Networking Key At Female Coaches Roundtable

SAN ANTONIO — More than 100 women attended the Female Coaches Roundtable on Monday at the 2015 U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Convention.

This was the fourth consecutive year that the Convention — which is being held this year at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort and Spa — had a women-centric program.

Rhonda Riley, who is the associate head coach of the men’s and women’s cross country teams at Vanderbilt, served as moderator during the three-hour event.

Topics of the Female Coaches Roundtable included "Coaching Male Athletes & Breaking Down Stereotypes" and the "Importance of Networking & Career Advancement." After each topic, attendees took part in a 45-minute small group discussion followed by a larger discussion for 30 minutes.

"It was a good platform for women to really connect with each other and to share ideas, have meaningful conversations and feel validated in coaching," Riley said. "They were able to come away with resources that will help them further their careers."

Perhaps one of the biggest resources the Convention gives coaches is the opportunity to meet other like-minded coaches and exchange ideas with each other.

"Networking was a very popular topic," Riley said. "We discussed how to network, the importance of it and how to use it to advance our careers are females. There was a lot of good feedback that we got out of that topic."

With a program like this growing each year, what’s next for the Female Coaches Roundtable?

"Every year that we do this, we have more participation, which is great the day before Convention even starts," Riley said. "I see us continuing this format and possibly even bringing in other speakers next year to kind of tie everything together."