The Coach-Pregnancy Playbook

Marie teamed up with Marcy during 2020 and 2021 finding her on instagram while looking for suggestions on how to prepare for birth. She felt so empowered with THEDOWNTHEREDOC’s info, that this information had to be shared to the masses! This absolute boss woman panel will provide attendees with a hands on pregnancy playbook that will empower women with the knowledge, tools, and network they need make the transition from coach to mom+coach. The intention is to provide resources that will help support new moms and hopefully prevent them from leaving the coaching profession. It also challenges athletic departments to address and evolve their support of working mothers at all levels of collegiate athletics. The presentation will feature information related to all aspects of child-bearing including maternity leave advocacy/knowing your rights in the workplace, tools to prepare for and recovery from birth, identity transitions related to breast feeding and the body, and what current coaches are practicing to make this is a win-win combination for your life and your career that you’ve worked so long to gain opportunity in. To recruit and retain more women coaches, the culture of athletic departments will have to change in a way largely avoided in the 50 years since Title IX with the loss of women’s governance of sports. “You have to recruit women, and you have to really support them in a different way,” VanDerveer said.