Pherenike (l. c. 388 BCE) was an athlete from Rhodes who, because she was a woman, could not compete in the Olympic Games and, as a married woman, was not allowed to even watch them. Defying these rules and risking the death penalty, she disguised herself as a man to train her son to win.
Helen Faye Parker was a legendary high school basketball coach and athletic administrator in Ashdown, Arkansas.
Margaret Downing was a pioneer in women’s sports, especially basketball, in Arkansas in the second half of the twentieth century.
Bettye Wallace was a long-time coach and athletic administrator who mentored countless women athletes in both tennis and volleyball while also advocating for greater athletic opportunities for women in Arkansas.
Carolyn Moffatt was a pioneering American women’s basketball coach in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.
American women’s basketball coach Karen Aston first had a successful high school and college playing career. She began her coaching career at the high school level before moving to college, where she served first as assistant coach before becoming a college head coach in 2007.
American National Football League coach
Delores Brumfield (Dee) White began playing in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) as a young teenager in the post–World War II years, helping take the Fort Wayne Daisies to two league championships. She later taught physical education and was a coach at Henderson State University (HSU) in Arkadelphia (Clark County).
Lorna McConchie was an inspirational leader in Australian physical education and the popular sport of netball.
Joyce Brown was coach of the world champion Australian netball team.