How common is it for college coaches to ask your HS daughter if she's getting a regular period?

I haven't heard of it before. Maybe he's worried that she is too thin or anorexic, or maybe he asks everyone to be sure that there aren't hormonal issues that could negatively affect her health. I'll be surprised if her doctor has been tracking her period and can provide proof.

At any rate, I would look elsewhere for college if I were her. I like straight-shooters, and he is clearly not being direct about his concerns.

I hope you're trolling, because this is not a normal question to ask female recruits. A general concern for well being is positive, but specific questions like this are questionable.

What makes me really believe it is a troll post is the detail about medical proof, I cant imagine what doctor has first hand knowledge of their patient's menstrual cycle. Secondhand knowledge, sure, but not firsthand. That would be very strange.

I was never asked that when I was being recruited.

Never been asked that question, but yeah, I’m a dude.

I'm a dude, but it would make sense to ask a chick that, as a predictor of bone problems in the future.

No, I'm a female and I was never asked that when I was recruited by both male and female coaches. That's a red flag. Who is this guy?

Um no wrote:

No, I'm a female and I was never asked that when I was recruited by both male and female coaches. That's a red flag. Who is this guy?

To elaborate on my above post too, most of the girls on my college XC team did not get their periods. I only know this because we openly discussed it. I'm not saying this is healthy, but a college coach would have a hard time recruiting athletes if he ruled out based on this.

Our coach asked us how often we rubbed one out. Less than twice a day was a sign of overtraining.

mdvb wrote:

Our coach asked us how often we rubbed one out. Less than twice a day was a sign of overtraining.

And my school of thought is, if you have energy to wank off you aren't running enough/training hard enough.

If she gets her period regularly, then she is at a healthy weight and that's a good sign that she is durable and won't get injured. Most runners start very late ( I started at 18 because I got injured and gained 10 pounds ) and got it maybe 3 or 4 times a year when I was at my racing weight. My teammate did not start her period until she was 25. That's because she wanted children and the doctor told her to put on weight. She put on weight and it came.

I think think this is a valid question.

I know one D1 coach who gets this info (and more) from his female runners...but via the sports medicine people, not directly.

His university does not have sports scholarships--all financial aid is based on family need--so for him it's not a question of an investment, but rather one of keeping the athletes healthy. As he moved from high- to top-level recruiting, he found that serious situations in this area were much more frequent among the women he was bringing in.

I think this is a smart way to go: both to get the info, and to have the info collected (and evaluated) by the people who would actually be involved directly if the athlete should become sick or injured. Speaking as a lawyer, I like that the coach is buffered from claims of harassment, invasion of privacy, etc., and the university has a defense (if false or incomplete info was provided to Sports Med) against a liability action. Speaking as a coach, I'm pleased to know that my friend a) understands that this is important info, and b) gets a medical heads-up *before* he starts coaching these women.

To the OP: what school and coach is this?

As a father, I would document what he said, and present it to the school authorities.

Just sayin'... wrote:

I like that the coach is buffered from claims of harassment, invasion of privacy, etc., and the university has a defense (if false or incomplete info was provided to Sports Med) against a liability action. Speaking as a coach, I'm pleased to know that my friend a) understands that this is important info, and b) gets a medical heads-up *before* he starts coaching these women.

Everyone should be held accountable for their actions.

You should not be a coach, nor an attorney.

Curious Father wrote:

Is this common practice?

If it isn't, it probably should be--and will be soon.

Lawyers ruin everything--I'm one, I would know--and the prospect of a coach's liability if s/he did not attempt to collect all relevant medical information before starting to train the athlete is a bit scary. The Female Triad is a well-known concept that every coach would have known about, or should have: Ignorance would not be an excuse.

Lawyers could have a field day suing coaches and employers, seeking to "make whole" athletes who, say, started following the coach's summer-training guidelines before enrolling and who subsequently became sick and/or injured. NB: "Sick" can include depression and its consequences, up to and including suicide.

I assume coaches will have to start asking the same question to trans recruits because of Title IX. Will the boys who are not menstruating be allowed to run while the girls who are not be left on the sidelines?

dunes runner wrote:

To the OP: what school and coach is this?

As a father, I would document what he said, and present it to the school authorities.

I called him up & apparently the “school authorities” already know & their athletic medicine department is on board...for many of the reasons already mentioned here. Besides being a huge medical liability legally speaking, he explained that “amenorrheaic women are by far the most likely to spend their college careers injured” (not to mentioned facing health issues later in life) while “elite women who still get a regular period are the most likely to succeed.” Sounds like a return on investment & legal liability thing. And my daughter actually got the sense he does truly care about his female athlete because all the women had nothing but good things to say to him & he’s been relatively successful. Like I said, I have no problem with it as long as she doesn’t...sounds like this program is looking out for their best interests...unlike some I’ve heard of. We’ll be ordering up some bone scan & hormone test with our doctor to submit to their athletic training department shortly...said scholarship depends on it. I’m curious how long before everyone else is doing this?

Hmm, I looked at the OP question in a different framing than what others have.

I was thinking it was a subtle way of the coach trying to determine if the athlete is pregnant without outright asking if she's pregnant. Since being pregnant could affect ability to compete in the upcoming season.

No regular period is just one of the signs of pregnancy but it could mean other issues as well.

He's also trying to determine what he is getting: a normal high school athlete getting good times from typical high school mileage or an athlete that's already very close to their performance ceiling due to heavy training. Heavy mileage can cause amenorrhea.