CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — According to the Texas High School Coaches Association, women lead just 25 percent of youth sports teams. That number is reflected at Texas middle schools and high schools. This school year, the Coastal Bend decided to help give women a voice through a program called "Seat at the Table."
"It's giving girls more opportunities to compete, but also women more opportunities to coach," said Gregory-Portland volleyball head coach Jane Kieschnick. "I think as long as we continue to cultivate women coaches I think we're going to continue to grow."
Over 40 coaches from around the Coastal Bend, including home school coaches, gathered at Mary Carroll High School to network, build camaraderie and learn from each other.
"For us there's not a lot of us, and being able to have a community to come together, share our ideas, talk about times that we go through and instances that we have with athletes," said Sinton softball head coach Audra Troutman. "I think it's good for us to be able to collaborate."
"You know we talk a lot about stuff that's going on in sports, female sports," said King volleyball head coach Sherri Cain. "Things about women being more visual on the court, and making sure that we get more women interested in being coaches."
For 19 years Brenda Marshall has served as the CCISD athletic director. Most recently named 1 of 10 influential women by Dave Campbell's Texas Football. Her experience goes back to the 1990's when opportunities for women were extremely limited.
"The Texas High School Coaches Association started this because, as the name says Seat at the Table, it used to be that the women were not asked to come to the table. Not asked to have input," Marshall said.
Seat at the Table was established by the THSCA in 2023. Around 12 districts across the state participate, and the Coastal Bend is the only one that spreads their reach across the entire area.
"Some of the problems that we're facing today in the sports world, the younger generation and the younger coaches coming up can help us veteran coaches that are stuck in our ways. Find other ways to reach these youth," said Bishop basketball head coach Sherry Luna.
These conversations at the table can help both veterans and new coaches.
"We have a lot of young coaches coming into the profession, and I think somebody like me, Brenda or Coach Cain who have been around for a while we can help those coaches get better," Kieschnick said. "Help them problem solve and keep growing the profession."
This is the last Seat at the Table for the Coastal Bend this school year, with the Round Table expected to start back up in the fall. For more information checkout their Facebook page here.
