CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Female coaches were invited to a special event on Wednesday at Mary Carroll High School.
It was called "Seat at the Table" and was hosted by the Texas High School Coaches Association. It was an idea from a group of coaches who saw a need for female coaches to support each other.
Discussions were about the different experiences that male and female coaches have and how the THSCA can help them maneuver that.
"Being a female coach, sometimes you feel like you're on an island, cause there's not a lot of female coaches sometimes," said Adrienne Nickleson, Veterans Memorial girls basketball assistant coach. "So, this is a great way to meet coaches from small schools, big schools, and get to learn and see how their experiences differ from my experience."
Nickleson said that the "Seat at the Table" event helped female coaches work together and share ideas.
It is an idea that was created about three years ago by Texas High School Coaches Education Foundation Chief Operating Officer Libby Pacheco. A former volleyball coach and assistant athletic director in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, she said that female coaches deal with work-life balance and figuring out how to advance in their career.
"I see that the same issues that somebody in the Panhandle is dealing with as a female coach, they're dealing with in the Coastal Bend, they're dealing with in El Paso," Pacheco said.
THSCA Executive Director Joe Martin said that their were about 30 coaches at this event, half from CCISD. He added that this was the first time it was held in Corpus Christi, and the event is held across the state to help address issues faced by female coaches.
"There are a lot of differences between our male and our female coaches in the obligations - home and at school, in the classroom, in their sport," Martin said.
Corpus Christi Independent School District Senior Athletic Director Brenda Marshall helped bring the event to Corpus Christi and said that it was important to include female coaches from across the Coastal Bend.
"We hope to continue this," Marshall said. "And the one big thing is networking, because I'm sure a lot of the people here have not met each other, and then the other chance is learning."