Jun. 20--Florida Atlantic softball and women's golf coach Joan Joyce grew up at a time when strength coaches were rare for men's teams, so it's no surprise she never did any weight training.
"I know I had no upper-body strength. I couldn't do one push-up or one pull-up, yet I was successful because I was strong in the legs and very flexible," said Joyce, 67, who played professional softball, basketball, volleyball and golf. "Looking back, I think maybe I should have been lifting, too."
The student-athletes on Joyce's teams are lifting, as the weight room has become coed thanks to Title IX, the federal law mandating females equal access and facilities in high school and college sports.
"They get the same treatment. They have just as much right to use the weight room as anyone else," said Karin Werth, the assistant strength and conditioning coach at Florida.
FAU basketball player Brittany Bowe said she never lifted a weight in high school and was in for a rude awakening.
"I wasn't strong enough. The college game is so physical, if you don't get stronger you won't be able to compete," Bowe said.
Heading into her junior year this fall, Bowe said her training in the weight room has paid off.
"I've noticed a huge difference in my game. When you drive the lane you have to be able to finish those shots, and that takes muscle," Bowe said.
"It has come a long way," said FAU women's basketball coach Chancellor Dugan, who was a three-year starter for Eastern Kentucky, graduating in 1982.
"When I played, there was not a designated strength coach. It was old school, bench and press, squat, curls. That was pretty much it, and we never trained during the season," Dugan said.
Werth noted another positive trend: more female strength and conditioning coaches.
"I have been here for 11 years, and at every national conference there are more and more women," Werth said.
"We still have a lot of catching up to do, but the market is good because a lot of colleges are looking for female strength coaches."
Ted Hutton can be reached at thutton@sun-sentinel.com
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