Sue Wise: athlete, coach, feminist

Christina Colavecchia
Contributor
Growing up, Sue Wise loved sports. Involved in everything from track and field (as an all-star) to the pentathlon, her life in sports propelled her toward her eventual career in track and field.
Wise completed her undergraduate degree in physical education at McMaster University and eventually mastered in the University of Western Ontario’s coaching program. For Wise, studying at school was always about reaching her goal of some day becoming a physical education teacher. Naturally, her combined love for track and field and teaching led her into coaching at York University.
Wise went from the first female coach at McMaster University to teach male athletes to the head coach of York’s track and field team, coaching both male and female track stars to the Canadian Championships and even to the Olympics.
Wise counts herself lucky to have made a career in coaching, having been one of only two females in her graduating class at Western. As a woman in sports Wise knows first-hand the gender biases and equality struggles inherent in sports. Wise explains she never once thought about not becoming a coach, however, because of all these obstacles. The real problem with a career in sports, she says, is not the gender issues, but family.
“Coaching is something that is all-consuming and never-ending. You never finish your job,” Wise says, “It is something you had to take home with you.”
Wise attempted to juggle coaching with raising her two boys, but found she wanted to spend all her time at home. Though she faced a tough decision, Wise eventually decided to become a professor in York’s kinesiology department, as well as the high performance coordinator for Athletics Canada.
Wise is also part of the Coaching Association of Canada’s Women in Coaching program, which aims to increase the number of coaching opportunities for women at all levels of sport. For Wise, the program is all about “women relating and [creating] role models for female athletes.”
Carla Nicholls, leader of Women in Coaching and a close friend of Wise, explains the program “is extremely important for all young females who are considering coaching as a career, or for those who are already in coaching and struggling. This program provides women with the ability for those great coaches such as Sue Wise, to guide and lead by example, [illustrating] how to make coaching as a woman work.” Wise notes that women in general are compassionate, nurturing and accepting – all good coaching traits that should be celebrated and displayed. “The program creates a safe and trusting environment that allows women to discuss and share their personal situations, proving to women all over the country that it is possible to be a woman and a successful coach” said Wise.
Though track and field as a sport has grown leaps and bounds since her time as an athlete, Wise thinks track and field has always encouraged gender equality. “Track is unique,” Wise explains. “Guys and girls train together, so there’s already that respect for females. Everything is equal.” Sue hopes that all sports can learn from track’s examples. Both Nicholls and Wise agree the best situation for Canadian sports is to have men and women working alongside each other. “They both bring together the best out of each other” Wise explains. “As long as the individual has the knowledge, it [shouldn’t] matter if you’re male or female.”
Looking back
1976
Wise competed as a pentathlete in the 1976 World Student Games.
1979
Wise became the first female coach at McMaster University to teach male athletes.
1986
Wise became the head coach of York’s female track and field team, coaching both male and female track stars after a grant from the Women in Nontraditional Roles program. She stayed the head coach for 13 years and today has an award named after her.
Present
Sue Wise teaches at coaching certified clinics and is a professor for York’s kinesiology department. Along with her job, she is also the high performance coordinator for Athletics Canada.