No woman should have to navigate sports leadership alone.
That belief is why the Global Community of Women in High School Sports exists.
You are not the only one.
Women in high school sports build programs, coach teams, care for athletes, manage budgets and make hard calls every day. It is ambitious, demanding work — and many women have done it while being one of the few women in the room.
The Global Community was created for every woman who has ever asked, “Am I the only one?”
You are not. Across this profession there are women doing exactly what you do. When they find each other, they make each other better.
If your work happens in high school sports, this is for you.
The Global Community is built for women across the profession.
Athletic administrators
Coaches
Athletic trainers
Activities directors
School and district administrators
Women early in their careers
Aspiring leaders already preparing for the roles they intend to hold
Every other woman whose work happens in high school sports
Allies who support this work are welcome here. Women remain at the center of it.
Membership is free.
What we believe
Not another organization. Not another membership list. A community.
Women in this profession deserve more than professional development. They deserve relationships, opportunity, recognition and support that last as long as their careers do.
Connect
We believe no woman should have to figure this out alone. Relationships come first — the call before the decision, the person who has already been where you are.
Grow
We believe leadership is learned in the company of other leaders. Mentorship, master classes, and honest conversation about the parts of the job nobody prepares you for.
Sustain
We believe a career in this profession should be sustainable. Encouragement, recognition, resources and relationships that carry a woman across an entire career, not a single season.
“Being the only woman in the room does not mean you have to be alone.”
What that looks like in practice
A State Connector who welcomes you. State Connectors across the country make introductions, answer questions, and make sure no one joins this community and then disappears into it.
Women who have done the job. Master Classes and the Mentor Program connect women with leaders who have already navigated what they are facing.
Recognition and visibility. The Global Community Awards and the Speakers Bureau put women’s work in front of the people who need to see it.
This is what the three pillars look like on an ordinary Tuesday.
Founder
Jen Brooks, CMAA
FOUNDER
Jen Brooks has spent her career in high school sports leadership, and for much of it she was one of only a few women in the room.
Over time she found her voice and her footing. What stayed with her was how often other women described the same experience in almost the same words — Have you dealt with this? Am I the only one? — no matter what state she was in.
They weren’t alone. But too many of them were leading as though they were, without the relationships and community that could have made the work feel less solitary.
She founded the Global Community of Women in High School Sports to change that — to create a place where women in this profession could find each other, keep growing, share what they know, and know they belong.
“The goal isn’t to take up less space. The goal is to stop apologizing for taking up space.”
You belong here.
A future where every woman working in high school sports has relationships that strengthen her, opportunities to keep growing, and people who understand the work. Where no one wonders whether she belongs at the table. Where experienced leaders reach back and help the next woman rise.
That future gets built one connection, one conversation, one relationship at a time.
Membership is free, and it takes a few minutes.