Maria Farsund – ‘Female coaches need opportunities and most of all a platform where they can be heard’

Earlier this year, the European Coaches Commission (ECOC) felt that it was about time to focus on and the support the role of female coaches also via the establishment of a working group specifically designed and assembled for this purpose. Maria Farsund of Norway is a 33-year young, ambitious and talented coach who has happily joined the group and is currently contributing to discussions revolving around female coaches and their empowerment. 

It is no secret that female coaches, especially at an elite level, remain quite rare to spot – even though we know some highly successful female coaches such as Jenny Lang Ping and Simonetta Avalle have been at the helm of teams triumphing in major international competitions. More recently, Australia’s Lauren Bertolacci reached the final of the women’s CEV Cup with Swiss side Viteos NEUCHATEL UC. 

Farsund strongly believes that female coaches need more opportunities and a platform where they can prove themselves. She started her journey as a player in her native Norway but a seven-year-stint in Australia did very much help shape her personality and approach to coaching and life in general. She certainly is not afraid of challenges or of dreaming big. “Back in 2018, when I achieved my first coaching qualification, I made a five-year plan and somehow surprised and shocked the people around me by openly stating that in five years, my goal was to be coaching at an elite level,” she recounts. 

Even though she had to deal with a variety of challenges, she left no stone unturned and eventually secured a job to coach at the highest level in neighbouring Sweden. To do so in Norway was practically impossible, not only for the lack of opportunities, but especially because Volleyball coaching is not a paid job, and you would not be able to make a living out of it. 

What Maria emphasises is, among other things, the importance of networking and connecting with (like-minded) people. “In some cases, especially because I am perceived as a young person and being a female, I would probably not have seized opportunities or have come forward to apply for one or the other position. However, people around me have encouraged me to do so, even just by making me aware of opportunities that were available here or there,” she adds. 

“There is still a long way to go for female coaches to be acknowledged and accepted as they rightfully deserve. It has happened to me, and not that rarely, that the staff from the other team would go and shake hands with my assistant, assuming he was the head coach of the team and not me,” Farsund says. 

“The working group established by the CEV has been a very nice and enriching experience thus far. We do recognise that we all face or have encountered the same issues and discuss about ways to resolve them,” she continues. The lack of opportunities, exposure, often results in a feeling of real frustration. “I just think female coaches would like to be heard. As with any other areas in sports or even in life, there is not a single coach who knows everything about the game, and I am convinced that we can all learn from one another. It does not really matter whether you are young or old, male or female, or which level of qualification you have attained,” she insists. 

Maria has achieved her first mid-term goal of coaching at an elite level in Stockholm and securing a paid job in the game. She is now due to move to Falköping, home to a volleyball school which nurtures the most promising and talented young players from across Sweden. However, this is not where her journey is going to stop. “I have come to realise that there is no female coach in the highest division of the French national league – so that would be an interesting challenge to take up too.” Or, following the success achieved by Lauren Bertolacci with Neuchatel, a move to Switzerland may be considered as well. “She has broken new ground there and I think the acceptance for female coaches is already at a higher level across clubs, officials, and managers than it is elsewhere. We shall see.” 

Farsund has had to make some adjustments along the way but at 33 she sounds ambitious and brave enough to continue to step out of her comfort zone time and again. “Recently, a female coach working with a men’s soccer team in Bergen, Norway, did receive a variety of questions from the media which they would have never asked to a male coach. We have to make sure that female coaches are regarded primarily and essentially as coaches, who have a job to do. There is obviously some difference from an emotional standpoint, but a coach is a coach, and their gender shall not play any major role,” she adds. 

The provision of more opportunities for female coaches, however, remains a priority and this is where National Federations and even international organisations can play a pivotal role. Otherwise, only a few could be brave enough such as Maria to take the plunge and aim high even in front of adversity, mistrust, and other barriers to entry.