Rethinking Gender in Sports Writing: How Coaching Shapes Better Narratives
The stories we tell tend to mirror the values we hold as a culture. While sports writing traditionally revolves around athletic achievement, scores, and competition, it also serves as a lens through which readers interpret identity, belonging, and power. One persistent issue in this space is gender representation. Writers and educators working within this field must contend with whose stories are told, how they are framed, and what kinds of narratives are given space. These decisions are often influenced by ingrained habits, industry expectations, and unconscious bias. This is where personal writing coaching becomes an especially useful tool. With guidance and critical feedback, writers can better recognize blind spots and develop more inclusive and responsible narratives.
Sports writing has long favored male athletes and male-centered events. When women’s sports are covered, the tone often differs significantly. There’s a pattern of focusing on appearance and family roles when describing female athletes. Male athletes, by contrast, are more commonly portrayed through themes of strategy, competition, or leadership. These tendencies may not stem from deliberate prejudice but from narrative habits that have gone largely unexamined over time. For many writers, especially those early in their careers or unfamiliar with gender representation, these patterns are difficult to detect on their own.
A personal writing coach brings an external perspective that helps challenge these patterns. By engaging closely with a writer’s drafts, a coach can point out moments where language choices may be unintentionally reinforcing stereotypes. For example, describing a female athlete as "surprisingly aggressive" or focusing disproportionately on her off-field demeanor subtly shifts the tone of the piece. A coach helps identify such tendencies and pushes the writer to reconsider their language. These small adjustments can significantly alter the impact and fairness of a story.
Beyond flagging problematic language, coaching encourages writers to dive deeper into research. A coach might suggest reaching out to a wider range of sources or exploring parts of a subject’s career that are often overlooked. The goal is to broaden the scope of what is considered important or newsworthy in a sports narrative. When writers are encouraged to move beyond the familiar, they are more likely to create work that reflects the full dimension of an athlete’s role and identity.
Coaching also helps shape the underlying structure of a piece. Many sports stories about women fall into familiar molds, such as overcoming personal hardship, balancing family with sport, or breaking into male-dominated spaces. These themes are valid and important, but they can become limiting when used as default narratives. A coach can ask questions that lead a writer toward less conventional but equally compelling angles. Rather than repeating well-worn plotlines, the writer might explore the athlete’s innovation on the field, her impact on team dynamics, or her views on leadership. These shifts often result in writing that feels fresher and more authentic.
This approach to coaching is not limited to professionals. Educators working with students in journalism or creative writing courses can adopt similar strategies. By introducing peer review questions that draw attention to representation and framing—such as asking whose voice is missing or how power is being portrayed—students become more aware of their own narrative choices. Over time, this awareness helps cultivate more critical and confident writers who understand the broader implications of their work.
Coaching is also a space where writers can examine their own discomfort about writing across gender. Some may avoid certain topics for fear of misrepresenting them, while others may not recognize how their own background shapes their assumptions. In a one-on-one coaching environment, writers can raise questions, test ideas, and revise approaches without fear of judgment. This process is especially important when dealing with sensitive or complex topics, and it builds the writer’s capacity to navigate them with care and accuracy.
Supporting more inclusive writing also means supporting a wider range of writers. Emerging voices—particularly those from communities that have been historically underrepresented in sports media—often bring a broader understanding of how gender and identity function within athletic spaces. Personal coaching can help these writers find clarity in their storytelling, develop confidence in their perspective, and understand the mechanics of pitching and publishing. As their presence grows within the field, the diversity of sports writing naturally expands, offering readers more varied and representative accounts of the athletic world.
Addressing gender representation in sports writing requires ongoing attention. Writers must learn to recognize and question the assumptions embedded in their work. Coaching provides the space and support for this kind of growth. It offers a structure for reflection, correction, and refinement. In doing so, it helps writers become more attentive to the stories they tell and the impact those stories can have.
Writers who take this work seriously improve their craft and contribute to a more balanced portrayal of the sports world. They make room for narratives that reflect the complexity of athletes' lives rather than reducing them to familiar tropes. With the guidance of a coach, writers can approach these narratives with greater insight and responsibility.
