Brazilian volleyball legend Hélia Rogério de Souza Pinto, better known as Fofao, has won almost everything the sport has to offer. Olympic gold, a place in the Volleyball Hall of Fame and a career spanning five Olympic Games cemented her legacy. Her latest chapter, however, began with a surprise invitation.
“Actually, it was a surprise invitation. I wasn’t expecting it. But I thought about it carefully when I received the invitation. Why not be part of it?
“When Zé invited me, I thought this had never happened before. A woman on the coaching staff. Because I already knew the staff and had also worked with them as an athlete, I knew it would be important for me to learn, to understand how everything works, and to see the other side that I didn’t know. At the same time, I knew the national team would certainly need my support and my help in a different role, not as a coach but from this other perspective.
“I think this is the first time we have had the opportunity to have a woman as part of the coaching staff. All of that contributed to my decision to accept the invitation and also to help the national team in some way, with my experience and everything I have lived through. That motivated me a great deal and made me accept the invitation,” Fofao said.
Having spent decades representing Brazil on the court, Fofao now hopes her contribution from the sidelines will help create opportunities for the next generation of women coaches.
“I believe it will have a positive influence. Volleyball has existed for many years, and we are only seeing this initiative happen now. Only now.
“We have seen very few women become head coaches of a national team, especially because I believe that is the highest level in the sport, and very few have had the opportunity to take on that role.
“I think this opens doors for others. It also shows that it is possible for women to continue pursuing a career as a coach and not remain only as an assistant. I believe it creates a much bigger opportunity for other coaches to feel motivated to be part of this, now that the opportunity is being given.
“I truly believe this is very positive because it encourages more women coaches to think bigger, to pursue other goals instead of remaining only in youth programmes or assistant positions. I think it opens many possibilities for those who want to follow this path and become the head coach of a professional national team, which I believe is the highest level volleyball can offer,” she said.
That perspective has only been reinforced by her experience within Brazil’s coaching staff.
“It definitely has an influence. I am now living this experience of being part of the coaching staff, and I realise how important it is.
“It is like being a source of support, a point of reference. For the players to look over and see a woman on the coaching staff gives them a different perspective, since they are surrounded by an all-male staff.
“I think it creates a sense of balance and also of trust. Knowing that there is a woman there. Maybe she can understand certain situations that the men cannot.
“I believe it provides great support for the athletes who are part of this entire system,” Fofao said.
She hopes that visibility encourages more women to believe a place on a national team coaching staff is within reach, while recognising the preparation required to succeed.
“The message I want to leave is that they should believe in themselves more, but they also need to prepare themselves. I believe that coaching a senior national team is very different from coaching at youth level. It involves many things. You have to be prepared for everything that comes with it because it is not simple.
“Now that this possibility exists, now that the opportunity is being given, they should prepare themselves and believe more that it is possible to earn a place on a national team. I think they will now have a much stronger motivation and be able to say, ‘I am going to prepare myself to reach that moment.’
“They should believe more, think more positively about that possibility, and continue preparing. We know it is a long and difficult journey that requires a great deal of hard work and dedication, but now it is real. It can happen,” she said.
Her appointment is only the beginning of a much bigger ambition.
“In the future, I believe it would mean the fulfilment of a dream. I think everyone would like to see a woman one day leading a women’s national team. I don’t think that has ever happened, especially in Brazil. We have never had that opportunity.
“But I believe people, in addition to believing that it is possible, hope it will happen in the near future. It is about knowing that, with every step forward, it becomes more achievable. So they should continue believing in it as well.
“When I think about the future, it would truly be the fulfilment of a dream to see women around the world working as head coaches and taking advantage of the opportunities that are now being created. Today we already see many women coaches sitting on the bench, so I hope that in the near future there will be even more.
“That we will be able to watch matches where women coaches from every country are leading women’s national teams. I believe that, in the future, they will prepare themselves more for this. They will believe in it more.
“And I see a very bright future with many women serving as coaches,” she said.
