Leadership Development among High School Girl Athletes

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine leadership development processes in high school girl athlete teams, by zeroing in on the following micro-level team level dynamics. Since this study was conducted using a qualitative research design, the data for this paper were collected through semi-structured interviews with eight varsity and junior varsity high school lacrosse players (in addition to observations of practices, tryouts, and games) at an all-girls private high school. The main conclusion is that the availability of leadership development opportunities is not balanced, because athletes with high prior experience levels and high expectations were much more likely to become leaders and benefit from the roles. Conversely, new or low-skill players often struggle to admin team responsibilities and can be pushed out without the right attention. Furthermore, the research underlines how coaching style is a key determinant in either widening the experience gap or leveling the playing field by providing considered scaffolding for less experienced players. In summary, according to this research, for high school sports to be a site where the full range of opportunities within sport are opened to female representation as leaders programs must go above and beyond existing models that position girls as passive participants and instead actively create (and sanctify) inclusive structures that model and instill all athletes with power despite their starting experience levels.