ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors propose a new and nuanced way of conceptualising women's careers in sport coaching, by employing a career development lifespan framework. The focus of this chapter and starting point for using this new framework is women sport coaches. Women’s careers develop differently compared to men, yet many career development theories are grounded in classic age and stage models, which are not as applicable to women. Stages of career progression are most proximal to the individual coach, occur temporally, and are influenced by the people, networks, organisational structures, power systems, societal norms, and ideologies in which the coach is embedded. Each stage can be understood as a result of experiences in the previous stage and as the launch pad for subsequent experiences and stages as the individual interacts with the social, organisational, and sociocultural environments around her. Each stage is explained in this chapter.
