From Nov. 16—18, Oberlin Head Softball Coach Julie Pratt and Assistant Track and Field Coach Jillian Roberts attended the WeCOACH 2025 NCAA Women Coaches Academy at the NCAA headquarters in Indianapolis. Each year, a class of female collegiate coaches from across the country, representing various athletic divisions and sports, are invited to participate in the high-profile professional development event. The goal of the Academy is to train, advance, and celebrate women in coaching.
Over the weekend, Pratt and Roberts attended presentations and participated in small and large-group activities to learn more about themselves as people and as coaches, discussing how they learn, the impact of their interactions, how to manage their energy levels, and how to be mindful of each of these facets of their coaching.
For Pratt and Roberts, the highlight of the event was the connections they built with the 76 other women coaches that made up Class 55.
“It was cool to have [Jillian] so close to me through Oberlin,” Pratt said, “But [I could] also share with my conference, throughout divisions, to other softball coaches, to other women. Just powerful women.”
WeCOACH is a nonprofit membership organization that, through educating, promoting, and advocating for female coaches, aspires to increase the number of women and girls in coaching from youth to collegiate to professional levels.
According to Pratt and Roberts, the connections they made with other coaches weren’t a side effect — the program was designed to prioritize interactions between the women, creating both a practical professional network and personal relationships that strengthen and empower women in the field.
The Academy also acknowledged the hard work that the coaches do and the positive impact that work has on the athletes they coach and the communities they facilitate.
“I liked the way that our impact on the student-athletes we work with was celebrated,” Roberts said. “We get to work with student-athletes all the time. We have that opportunity to work in their lives supporting them personally [and] academically, and I thought [having our work acknowledged] was very cool.”
Pratt found a similar joy in the event.
“It was a celebration of coaches,” she said. “We’re celebrating kids [often], but they did a really good job of celebrating women coaches.”
The Oberlin athletics administration supported the two coaches in attending the event. Associate Vice President for Athletics Advancement and Delta Lodge Director of Athletics and Physical Education Natalie Winkelfoos and Head Track and Field Coach Izzy Alexander both encouraged Roberts and Pratt to attend and backed them in the selection process. In turn, Pratt and Roberts hope other coaches will take the opportunity to attend the Academy in years to come.
Now that the event is over, Pratt and Roberts remain in contact with all the coaches in a group chat. Through the chat, the coaches continue to celebrate each other’s achievements. Class 55 is now a nationwide network.
For the two Oberlin coaches, there was one more unexpected benefit.
“I got to know Jillian a little better, which was fun because even being at Oberlin we don’t see each other much,” Pratt said. “But [I learned] … Jillian’s a triplet! And I think that’s really cool. That’s my triplet, man.”
