Heather Muir Doctoral Student University of Northern Colorado Scholarly Conference on College Sport Chapel Hill, NC April 17, 2009

Female Collegiate Ice Hockey Players and their Continued Involvement in Hockey beyond College

Heather MuirDoctoral Student

University of Northern Colorado

Scholarly Conference on College SportChapel Hill, NCApril 17, 2009

Introduction Purpose/Application Methodology Analysis Theoretical Model Passages from Interviews Future Research References

Overview

Number of women playing ice hockey increasing

Number of female collegiate head coaches and referees declining

(USA Hockey, 2005 & 2007; NCAA, 2007 & 2008; Acosta & Carpenter, 2008)

Who has the knowledge, skills, abilities, and desire to fill these positions? ◦ Former women’s collegiate hockey players

Introduction

To understand what motivates female ice hockey players to continue their involvement in the sport beyond college◦ Organizations such as USA Hockey can provide

links between groups with openings to be filled and retiring collegiate players seeking to stay involved with the sport

◦ Percentage of female coaches and referees should increase over time with the influx of highly-skilled and experienced retired collegiate players

Purpose/Application

Grounded Theory ◦ To explain the phenomenon of female ice hockey

players continuing their involvement in hockey beyond college

◦ Also to ascertain players’ beliefs about men coaching women

◦ Theory and model built upon data gathered from participants

(Strauss & Corbin, 1990)

Theoretical Approach◦ Feminist theoretical framework looking at gender

roles and opportunities within the sport(Crotty, 1998)

Methodology

Personal Stance◦ I grew up in Minnesota and have been a fan of

hockey at all levels◦ Recently learned to skate and briefly played on a

women’s league◦ Completed an internship with a youth hockey

league◦ Master’s thesis looked at motivation factors of

fans of women’s college ice hockey◦ I believe that more women should be coaches and

referees for girls’ and women’s ice hockey

Methodology

Participant Selection◦ All six participants were former female collegiate

hockey players who continue to be involved with hockey as players, administrators, coaches, or refs

◦ Chosen via a combination of methods Convenience Snowball Maximum variation

◦ Purposeful sampling including former players from: College club teams (1 participant) NCAA Division I teams (1 participant) NCAA Division III teams (4 participants)

(Merriam, 1998)

Methodology

“Amanda”(age 34) ◦ Played club hockey in college; former DI head coach and assistant

coach; current rec player, administrator, youth hockey coach, and hockey mom

“Becky” (age 25) ◦ Played DIII hockey; current rec player, works for NHL team

“Christy” (age 28) ◦ Played DIII hockey; former high school and youth hockey coach; current rec

player, administrator

“Debbie” (age 30) ◦ Played DIII hockey; former youth and high school referee; current referee for DI,

DIII, and international women’s hockey

“Erica” (age 25) ◦ Played DI hockey; former high school assistant coach; currently runs her own

hockey camp, assistant coach for DI team, player and captain for her national team

“Fran” (age 31) ◦ Played DIII hockey as a goalie; current rec player

Participants

Many participants were the “first” to do something:◦ Played in the very first girls’ state high school

hockey tournament in Minnesota◦ Played on the inaugural team at her high school

and her college◦ Scored the very first goal in her college’s history◦ First head coach for a new Division I college team

Participants

Setting◦ Central Minnesota – Mankato and Twin Cities metropolitan

area◦ Region has strong programs for girls’ and women’s ice

hockey◦ Interviews in meeting rooms at local colleges

Data Collection◦ Personal hockey histories completed in advance◦ Semi-structured, one-on-one, in-person interviews

Why are you still involved with hockey? Should men coach women?

◦ Interviews digitally recorded◦ Field notes taken during interviews

(Merriam, 1998)

Methodology

Multiple data sources: interviews, transcriptions, personal hockey histories, field notes

Compared transcriptions to digital recordings for accuracy

Shared transcriptions with participants to verify accuracy

Constant comparison of model with various data sources

Sought feedback from participants regarding the theoretical model

Sought feedback from a classmate (who is an elite athlete and is also studying elite female athletes) regarding the theoretical model

(Creswell, 2007)

Trustworthiness

Transcription of interviews◦ Use of pseudonyms for participants◦ No personally-identifiable information

Coding of phrases◦ Open◦ Axial ◦ Selective

(Strauss & Corbin, 1990)

Analysis

Generated list of categories

These groupings emerged: Personal contexts Social contexts Factors impacting participation Multiple roles in sports

Analysis

Looked for relationships between categories:◦ Core category: Why am I involved? Hockey is a big

part of who I am Personal and social contexts helped shape this identity

◦ Conditions: Under what conditions are you involved? Factors promoting involvement Factors inhibiting involvement

◦ Outcomes: How am I involved in hockey? Variety of roles Multiple roles simultaneously

Theoretical model with graphical representations

Analysis

WHY AM I STILL INVOLVED?

HOCKEY IS A BIG PART OF WHO I AM

(Core Category)

HOW AM I STILL INVOLVED?

MANY POSSIBLE ROLES, FILL MORE THAN ONE

(Outcomes)

Personal and Social Contexts

Actions and Outcomes

FACTORS IMPACTING INVOLVEMENT

PROMOTE (+) OR INHIBIT (-)(Conditions)

(+)

(+)

(+)

(+)

(+)

(+)

(-)

(-)

(-)

(-)

(-)

(-)

(-)

(-)

Conditional Path

Model Explaining Continued Involvement in Ice Hockey after College for Female Athletes

Why are You Still Involved?

Christy said, “because it [hockey] was such a big part of my life…that it’s just a given that it will always be a part of my life.”

Fran echoed this sentiment, hockey is “such a great sport and so much a part of who I am and it’s a part of who my family is.”

Likewise, Amanda felt the same way about the role of hockey in her life: “It’s been a part of my everyday life. I don’t know what I’d do without it. Probably the worst time in my life was when I didn’t play hockey.”


Becky expressed a passion for hockey, “I felt that I had put a lot of heart and soul into the game.”

Passion was a theme for Erica as well: It’s kind of where my heart is. I wake up every morning

and I enjoy going to the rink, I enjoy spending time with my teammates…at the rink and away from the rink. I enjoy everything about the game. There’s just so much about playing a sport and that happens to be hockey for me which is my passion. It’s just a thing where I have fun doing it. It’s just fun for me, I enjoy doing it, and so that’s why I love it.


Debbie also talked about her friends in hockey: ◦ It’s so social to me. I mean it’s like my entire social life…

I feel like my friends are still involved, but maybe I’m friends with them because of it [hockey].

Becky mentioned her personality and how hockey is a match for her job with a professional hockey team: ◦“I’m in sales where I have to be competitive,

aggressive, and out-spoken…just like in hockey.”




(Core Category)

Athletic Identity

Personality Traits

Emotions

Been Playing My Whole Life

Leader in Sport

Others Identify Me With Sport

Role of Influencers

Social Life



Under What Conditions are You Involved?

When asked what differentiated her from others who did not stay involved, Debbie suggested “ask the people involved in hockey and not involved in hockey about what they do during the day.” ◦ Debbie and her hockey friends have taken jobs during the

week that allow them the flexibility to be involved with hockey at night and on the weekends.

Conditions Impacting Involvement

Amanda spoke about “burn out”: ◦ Some of them never put the skates back on. Literally they don’t

do an open hockey…they just are done with it…they get burned out. They practiced four to five days a week and go to games…and I think that at the Division I level with that much pressure to just constantly be working on your physical attributes.

◦ At that last point where it’s like…oh, I don’t have to be someplace right now…don’t have to be on the bus…I don’t have to go to the rink…I don’t have to go to the weight room…I don’t have to go to the team meal…I’m so glad that I can just sit on my couch and watch TV.

Conditions Impacting Involvement



Personal Desire & Passion (+)

Flexible Work Schedule (+)

Awareness of Opportunities (+)

Supportive Family (+)

Friends Involved (+)

High Skill Level (+)

Lack of Personal Desire & Passion (-)

Inflexible Work Schedule (-)

Unaware of Opportunities (-)

Family Priorities (-)

Friends Not Involved (-)

Low Skill Level (-)

Burnt Out with Sport (-)

Career-Oriented (-)

Conditional Path


How are You Involved?

I assumed that my participants filled just a single role; they were just a coach or just a player or just a youth hockey board member.

Each participant filled multiple roles simultaneously. Many filled leadership roles in college and during

post-collegiate careers.


Amanda’s Leadership Roles◦ College:

Organized club team Coached team Played on team

◦ Post college: Served as head coach for a Division I team Served as an assistant coach for another Division I team Coaches several youth hockey teams Serves on youth hockey board Coordinates outreach program to recruit young girls Coordinates academic achievement program for youth hockey

players


Debbie’s Leadership Roles◦ College

Helped team transition from club level to NCAA Division I level Captain of team for junior and senior years

◦ Post college Coached a high school team Ran a development program in Salt Lake City following the 2002

Winter Olympic games Served as a board member on a hockey association Coordinated the evaluation process for a hockey association Coordinated camps for girls’ and women’s referees Served as a mentor for up-and-coming male and female referees


How are You Involved? Erica explained her role as an advocate:

Right now I do [feel a need to be an advocate] just because I would love to see women’s hockey grow so much and I think it’s capable…I do feel that I’m in a position, with my name recognition and being a coach now, to step out in the community and be an advocate or talk to little girls…that’s definitely a role that I’m in now.

Debbie explained she feels an obligation to influence future players:◦ I’m more comfortable right now being an influencer

because I feel like everybody else influenced me and I would be doing a disservice to the future of hockey if I didn’t begin to start influencing people.




(Outcomes)

Player

Coach

Leader

Organizer

Advocate

Development

Hockey Mom

Referee

Work for NHL Team

Mentor

Influencer





(Core Category)





(Outcomes)

Athletic Identity

Personality Traits

Emotions

Been Playing My Whole Life

Leader in Sport

Others Identify Me With Sport

Role of Influencers

Social Life


Player

Coach

Leader

Organizer

Advocate

Development

Hockey Mom

Referee

Work for NHL Team

Mentor

Influencer


Personal Desire & Passion (+)

Flexible Work Schedule (+)

Awareness of Opportunities (+)

Supportive Family (+)

Friends Involved (+)

High Skill Level (+)

Lack of Personal Desire & Passion (-)

Inflexible Work Schedule (-)

Unaware of Opportunities (-)

Family Priorities (-)

Friends Not Involved (-)

Low Skill Level (-)

Burnt Out with Sport (-)

Career-Oriented (-)

Conditional Path


Should Men Coach and Referee Women’s Ice Hockey?

Becky said: ◦ I prefer a male coach. Hands down. I’ve experienced both

and I just don’t think women are ready. I think that girls should definitely be assistant coaches. It’s great to have that balance, but as far as the head coaches go I think that the men are doing a great job. Girls have a little thing called emotions…and sometimes the women coaches let their emotions get the best of them.

Should Men Coach Women?

Erica felt that the roles of players, referees, and coaches are genderless:◦ I look at it like I look at myself…I’m a hockey player, not a

female hockey player or male hockey player. They’re my coach, they’re not a female or a male. If they know their stuff and they can motivate and teach…quality, definitely, it doesn’t matter what gender they are if they do a good job and help their teams be successful, I don’t see a difference.


Debbie argued that quality is key and gender secondary. But she also felt that if all things are equal, then the woman should get the job for a woman’s team. ◦ I just look at who is qualified for that particular position and

if there’s an equivalent woman available, I think she should get the opportunity. I don’t think I should get opportunities because I’m female, but if I’m just as good as a man, I should get the opportunity because it’s a female’s game.


But Debbie was also hopeful about the future of the game: ◦ Finally a wave of women who are prepared, have the skills,

and have the knowledge to become head coaches in the future.

◦ Many current and former Olympians (Natalie Darwitz, Julie Chu, and Jenny Potter) have competed on girls’ and women’s teams throughout their careers and have learned from the best male coaches. I hope they’re all going to stay committed if they want to. We’re

going to be in trouble if we don’t have those good leaders and see how good of leaders they can be and that the sport needs.


Future Research

Involvement Profiles (Why) Attraction Centrality Social Bonding Identity Expression (to self) Identity Affirmation (to others)

Leisure Constraints (Conditions) Experience Psychological Time Finance/Access Lack of Opportunities

Behavioral Profiles (How) Participation – yes/no

Frequency Duration Intensity Continuation

Roles Player Administrator Coach Referee Volunteer

Participation-Related Purchases Participation-Related Media Use

Pilot study for dissertation

Subjects: Women who play ice hockey

Acosta, R. V., & Carpenter, L. J. (2008). Women in intercollegiate sport: A longitudinal study, national study; Thirty one year update, 1977-2008. Retrieved July 9, 2008, from: http://www.acostacarpenter.org/2008%20Summary%20Final.pdf

Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Crotty, M. (1998). The foundations of social research: Meaning and perspective in the research process. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Merriam, S. B. (1998). Qualitative research and case study applications in education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

National Collegiate Athletic Association. (2007). Participation: 1981-1982 – 2005-2006: NCAA sports sponsorship and participation rates report. Retrieved July 8, 2008, from http://www.ncaa.org/library/research/participation_rates/1982-2006/1982_2006_participation_rates.pdf

National Collegiate Athletic Association (2008). Women’s ice hockey. Retrieved July 8, 2008, from http://www.ncaa.org/wps/ncaa?ContentID=57

Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1990). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. New York: Sage.

USA Hockey. (2005). 2004-2005 season final registration reports. Retrieved October 14, 2006, from http://www.usahockey.com/servlets/FileServlet/relatedDocuments/0C50CFCE11163066E0440003BA5FE009/Complete%2004-05%20Final%20Reports.pdf

USA Hockey. (2007). 2006-2007 season final registration reports. Retrieved July 8, 2008, from http://www.usahockey.com/uploadedFiles/USAHockey/Menu_Membership/Menu_Membership_Statistics/0607%20final.pdf

References

Questions/Comments