Daphne tackles inequalities between teams through Coaching Girls

Daphne: “If you coach a girls’ team, it should almost be mandatory to follow the Coaching Girls module, because girls sometimes need a different approach.” - Foto: KNVB Media

In the award-winning canteen of FC De Bilt, richly decorated with Christmas lights and stained-glass windows, we meet Daphne. We take a seat at the wooden bar table for our conversation. Daphne is from Veenendaal, a mother of six, and coordinator of the upper age groups at GVVV. In that role, she has grown into something she once thought impossible: a football innovator, partly thanks to her participation in the Coaching Girls module.

“Honestly?” Daphne says. “I wasn’t into football at all, except when the Dutch national team played. That feeling of everyone coming together, that’s what I loved. But beyond that? Not really.” That changed when her youngest son wanted to start playing football and she encountered the volunteer shortage at the club. “If I think things can be done differently, then I’ll just do it myself,” Daphne says. Within a few months, she became coordinator of the upper age groups at GVVV, overseeing boys’ and girls’ teams from U13 to U23.

And it was with the girls’ teams that she ran into something that had been simmering beneath the surface: inequality that almost no one intends, but that is nevertheless felt. That’s why she started with the Coaching Girls module.

The challenge: girls dropping out

The number of girls aged 13 to 18 who play football is still increasing, but dropout rates in that same group are structurally higher than among boys. One key reason is guidance that is insufficiently tailored to girls.

That’s where Coaching Girls comes in: a training module developed in collaboration with Nike, specifically designed for coaches of girls’ and mixed teams. Fourteen themes are covered, ranging from giving feedback to dealing with conflict situations, from setting goals to handling menstruation and club facilities.

It should really be mandatory

Daphne is outspoken: “If you coach a girls’ team, it should almost be mandatory to follow that course, because girls sometimes need a different approach.” That’s about listening, about how you coach, but also about very practical matters. At GVVV, the girls still play in white shorts, which can be uncomfortable if you are on your period. Daphne explains: “We’re right in the middle of a process to change the kits. I see that as a success story, and so do the girls themselves. I hope they’ll be playing in blue shorts before the end of the season.”

Checking in is not a hassle

What excites her most? “The mental side. Just checking in: how are you doing? Coaches sometimes think that’s a hassle. But it’s not. People want to be seen and heard.”

For Daphne, Coaching Girls is not just a course, but a source of inspiration. Through her volunteer work at the club, she even decided to change direction professionally: “I’m starting a full-time social work program in January. Through football, I discovered how much talent young people have, especially when they’re guided well. That’s what I want to make my work.”

Read more about Coaching Girls in the KNVB’s social impact report.