Female Athletes: What We Know. What They Need.

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Isn’t so crazy how we can vividly remember our childhood memories? Right now, I picture myself in elementary school. I remember I never wanted to wear a ponytail despite my growing curls and unruly bangs. I remember swinging on the bars at recess and practicing my round-off, back handsprings in the grass. I remember being able to do the perfect push-up in physical education class. I remember beating the boys in arm wrestling contests. I remember running the mile and girls being just as fast as the boys.


Flash forward about four years. It is track season at the middle school level. We line up at the end of the gravel track. We take turns seeing who is the “fastest”. When was the last time they measured those middle school tracks? Suddenly, the boys are beating the girls. Even my fastest female peer couldn’t walk the walk anymore. Were we getting slower? Or were the boys getting faster?

 

Another flash forward to high school. Less girls are on the track team. They are involved in different activities, not necessarily school-related. Nonetheless, there are still a good group of girls and we bond well over the fact that we “hate” going to practice. It is “so” hard, we are “so” tired and we have “so” much homework.

 

We gather in the team room before practice. Some girls silently sneak a small object up their sleeve and go into the bathroom stalls. Others quietly whisper, “Do you have anything? I forgot my stuff at home.” Some say, “I just can’t today. My stomach hurts so badly”. The lucky ones proudly proclaim, “I haven’t had mine in months” or “Mine goes away during track season”. Girls murmur in jealousy, “I wish I didn’t have mine”.

 

One more flash forward to coaching, 10 years later. The same conversations happen but I am on the other end. “Coach, I don’t want to race. I am afraid to wear my huggers”. “Coach, can you check me?” “Coach, I can’t get in the pool today”. These conversations have been happening for decades.

 

I have a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology and a Master’s in Education. I have had a smattering of physiology, psychology, nutrition, and biology courses over the past 10 years. I am not an expert in any of these fields. I do have experience as a teacher and a coach, though not as much as of my (mostly male) counterparts. I do have 20 years’ experience of being a female athlete.

I have listened and read many conversations in the past 8 months regarding female athletics, mainly (but not limited to) track and field. I have listened to podcasts, read articles, scanned Twitter and followed more researchers on social media. One topic has slowly made the front of my iPhone screen: much needed change in training female athletes.

 

I am writing this blog as a reflection of my experiences but also as an education tool for all stakeholders involved in athletics. This post is meant to open eyes and ears of all those involved. Together, we can help our female athletes grow and develop through sport.

I was never told I needed to lose weight. I was taught to balance healthy food and junk food. I never denied food. I never had a problem with eating or over-exercising. Body dysmorphia can be a whole different blog post. Every March, like clockwork, I would lose my period until May (track season plus gymnastics=20+ hours of exercise). I was excited. I never had to worry about competing with my period and it WAS AWESOME.

 

So why after 10 years, do I realize that this loss of menstruation was actually not great? Menstruation is a completely normal physiological function that roughly 50% of our population face. People who menstruate are healthy. Menstruation occurs when an egg (female) is not fertilized by sperm (male). The human body wants to reproduce but when fertilization does not occur, menstruation begins. If a human body is not being fed enough energy, then it is the human body’s instinct to stop menstruating. If the human body is not receiving enough energy for itself, then the human body should not reproduce and give life. This is the human body’s logic. Pretty incredible.

 

After 15 years, I know menstruating is not ideal. There are a lot of physical, emotional and logistical obstacles that people who menstruate go through. I have learned that a healthy body is a menstruating body. Have I said “menstruate” enough yet?

 

Based on recent news, there has been a lot of conversation surrounding female athletes and how we should train them. Should we treat male and female athletes the same? Should we treat them differently? Didn’t women work so hard for Title IX to receive equal rights? Don’t women still fight to be treated equally on and off the field? Am I risking my coaching reputation if I treat my female athletes differently? How am I supposed to have these conversations with my female athletes?

These are all valid questions. Even as a female, I have the same questions but definitely have more privy into these conversations with my athletes. They trust me because I have experience. I can ask questions about their physiology and no one bats an eye. For my male counter parts, how we can include them in the conversation without stepping over that invisible line?

 

To be perfectly honest, we should not tell our female athletes, “Oh that is a Coach So-And-So’s conversation. Go see her”. It is not the female coach’s job to be the menstruation expert and handler of all period situations. Is it helpful? Sure. Is it necessary at times? Yes. Male coaches need to be confident in their ability to have honest conversations with their female athletes. Men, I will not lie. That is a difficult hurdle to take on but not impossible. An open-mind is required.

 

I used to tell female athletes that having your period is not an excuse. Exercise is great for cramps! If they wanted to compete, then they needed to suck it up and push through – which is true to a certain extent. As I reflect, menstruating is extremely stressful for young female athletes. As I said before, there are many obstacles. Those obstacles can be very daunting at the age of 15 through 18. On top of the stress of competing, they have the stress of being on their period. How can we work with our athletes? Why is it important to educate ourselves? Let us look at this list of suggestions for coaches but useful for parents and other adults alike.

  1. Understand that female and male athletes are different. They have totally different physiology. Males have testosterone (performance-enhancer) and females have estrogen (performance ‘diminish-er’). High school female athletes have a high levels of estrogen (hello puberty). It is not their fault that their bodies are changing and may negatively affect performance. Let them know that you know that. Let them know that it is okay.  
  2. Be aware of what you are saying. What are you saying and modeling for your athletes? Are you eating healthy? Do you show a healthy relationship with food and your body? Female athletes peak at a different time than men. It is your responsibility as a coach to teach them that it is about the long-term. Sure…winning is fun but not at the cost of health. Be compassionate and help female athletes to work with their bodies, not against.
  3. Know about Relative Energy Deficiency in Sports syndrome (RED-S). It is pronounced “REDS”, not “RED…S”. This is also known as the Female Athlete Triad. RED-S can occur in both male and female athletes. Female athletes have more implications of energy deficiency including bone density loss (stress fractures/reactions) and possible fertility issues later on.
  4. Talk about it. If you are not comfortable, ask an outside speaker to come in and talk to your team. By no means am I saying that you should start asking athletes “Hey…are you on your period?” That approach may be a little much. Health/PE teachers and school nurses are great resources. Find a flyer from a reliable source and send it out to parents. Remember – you are a coach. It is your job to connect them to the correct sources. You are not a medical doctor, registered dietitian or therapist.
  5. See the signs and do not ignore them. Adolescents are very body-conscious, especially athletes. They receive a lot of subconscious messages from social media about what their bodies should look like. Disordered eating and over-exercising have physical and emotional signs. Silence speaks louder than you think. Spoiler alert: as they lose weight, female athletes will get better at first but overtime they will slowly become worse and get injured.

I am not asking anyone to be an expert. I am asking everyone to realize the differences. I have a lot to learn about male and female athletes. I would bore you with statistics that I have learned but you should research yourself! It is much more beneficial. I have included links, social media profiles and books that every stakeholder should glance at. At this point, I would like to thank all of these resources as they have been an inspiration to me. Please refer to any of these resources as needed. If you find more, send them my way. I will be happy to share – knowledge is power!



Links

Relative Energy Deficiency in Sports syndrome: https://www.uwhealth.org/health-wellness/red-s-syndrome-what-atheletes-need-to-know/51699

 

National Eating Disorder Association: https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/learn/help/coaches-trainers

 

NCAA: Mind, Body, and Sport – Eating Disorders: http://www.ncaa.org/sport-science-institute/mind-body-and-sport-eating-disorders

 

Dr. Stacy Sims’ Ted Talk “Women are Not Small Men”: https://www.ted.com/talks/stacy_sims_women_are_not_small_men_a_paradigm_shift_in_the_science_of_nutrition

 

“Dear Younger Me” – Lauren Fleshman: https://www.milesplit.com/articles/211759/dear-younger-me-lauren-fleshman

 

Picky Bars “Coexist” blog post: https://pickybars.com/pages/coexist

 

Social Media

  • Dr. Stacy T. Sims: Leading global expert on female physiology and endurance training
    • Instagram: @drstacysims
  • Lauren Fleshman: Former elite/NCAA athlete, co-founder of Picky Bars/Wilder Running, Coach of Little Wing
    • Instagram: @FleshmanFlyer
    • Twitter: @LaurenFleshman
  • FitrWoman: “First app to provide daily training and nutrition suggestions tailored to the menstrual cycle”
    • Instagram: @fitrwoman
  • Lindsay Crouse: editor/writer for the New York Times
    • Instagram: @lindsaycrouse
  • Kathyrn Ackerman: Harvard Medicine School Asstiant Professor, US Rowing team physician, Director of Female Athlete Program and Conference
    • Twitter: @DrKateAckerman

Books

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