Mel Marshall calls for more women coaching in men’s sport

Coach of 13-time world-record holder Adam Peaty wants to see a shift in the coaching landscape

Mel Marshall at the Edinburgh International Swim meet in 2018 (Getty Images)

Mel Marshall has called for more women coaches in men’s sport amid efforts to boost the numbers of females coaching across the UK.

Marshall, who coaches Adam Peaty, said she is happy to be known most widely for helping the 13-time world record-holder become one of swimming’s most successful athletes.

The 39-year-old never went into coaching for praise but believes equality across all walks of sport will help convince more women to get into coaching roles.

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Charity organisation UK Coaching has warned that female coaching numbers in paid positions could fall further after the pandemic, with numbers already down from 46 per cent in 2017 to 43 per cent before Covid-19.

And Marshall believes individual sports governing bodies must work harder to entice more women into coaching.

“There absolutely should be more female coaches, and more female coaches in men’s sport too,” Marshall told the PA news agency.

“There are feminine ways of coaching and masculine ways of coaching, if you want to put it like that.

“My job is to be able to exhibit both ways, and it would be the same if I were a man. It runs much thicker than that, but it’s your ability to flex across the whole spectrum.

“As a coach that’s something you should be aspiring to do, what’s in your coaching toolbox?

“Can you cry in front of your athletes? Can you show that much vulnerability?

“I know I can. But would a guy cry? Is it a strength, is it a weakness?

“When Luke Greenback won a bronze medal last year I was in tears. Could a guy do that?

“Did Luke and I become closer because of that moment, because he saw what it meant to me? I’m sure we did. These are all the things that feed into the role of a coach.”

UK Coaching has recently launched its own female leadership programme, working with national governing bodies to develop female coaches across all sports. It also launched a leadership programme bidding to double the number of female coaches in Olympic and Paralympic high-performance roles by 2024.

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Marshall admits her friends often show surprise at her drive and determination, but she insisted that women should be afforded greater opportunities to chase goals previously considered unattainable in the field of coaching.

“The first step into coaching is to submerse yourself in opportunities, get involved in community-based sport, put yourself forward, and back yourself,” said Marshall.

“We’ve got to make sure we as a nation have enough opportunities, and role models who have been there and done it.

“My friends tell me I’m not normal, and I guess maybe I’m not! But how do we make it normal for people to have opportunities? And that’s what counts.

“I had to fight some fights along the way. But how do we make sure that it’s not a fight?”

Asked whether she is content to be tagged as Adam Peaty’s coach, she added: “That’s a great question, and one I ask myself regularly.

“I’m incredibly proud of myself, and what we’ve achieved as a pair. But I’m also okay with people saying that, because I know I’m more than that as well.

“I’ve cycled across Africa, raised thousands of pounds for charity, I’ve been a pioneer, won British coach of the year five times.

“I’ve been a good human being, I’m a good daughter, a good partner, I’m a good dog parent. So I don’t need the accolade and affirmation of everybody else. And again, that’s probably not normal.

“But over the years that’s taken a bit of time for me to settle on that. But you’re right, that is also a name that I get given.

“But I’ve worked with the lad for 12 years, we’ve gone on a journey together from a small club in Derby. And if people want to call me his coach, and that’s how I’m introduced, I’m alright with that as well.”

UK Coaching is calling for more women to enter the coaching workforce. The charitable organisation exists to support and develop the nation’s three million coaches and has outlined its ambition for gender equity within coaching in the next five years. For more information or to get into coaching, visit ukcoaching.org

PA