International Sport Connection Blog: Part One- Elsie: The Unexpected and Empowered High School Coach

Elsie at 2010 ISC Coach Training Course

The mission of the International Sport Connection (ISC) is to help coaches transition from a narrow focus on talent development and strategy implementation, to a more comprehensive vision of coaching, which promotes personal growth, appreciation of others, and community development. Furthermore, ISC stakeholders seek to empower coaches with comprehensive, high quality training, to encourage a commitment to continuous learning, and to promote creativity in meeting the unique challenges that arise while coaching children and youth. ISC stakeholders are committed to providing equal opportunities for male and female coaches, and encouraging girls to participate in sport, in culturally sensitive ways.

Elsie is a groundbreaking coach in Uganda. Her passion for soccer can be seen in her impact on her community of Luwero, a community in central Uganda. Luwero has been affected by the war and recently suffered disease outbreaks of Ebola and malaria. She has truly lived the ideals of our program, as she is action-oriented to bringing change to her community.

We met Elsie in May of 2010. She emerged as a leader during our first Uganda International Sport Connection Coaches training. We were impressed by her confidence and desire to learn more about coaching through lessons in teaching, training, managing, and mentoring. Elsie has taught chemistry and other science courses at her school but was discouraged from participating in sports as she grew up. Cultural stigma’s kept Elsie on the sidelines but she has not let that stop her from inspiring the next generation of girls and boys in her community. Elsie has run for public office, she leads her school as a head teacher, and she has even broke ground coaching the boys’ teams at her school.

Elsie with ISC Instructor at 2011 Coach Training

In 2011, Elsie was invited to come to the United States with four other Ugandan soccer coaches for the second ISC coaches’ exchange. Her excitement was contagious as she interacted with faculty, administrators, and teams across Minnesota and Texas. She has a vision to bring what she learned back to her community and spread the knowledge to other coaches in her village.

A woman amongst the men, Elsie watching her team compete

Upon returning to Uganda, she assisted in the second ISC coaches’ training course in the capital city of Kampala. The 2011 coach education course increased participants and encouraged more women to be mentors throughout the country. Elsie stood as proof that women can be coaches and can have a voice in their communities.

The latest updates from Elsie explain that she has been very busy as she is a high school science teacher and leads the school’s sport programs. Recently her boys’ high school team was the regional champions at a gala tournament and qualified to play in national finals at in the capital of Kampala. She was proud to say, “International Sport Connection is already doing wonders for me”.

Elsie's boys team competing at a recent tournament

Thank you to the U.S. Department of State’s SportsUnited Division for supporting these important and inspiring programs. Say tuned for the next entry in this three part series of how the International Sport Connection has impacted Elsie’s coaching life!