Kalamazoo College's Jill Leibforth (head coach, women's soccer) and Rachel Hickey (assistant coach, track & field) attended the 55th Women Coaches Academy (WCA) last week in Indianapolis.

WCA is hosted in partnership between the NCAA and WeCOACH, a non-profit membership organization dedicated to the advancement of women coaches in all sports and levels.

The WCA program is designed to provide women coaches opportunities for skills development, retention & advancement, and connection & collaboration.

"Attending the WeCoach Women Coaches Academy this week was truly an honor. This is a one-of-a-kind space filled with some of the biggest movers and shakers in women's sports, professional coaches, NCAA leaders, national champions, true game-changers," Leibforth said. "Spending three days learning from and alongside women who have shaped the direction of our profession was powerful and inspiring. To be welcomed into that room and that community was incredibly special. I'd recommend this experience to any woman coach, anywhere."

WeCOACH has honored women coaches at the high school, collegiate, and professional levels with its Coach of the Month Award and Lifetime Achievement Award. Among the list of speakers at this year's WCA were Carol Hutchins, the winningest head coach in NCAA Division-I Softball history (University of Michigan), and Tara VanderVeer, who retired as the winningest head coach in NCAA Division-I Women's Basketball history (Stanford University), later passed by Geno Auriemma.

"WCA was an incredible experience that could not have come at a better point in my career," Hickey said. "As a coach who's just starting out, it was empowering to connect with and learn from women who have been in this profession for years! Being in the same room as legends in their rightful sports was also just amazing. I'm very thankful to have had the opportunity to represent Kalamazoo at this event!"