I had the pleasure of closing out one of our 2-4-1 camps today. Our closing ceremonies are always a highlight—full of traditions like “Shout Outs” and “Contest of the Day.” They’re a chance to welcome parents, celebrate our campers, and help everyone feel like part of a much larger movement—one that’s changing the culture of youth sports.
Today, we’d organized the kids a bit earlier than planned, so I started to ad-lib while we waited for parents to arrive. Right around—you guessed it—2:41 p.m., I told the kids, “You want to hear something crazy?”
I explained that I’d just received a text from my daughter in Austin, Texas—one hour behind us. “What time would it be there?” I asked. After some quick math, the kids figured out it was 1:41 p.m.
The text read:
I am, in fact, the new middle school football coach. Pray for me.
“Helmets and pads?” I asked her.
“Yep,” she replied. “It’s a whole thing.”
As I told the story, I looked out and realized that of the 65 kids sitting in front of me, nearly half were girls. I got goosebumps.
It’s hard not to notice how common it is for men to coach girls, but how rare it is for women to coach boys, especially in sports that have been historically “gendered.” My three daughters grew up playing multiple sports. They gained the confidence not only to coach something they’ve never played, but to coach the opposite gender in environments where that still isn’t the norm.
We’re starting to see more women in coaching roles—some even in men’s professional leagues. I’d love to see a woman as a head coach in the NBA. (For the record, I think Dawn Staley could outcoach just about anyone.)
Moments like today remind me that cultural shifts don’t always happen in big sweeping waves. Sometimes they show up quietly—on a sunny afternoon at 2:41 p.m.—in the form of a text from your daughter, getting ready to coach middle school football in the land of Friday Night Lights. And knowing the boys on her team will get to look up to a strong, confident woman? That’s the kind of change worth celebrating.
About Steve Boyle
Steve Boyle is a connector, collaborator, and tireless advocate for making youth sports more playful, inclusive, and developmentally sound. As Executive Director of 2-4-1 CARE, Inc. and Co-Founder of 2-4-1 Sports, Steve has helped lead a growing movement to reshape the youth sports experience—one that puts the joy of play and the whole child at the center. Grounded in his background as a school counselor and coach, Steve co-created the award-winning TOP Self™ platform, which uses sport as a vehicle for social-emotional learning. Under his collaborative leadership, 2-4-1 has grown from a single program in West Hartford, Connecticut to a global nonprofit impacting communities across North America and Africa. Steve’s influence extends beyond his own organization. He served as Advisory Board Chair for the National Association of Physical Literacy and as Global Lead for Athletics and Physical Literacy at Whittle School & Studios, shaping programming in Washington, D.C. and Shenzhen. Whether working with local partners or global networks, Steve brings humility, heart, and a belief in the power of teamwork to everything he does.