The purpose of this review was to examine existing literature on males’ attitudes towards menstruation and how this might affect the male coach-female athlete relationship and communication in the sporting environment. Menstruation can affect a number of physiolo-gical, psychological and emotional aspects of health and performance in female athletes. Evidence suggests that men do not often discuss menstruation, and in terms of the coach-athlete relationship, this too may be the case. The impact of this is reduced performance and less than optimal progression in both training and competition. Currently, there is limited evidence looking specifically at the male coach-female athlete relationship. The evidence that is available suggests an importance that the coach is able to address the cycle with their athletes, and that male coaches in particular could benefit from improving communication with their athletes to improve both health and performance in the female athlete.
Keywords: Menstruation; Female athlete and Coach; Attitudes and beliefs; Coach athlete communication; Empowerment; Emancipation.