McMaster’s HPA welcomes Heather Harrigan as the second recruit through new internship program supporting gender equality in strength and conditioning
For the second year in a row, McMaster University’s High Performance Area has offered a female summer coaching internship. This paid summer internship looks to give female-identifying university graduates an opportunity to receive all-around training and education in the strength and conditioning field. The internship program is open to all female-identifying individuals who have completed a university or college degree in kinesiology or fitness and have one to two years experience in training and condition athletes.
This year Waterloo University Master of Kinesiology graduate Heather Harrigan was selected to participate in the internship program. The HPA’s Manager, Ben Baharmi, chose Harrigan in hopes of giving her the opportunity to learn from the team’s coaching staff and to provide female representation in the university training centre.
"You want to be able to represent the population that you’re servicing. When it’s a lot of [people of] the same gender, race, sexuality [and that] kind of thing, some people may not feel fully comfortable in that space as they could,” said Harrigan.
You want to be able to represent the population that you’re servicing. When it’s a lot of [people of] the same gender, race, sexuality [and that] kind of thing, some people may not feel fully comfortable in that space as they could.
Heather Harrigan, Intern, McMaster University High Performance Area
In many athletic departments, the coaching staff is predominately male. A study that looked at Division 1 athletics in the United States, found that 86.1 per cent of strength coaches identified as male. Even within McMaster’s HPA, the majority of the space’s strength coaches identify as male.
Baharmi identified the lack of female coaches in the strength and conditioning field, which led to the implementation of the summer internship.
The internship looks to address this issue, allowing McMaster athletes to see more meaningful representation among the coaching staff. It also allows for students to see a route to success off the field, but still in athletics.
"There's obviously female involvement through the [current] strength and conditioning program, but I think having an extra [female] role model throughout the summer time is amazing not only for the program but for the athletes as well,” said fourth-year Kinesiology student Bryanna Caldwell.
There’s obviously female involvement through the [current] strength and conditioning program, but I think having an extra [female] role model throughout the summer time is amazing not only for the program but for the athletes as well.
Bryanna Caldwell, fourth-year Kinesiology student, McMaster University
In addition to providing more meaningful representation to McMaster athletes, the internship looks to provide opportunities for the recipient to grow as a coach and gain invaluable experience through running sessions for athletes
"Something Ben [Baharami] said to me that I’ve heard other coaches say to me is that you start out and you think you know everything. Then you run a session and you think you know absolutely nothing. Then you start to get better and then you think you know nothing again. It’s really balancing that curve that there’s always more to learn but you do know your stuff,” said Harrigan.
Harrigan's experience in the HPA so far has also given her more optimism surrounding the strength and conditioning field and that change is possible in terms of gender equality. Her summer experience so far has also given her more confidence in her own abilities.
"I definitely feel like I was more pessimistic towards the field before starting here and being in an environment with a lot of male coaches. But [HPA coaches] are so inviting and so welcoming that they’ve completely changed my viewpoint on [gender equality within strength coaching] and to be more optimistic to not be so judgmental about myself,” said Harrigan.
Harrigan's arrival to the HPA seems to have been beneficial to herself, the coaching team, and the athletes who use the HPA. Through programs such as the HPA’s female summer coaching internship, McMaster is taking important steps towards a more gender diverse staff in its sports facilities.
McMaster women's soccer season ended on a high as the men's team continues through to the OUA finals
The regular season for both McMaster University’s women’s and men’s teams came to a successful close earlier this month. Both teams have earned themselves a playoff spot, with the women’s team finishing fourth and the men’s team finishing second in their respective divisions.
In their first round matchup the women took on the Brock Badgers. After failing to reach the playoffs in the season prior, the team was looking to make greater strides this time around.
On Wednesday night, the Marauders did just that. Within just 30 seconds, Bryanna Caldwell found the back of the net. The top goal scorer made good on a corner sent in from Ignacia Jimenez.
With the wind in her sails and a loud home crowd spurring the team on, Caldwell managed to score an almost identical goal. Another corner by Jimenez found the head of Caldwell, making the score two to zero.
“Ignacia puts the ball in the box and I know where it's going to land every time. It’s a connection only we have. Practice makes perfect,” says Caldwell.
“Ignacia puts the ball in the box and I know where it's going to land every time. It’s a connection only we have. Practice makes perfect.”
Bryanna Caldwell, Women's Soccer Team
The Badgers managed to put one in, but McMaster responded with a goal of their own by Tiam Pourbakhtiari. Brock put in one more goal just before the end of the game, bringing the game to a final score of three to two.
The women’s team went on to the quarterfinals to take on the Western Mustangs. In a disappointing game though, the team lost five to zero, effectively ending their playoff run.
While the team did not advance further, they are still looking to grow in the seasons to come. Having made it further than they had last year, it seems their game can only improve.
“With every season and game we’ve played, we’ve improved. This series of games is just a step in our path in growing as a team.” says Caldwell.
As the men’s team finished in second place, they were given a bye week. Resultantly, the bye week automatically placed the team in a quarterfinal spot, where they would take on the Guelph Gryphons.
The last time these teams met, the Marauders lost by two goals. This time however, the advantage was to the Marauders as Guelph was not awarded a bye week. The Gryphons took on the Brock Badgers just three days prior in a game that took the teams to double overtime and penalty kicks.
The Marauders won two to one against the Gryphons. Goals by Amir Shirazi and Miles Green brought the team over the Gryphons and into the OUA semi finals.
Facing the Nipissing Lakers in the semi final round, the two teams met on a very foggy night at Ron Joyce Stadium. It was the furthest most members on the team had ever gotten, so the feeling of anxiety was high for many in what turned out to be a really slow start.
“Many of us have not been in this position before, so maybe the nerves got to us,” explained Bryan Florent.
This was apparent as the game at half was tied with neither team having scored. Fortunately, the Marauders turned this around, coming out of the break on a game changing streak.
“The first half was very much a stalemate with attacks coming from both sides. In the second half, we had a change in mentality. We realized there's a difference between playing fast and playing rushed. We played rushed, which didn’t allow us to create opportunities,” said Florent.
"We realized there's a difference between playing fast and playing rushed. We played rushed, which didn’t allow us to create opportunities."
Bryan Florent, Men's Soccer Team
The team came out with a resounding win, with Green putting away two with assists from Sean Ross and Shirazi and Ed Bryan Florent putting away one on the assist from Justin Baker. This win qualified the team for Nationals and secured them a spot in the OUA Finals. They will now take on Toronto Metropolitan University in a challenge for the OUA Championship on Nov. 5.
It’s been an astonishing season on both sides, with head coach Miranda Wiley and rookie head coach Chris Markou leading their teams to new levels. With the roads paved by the current teams, the future of McMaster soccer looks bright.
