Kathy DeBoer, volleyball executive, women’s sports pioneer and author.
One of the leading voices for equity in competitive athletics made her point, again and again: Women win, but they do so by different means than men.
Kathy DeBoer delivered the keynote address at a Sept. 22 Atwood Memorial Center brunch marking the start of a year-long celebration of 50 years of women’s intercollegiate athletics at St. Cloud State.
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Pacing back and forth before a packed Cascade Room, DeBoer commanded her audience with a voice that ranged from a whisper to a scream.
Stories, anecdotes, recalled conversations and scientific-study results all supported her central argument: Women compete and lead differently than men.
“Not better, not worse — differently,” said DeBoer, who is executive director of the American Volleyball Coaches Association, the professional organization for leaders in high school, beach, club and collegiate volleyball.
DeBoer said men typically view competition as hierarchical, with each athlete trying to out-do the other. Women, she said, tend to see competition as a collaborative process built on a complex network of relationships.
“We want to be at the top — with our friends,” she said.
In the early years of women’s competitive athletics, male coaches would complain about female athletes not being competitive.
DeBoer recalled an instance when Terry Kunze, coach of her Minnesota Fillies professional basketball team, called her out for a perceived lack of competitiveness. “You chased that ball just like a damn women,” Kunze shouted from the Williams Arena sidelines.
That incident and years of experience in volleyball coaching and athletics administration fueled the writing of her 2004 book “Gender and Competition: How Men and Women Approach Work and Play Differently.”
In her book, DeBoer writes that society has exploited the differences in how women and men compete:
“In sports, the stereotype of females as non-competitive has served to excuse lack of commitment by the athletes, pardon unqualified coaching, and justify poor financial support. The stereotype of males as competitive has served to excuse inappropriate conduct by athletes, pardon abusive coaching, and justify financial excesses.”
Also sharing remarks at the brunch were Robbyn Wacker, president of St. Cloud State; Heather Weems, director of Huskies Athletics; Lori Fish, coach of women’s Huskies Basketball; and discussion panelists:
- Christin (Broich) Hegle ’95, Huskies Volleyball alumna
- Mia Giorgi, junior defender, Huskies Soccer
- Abby Rasmussen ’15, Huskies All-American swimmer
- Kim Chandler, St. Paul, former basketball coach and athletics administrator
- Sue (Wahl) Storbeck ’81, Huskies Hall of Fame athlete and St. Cloud State donor
Panelists from left are Christin (Broich) Hegle ’95, Mia Giorgi. Abby Rasmussen ’15, Kim Chandler and Sue (Wahl) Storbeck ’81.
