronouns
• Lack of gender neutral team
gathering spaces
• Lack of
communication/accommodation
during away games and other
schools’ facilities
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)

10. Race/Ethnicity/Culture
• Assumption of Black and Latino
students as financial aid students
• Assumption of White, Asian, or
Middle Eastern students as not on
financial aid
• Assumption of correlating race and
sports (e.g. Black = basketball)
• Cultural modesty and uniforms
• Hair requirements
• Cultural appropriation or
minimization on spirit days (e.g.
Mexican Fiesta)
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)

11. Sexual Orientation
• Assumption of heterosexuality –
“bring your girlfriend” “bring your
boyfriend”
• Give your jersey to a cute girl.
Give your jersey to a handsome
boy.
• Locker room talk – boys must talk
about girls and girls must talk
about boys
• Homophobic slurs – “fa**ot” “no
homo” “such a dy*e”
• Speculation about who’s gay
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)

12. Socioeconomic Class
• Where did you go for break?
• We’ll go out after the game.
Just bring $20.
• Team gear and swag that
nickel and dime families
• We’ll take turns bringing in
snacks and drinks for the
games.
• Privileging of players whose
family donates gear, pays for
food, etc.
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)

13. Religion
• Not respecting religious
head coverings
• Non-consideration of prayer
times
• Penalty for missing practices
or games for religious
observances
• Penalty for kids who are
fasting
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)

14. Open Space Discussions
• Gender Bias, Gender
Inclusion,
Race/Ethnicity/Culture,
Sexual Orientation,
Socioeconomic Class,
Religion, Other
• What are OUR issues?
• What can we do to
increase inclusion?
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)

15. Open Space Sharing
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)

16. Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)
Closing

17. Final Questions or Comments?
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)

18. Presenter Information
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee
6th Faculty and
Professional Outreach
Seattle Girls’ School
2706 S Jackson Street
Seattle WA 98144
(206) 805-6562
rlee@seattlegirlsschool.org
http://tiny.cc/rosettalee
Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee (http://tiny.cc/rosettalee)