Melissa Parker has been a life-long athlete, participating in ringette, hockey, soccer and figure skating while growing up in the Halifax area.
Despite being on numerous teams, Parker only had a handful of female coaches.
“Most of them were male. I think it’s still the same thing now, a lot of coaches in female sports are male. There are more women now, but still, the majority are male,” she says.
Parker believes it is helpful for female athletes to see themselves in their coach, which is one of the reasons she now leads a girls hockey team.
“One of the girls I coach in hockey, she said to me last year, ‘I think when I get older, I would like to coach as well,’ and I don’t know if she would say that to a male coach,” says Parker.
“It shows them when I’m older, even if I’m not playing …