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Female athletes and coaches discuss team image

Members+of+the+Female+Athlete+Leadership+Series+discussing+issues+in+the+Grinnell+athletic+community.+%0APhoto+by+Chris+Lee
Members of the Female Athlete Leadership Series discussing issues in the Grinnell athletic community. Photo by Chris Lee

On Wednesday, Feb. 4, the Female Athlete Leadership Series (FALS) held their monthly meeting. The group meets on the first Wednesday every month as part of a series of meetings in which female athletes from various sports meet with female coaches to discuss issues in the Grinnell athletic community.

Members of the Female Athlete Leadership Series discussing issues in the Grinnell athletic community.  Photo by Chris Lee
Members of the Female Athlete Leadership Series discussing issues in the Grinnell athletic community.
Photo by Chris Lee

According to swimmer and FALS member, Maddy Pesch ’16, previous meetings have dealt with problems such as how to approach team captains about issues on the team and how to reach out to team members who are younger or older.

“We had one session that was kind of like active bystander training,” Pesch said.

Pesch also said that meeting with other female leaders from other sports teams helps her to understand and relate better to what other athletes go through on a daily basis.

“I’m on the swim team and not a lot of other teams have coed practices, like volleyball, so it’s interesting to see how their team dynamics are different,” Pesch said. “This Wednesday, FALS discussed always being aware of how one athlete can come across to the rest of her team and what the image the team has of her may be.”

Pesch said that based on the last few meetings, the group has considered meeting without the female coaches.

“It would be nice to just meet without the coaches facilitating the discussion,” Pesch said. “It would just give us more privacy about some of the issues we’re talking about.”

Originally, the group was formed based on an application process open to sophomore through senior female athletes. The student leaders were then chosen to meet regularly about these issues as representatives of their teams. Along with the survey, the FALS members were also asked about their interests in doing a community service project.

“Something like 90 percent of people said they’d be interested in doing a community service project,” Pesch said.

According to Pesch, the community service project will likely involve several members from FALS developing programs for young children to become involved with sports.

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