HADLEY, Mass. - 25 female student-athletes from the eleven member institutions of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) will take part in the fourth NESCAC Coaching Symposium on Friday, Oct. 19 through Sunday, Oct. 21. The three-day symposium will be co-hosted by Tufts University in Medford, Mass. and the Burlington Marriott Hotel.

The NESCAC Coaching Symposium, organized by the senior woman administrators (SWA) at member institutions, is designed to increase the number of female coaches in athletics with the help of a grant from the NCAA along with support by the NESCAC institutions. The NESCAC Coaching Symposium will take place during autumn for the first time, as the previous three events have been held during the winter and spring, most recently in January of 2006.

“The NESCAC Coaching Symposium is an opportunity to expand the educational experiences for our student-athletes, coaches and administrators,” stated NESCAC Executive Director Andrea Savage. “We are pleased to offer our student-athletes the chance to learn about coaching and women’s athletics. While students at NESCAC institutions may not initially consider a career in athletics, the symposium provides information and perspectives on careers in coaching from individuals that have made significant contributions to the development and growth of athletics – in particular women’s athletics - both within our own conference and nationally.”

The NESCAC Coaching Symposium will feature presentations from individuals that are considered by many as pioneers in women’s athletics. Former University of Iowa Women’s Athletics Director and current professor Christine Grant will discuss on Friday evening the impact of Title IX and gender equity. Charlotte West, a former coach and administrator at Southern Illinois University and former president of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women, shall give a presentation Saturday morning on the history of women in sport. Kathleen DeBoer, the executive director of the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), is the author of the book Gender and Competition and will speak to the attendees on the subject Saturday afternoon.

“The NESCAC Coaching Symposium also affords our coaches and administrators the ability to enhance their roles as educators,” commented Savage on the programming created by the conference’s coaches and administrators for the weekend. NESCAC institutional staff members will lead discussions on topics including coaching philosophy, transitioning from athlete to coach, the recruiting process, team building, and the coaching lifestyle.

This is the second such women’s coaching symposium held at the Division III level. The Centennial Conference began holding a similar event in 2000 under the direction of Jenepher Shillingford.  Shillingford, the Snell Professor at Ursinus College, designed the project as an initiative to encourage women to enter the coaching field. To date, over fifty percent of the Centennial attendees have entered the field of coaching, while NESCAC is proud to boast an overall success rate of 68%.

Each attendee will be assisted by a campus mentor who will help the student-athlete in their development as a coach and in the job search following graduation should they decide to enter the field of coaching.