For the past seven years, Professor Doug Abrams has written a regular column on www.askcoachwolff.com, a leading national youth sports website. In his latest column, he notes that women comprise only 13 percent of youth soccer coaches nationwide and only six percent of youth baseball coaches. Many youth leaguers finish their playing days without ever having a female coach.

Professor Abrams explains why overcoming the under-representation of women in youth league coaching benefits boys’ teams, girls’ teams and mixed teams. Nearly 50 years after Title IX opened doors to young female athletes, many women today bring equal or greater knowledge and experience to the playing field than many men. Playing for talented female head coaches or assistant coaches also teaches youth leaguers lifelong respect for gender equity.

“As our nation continues to make strides toward gender equity on the playing field and beyond, youngsters and their families are better off when sports programs . . . appoint the most qualified men and the most qualified women to coach the boys and girls whose short-term and longer-term betterment the programs seek to advance,” Professor Abrams says.