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Sometimes it can be difficult to challenge harmful messages athletes receive about their bodies from others. As a coach, you may not find out about issues that have occurred outside of sport, but you can aim to create trust and open communication with your athletes and encourage them to speak to you about any issues that occur both on and off the sports field.
BE PREPARED
Familiarize yourself with causes and signs of body image and eating concerns.
Learn about your own gender biases and how they may influence your coaching.
Reinforce zero-tolerance policies towards body talk and body shaming.
Make your athletes aware of your policies towards negative body image practices at the start of the season.
Create a safe environment
Create a safe space before, during or after training or practice dedicated to discussing athletes’ well-being and any concerns they may have – such spaces are: private, voluntary, confidential, informal and non-judging.
Provide appropriate and well-fitting equipment.
Hire female coaches and coaches with diverse appearances and abilities.
Ensure there are private changing spaces.
Ensure that facilities, websites and social media channels include visual representations of diverse body types and appearances.
Ensure that facilities meet accessibility standards.
Allow and advocate for a variety of practice and competition uniforms (e.g., variability in shirt and short length).
Ask athletes what they feel comfortable training in and provide as much choice as possible.
Order extra sizes and styles of all uniforms and offer additional backup sizes should uniform needs change over the season.
Let athletes try on uniforms in private whenever possible before finding a size they are most comfortable in.
Randomize team jersey numbers, instead of numbering them according to size.
Eliminate any and all weigh-ins in non-weight class sports.
Eliminate public weigh-ins or weight postings in sports where weigh-ins are required.
Support your athlete to ‘make weight’ in a healthy way and shift the focus away from weight whenever possible.
Consider other performance and well-being indicators beyond weight and appearance.
BE A BODY POSITIVE ROLE MODEL
Don’t comment on your athletes’ appearance – even seemingly positive comments about appearance can be detrimental to health and self-esteem.
Don’t comment on what or how much your athletes eat.
Avoid making comments about your own body, eating or exercise habits.
De-normalize conversations about bodies and appearance, but normalize conversations about body image.
Focus on athletes’ skills/performance and well-being over their appearance.
Remind athletes that all body types have a place in sport.
Provide Support
Here is what you could do when you see negative body image practices among your athletes:
Talk to the athlete in private, whenever possible.
Use non-judgmental language showing concern for their well-being rather than their appearance.
Listen to your athletes and believe what they say – they know best what their body needs.
Do not attempt to ‘fix’ the situation, but offer support if necessary – ask your athlete what support they need and how best to address the issue.
If the issue occurred due to something you have control over, attempt to remedy the situation.
If the issue occurred due to something beyond your control, ask your athlete how you can best support them to prevent this issue from occurring again.
Follow up after the conversation to see if further support is required.
Encourage your athlete to speak to you if another concern occurs again in the future.
If a serious concern is suspected, consult with parents or professionals.
The key to body confident coaching is to be able to recognize and help prevent and reduce athletes’ body image concerns.
