The female athlete psychology resource page has been developed to support female athletes, and those who work with female athletes, by providing helpful information, guidance, and resources. The topics covered in this resource include mental health, body image, and leadership. This page was developed by Mhairi McGregor, a trainee Sport and Exercise Psychologist studying a Doctorate at Glasgow Caledonian University. Mhairi was brought in as a consultant and completing this project has contributed to her degree.

Please note, this webpage is designed as guidance and if you need of urgent help or medical advice for yourself or someone else, please contact 999 or the Samaritans on 116 123. If you are looking for medical advice, contact your GP or 111.

What is leadership?

Leadership is an important part of team sports. Captains and coaches can motivate and influence the team to achieve their shared goals [1]. Effective leaders can create positive environments, build strong team cohesion, and enhance the team performance [2, 3]. This is achieved through skills such as effective communication, being positive and in control of their emotions, and being a positive representation of the team [4,5]. Recent statistics from Ernst & Young and ESPNW have stated that a high percentage of women in executive leadership positions had a background in playing sport [6]. There still remains a lack of equality in top leadership positions. Women in Sport have called for 50% representation of women in leadership positions within sport, with only 24% of Chairs, CEOs and performance directors being female in the top 20 sports and only 18% of sport and physical activity companies being run by women (https://womeninsport.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/50-50-leadership-two-pager.pdf)

How we can we support females in leadership?

How do we elevate females to reach their full potential in sport and develop leadership skills that can benefit their team and their future? Coaches have the potential to nurture and encourage young females to develop their leadership skills through a few approaches [7,8] :

  1. Providing knowledge and support – how do you lead a team and how do you deal with issues in the team? Supporting a captain in knowing how to lead can give them confidence to deliver the team aim and reduce team conflict
  2. Social network approach –teammates feel as if they are supported by someone in the group and this may not always be the captain. Emphasise and celebrate positive representation of the team
  3. Allow the team space to make decisions – leaders can be developed when they have the chance to share their ideas and are given the space to try out these ideas. Co-creation can develop teamwork and communication skills
Click here for Youth Sport Trust's Leadership Framework free resources

Click here to read more about the continued need for female leadership in sport

Self-help tips:

If you are looking to develop leadership opportunities but feel you are not being provided one at your club… take the lead!

  1. Ask for an opportunity to lead – whether this be taking the warm-up, a voluntary position at the club, becoming coach or taking up umpiring. Taking accountability for your own opportunities is the beginning of becoming an effective leader.
  2. Consider your own strengths and interests – if you are a strong communicator, you could try out anything from being a coach to leading on social media for your club. If you are good at building team cohesion, you could try out being a captain or offering to host a small festival at your club. Leadership can take the form of many roles!
  3. Find role models – think of the qualities that make that person your role model and work on developing those skills
  4. Join Scottish Hockey’s Lead the Way programme focused on developing leadership skills (https://scottish-hockey.org.uk/clubs/scottish-hockey-lead-the-way/)
  1. Loughead, T. M., Hardy, J., & Eys, M. A. (2006). The nature of athlete leadership. Journal of Sport Behavior, 29(2).
  2. Cotterill, S. T., & Fransen, K. (2016). Athlete leadership in sport teams: Current understanding and future directions. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 9(1), 116-133. https://doi.org/10.1080/1750984X.2015.1124443.
  3. Cotterill, S. T., Loughead, T. M., & Fransen, K. (2022). Athlete leadership development within teams: Current understanding and future directions. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.820745.
  4. Dupuis, M., Bloom, G. A., & Loughead, T. M. (2006). Team captains’ perceptions of athlete leadership. Journal of Sport Behavior, 29(1), 60.
  5. Mosher, M. (1981). The team captain. Volleyball Technical Journal, 4, 7-8.
  6. Benenden (2025, January 1). Girls who play sports become women who lead: The power of athletic involvement in shaping future leaders. https://www.benenden.school/news/girls-who-play-sports-become-women-who-lead/.
  7. Duguay, A. M., Loughead, T. M., & Cook, J. M. (2019). Athlete leadership as a shared process: Using a social-network approach to examine athlete leadership in competitive female youth soccer teams. The Sport Psychologist, 33(3), 189-202. https://doi.org/10.1123/tsp.2018-0019.
  8.  Maechel, C., Loughead, T. M., Wergin, V. V., Kossak, T., & Beckmann, J. (2021). A solution-focused approach to shared athlete leadership development using mixed methods. The Sport Psychologist, 36(2), 101-114. https://doi.org/10.1123/tsp.2021-0075