Abstract
Opportunities for women coaches in Canada to enhance their coaching skillsets are increasing through developmental and mentorship programs. However, many women continue to face barriers to securing and staying in coach positions within competitive sport. Grounded in narrative inquiry, this study involved eight women coaches who are navigating gendered sport spaces and had a story they wanted to share. The participants took part in individual interviews and then met in small groups for virtual meetings designed to foster reflection on their coaching journeys using narrative and creative methods (e.g., crafting short stories about belonging as coaches, writing letters to their younger/future selves, discussing examples of creative non-fictions from relevant research). The overarching purpose of the meetings was to support the participants in creating a digital story (i.e., a short, personal multi-media video) about their coaching experiences. Digital storytelling offers a powerful and participatory method to share women coaches’ realities of (in)equity in competitive sport and to connect with various knowledge users across the sport sector. This presentation explores the process of facilitating a social learning space and how digital storytelling was supported within it. It also examines the participants’ experiences, including learning from others’ stories and developing awareness of sociocultural issues in their sport contexts. Practical insights will be shared on how creative analytical practices and narrative approaches may be used to foster collaborative reflection and storytelling in sport psychology research and practice.
