For young female athletes, sporting ambition often comes alongside school assignments, exams, travel, and competitions. Managing these commitments requires more than personal discipline. It also requires understanding and cooperation from the people and institutions around them.
Through its focus on gender equality and dual careers, the GENDERWISE project highlights the importance of helping young women develop in sport while continuing their education and preparing for future professional opportunities.
Two Commitments, One Future
A dual career means pursuing sport alongside education or employment. For young athletes, this can involve moving from an early morning training session to a full school day, completing assignments during competition travel, or preparing for exams while following a demanding training schedule.
When these commitments overlap, young women may feel pressure to prioritise one ambition at the expense of another. Supporting a dual career means creating conditions in which sporting development and education can progress together.
Education expands future opportunities, while sport provides valuable experience in teamwork, responsibility, and perseverance. Both deserve space in a young athlete’s life.
The Role of Schools and Sports Clubs
Cooperation between schools and sports clubs can make a meaningful difference. Sharing competition schedules in advance, identifying potential clashes with exams, and agreeing on reasonable arrangements can help prevent avoidable difficulties.
Schools can support athletes through clear communication about missed lessons, access to learning materials, and appropriate flexibility around assessments. Such arrangements should preserve educational standards while recognising the demands of competitive sport.
Sports clubs also have a responsibility to consider educational commitments when planning activities. Coaches who encourage athletes to communicate about school pressures help create an environment where academic goals are respected.
A shared calendar and a designated contact person at school or within the club can make this cooperation easier to manage.
Family Support and the Athlete’s Voice
Families often provide essential practical and emotional support, from organising transport to helping young athletes plan their week. Their encouragement can also reduce the feeling that every challenge must be handled alone.
However, support should leave room for the athlete’s own priorities. Young women need opportunities to explain what they find difficult, what they hope to achieve, and what kind of assistance would help.
Regular conversations between athletes, families, teachers, and coaches can identify problems early and lead to realistic solutions. The aim should be a manageable routine that includes time for education, training, rest, and social life.
Planning Helps, but Flexibility Matters
Time management is a useful skill, especially during busy competition periods. Breaking assignments into smaller tasks, setting realistic priorities, and preparing for travel can make a demanding week more manageable.
Yet planning has limits. An unexpected schedule change or a period of increased schoolwork may require adjustments. Rest and recovery must also be recognised as essential parts of an athlete’s routine.
Effective support therefore combines individual planning skills with institutional flexibility. Young athletes should be encouraged to ask for help when commitments become difficult to balance.
How GENDERWISE Contributes
GENDERWISE supports the dual careers of young female athletes aged 14 to 26 by developing educational resources, digital learning opportunities, and mentoring support. Its focus on transferable skills connects sporting experience with future roles in coaching, management, and leadership.
Flexible learning opportunities can help young women continue developing their knowledge around sporting and educational commitments. Skills such as communication, teamwork, and management can also help them express their needs and make informed decisions about their futures.
For BRAVO, supporting young female athletes means recognising the full range of their ambitions. Through GENDERWISE, we contribute to a broader effort to ensure that young women have opportunities to learn, compete, and grow, with support that reflects their everyday realities.
MORE ABOUT THE PROJECT
GENDERWISE is a 30-month initiative funded under the Erasmus+ Sport programme, bringing together seven partners from six European countries. The project promotes gender equality in sport and supports dual careers for young female athletes through educational resources, online learning, and mentoring.
Stay tuned as BRAVO continues sharing GENDERWISE activities and perspectives on creating more inclusive opportunities for young women in sport.
#BRAVO #BRAVOBIH #MAKETHEWORLDWONDER #ERASMUSPLUS
