Title IX gave women opportunities that their mothers or grandmothers never dreamed of.
The federal law, which forced universities to fund women's sports, opened the door for women to play, but its impact on the gender imbalance among coaches at the university and youth levels isn't as obvious.
Women often are found on the sidelines as soccer moms or cheering from the stands with photo buttons of their children pinned to their jackets.
Experts say this is because of the way men and women are socialized.
"Most women choose to be team moms," said Michael Messner, a sociologist at the University of Southern California. "And most men choose to be coaches because the subtle, but powerful informal dynamics of the team meetings and other interactions essentially push women and men in these directions.
"Many people see the gender dynamics of the team replicating what they see as a normal family dynamic — man, coach, doing the public instrumental leadership work and woman, team parent, doing the behind-the-scenes support work."
Playing leads to coaching
Statistics show men dominate college head coaching positions.
In Division I of the NCAA, male coaches outweigh women by more than a 3-1 ratio, according to a 2003-04 NCAA race and gender demographic report. At MSU, of the 21 official sports, six females hold head coaching positions.
MSU volleyball head coach Cathy George says good coaching is about having a firm grasp of a sport in general — and nothing else.
"It really is based on someone's knowledge and background," she said. "Whoever is qualified to fulfill a coaching position should do it."
George said she has noticed more women coach at the lower levels. As more women gain the experience of playing sports because of Title IX, more might be led into coaching.
"Not as many women had the opportunity to play sports growing up, so they don't have the confidence to coach now," George said. "Recently, more women have been given these opportunities to play sports and gain a deeper understanding of what it is all about."
Mark Foster, boys' junior varsity football head coach at East Lansing High School, agreed.
His own childhood was filled with athletics — a passion encouraged by his parents. Foster said learning a sport early on in life definitely gives people motivation to coach later down the road.
"Learning to coach is just like learning to play a sport," Foster said. "You learn a lot in between playing basketball in sixth grade and your senior year in high school. You pick up a lot along the way, just like coaching."
What female coaches can offer
Messner, who studies gender in sports, said the ability to coach is not linked to someone's gender.
"Those women who do coach are just as good, or sometimes just as bad as men coaches," he said.
At the lower levels, women may be able to offer more than just coaching tips and strategies. They can connect on an emotional level, helping athletes worry less about the little stuff and focus on the sport, said Heather Mueller, an assistant girls' cross country coach at East Lansing High School.
"Something as simple as a hair tie for a woman runner could be a really big thing for her, something that makes a huge difference," Mueller said. "The tampons, the maxi pads, the Band-Aids — women coaches know how to relate. Men think about it, but it may be put on the back burner."
And, by being role models, female coaches can help nurture future female college athletes — and perhaps prompt them to enter the coaching world.
"It's very important, I think, for kids to see women … in positions of public leadership," Messner said.
Melissa Samluk, the varsity girls' soccer assistant coach at Okemos High School, said students look up to her in the classroom and on the field.
"I run marathons every year, and a girl on my team and who sits in the back of my classroom told me that she looks up to me and wants to run one as well," Samluk said. "She ended up running in a marathon and has continued to ever since."
