Welcome to episode 16 -This is a special episode of Keeping Track, We are highlighting Female Coaches in the NCAA D1 Track and Cross Country world. We’ve actually been working on this episode since we started the Podcast back in October, it was one of the first ideas I had, but it was perhaps biting off more than I could chew in the editing department so it took a while! (please forgive the occasional  shaky sound quality and choppiness). We pieced together parts of different interviews that we’ve collected the last few months, so let us know what you think of this different format. In this episode we talked to 5 women who are head coaches or Directors of programs at NCAA D1 schools. We hear from April Thomas, the associate head coach and throws coach at Mississippi State ,Julie Culley, the director of the track program at Georgetown, Amy Rudolph, associate head coach of women’s XC and assistant track coach at  Iowa State, Sara  Slattery who is head Cross Country Coach at Grand Canyon University in PHX , and Diljeet Taylor the associate director of cross country and track and field at BYU. We asked these women about their start in the profession, the challenges women face in progressing in the coaching field, who their mentors and supporters are, how they grew into successful coaches and why they find the career so rewarding. We hope you enjoy hearing these women all contribute their voices and experiences to this episode! Thanks for Keeping Track!

0-3: the stats: As of 2017:

Women are 43% of women’s sports head coaches in NCAA

Women are 23% of head coaches across all sports in NCAA

Only 12-18% of track and XC head coaches are women

Pre title 9 (1978),( before you could make money as a women’s coach) 90 % of women's team coaches were women

4- examining reasons for the imbalance:

Lack of role models? System bias? Child care and pregnancy?

We tell you why it’s a real job for women

5: who we talk to-(link to profiles)

Amy Rudolph of Iowa State,

Julie Culley director of program at georgetown

Sara Slattery head distance coach at GCU

Diljeet Taylor of BYU

April Thomas throws coach and ssoc head coach at Mississippi State

 (check out our website www.keeping-track.com for more detailed question summary!)

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