The French bulldog Ubbe curiously greets us upon our arrival at Gothia arena, Högsbo Basket’s hometown. He is eight months old and can accompany Math to work. Like a man like a dog, they say. Alva Stark says that curiosity is one reason why, at 26, she is already where she is – another is her constant questioning.
“Then why?” It was the question she bombarded her parents with during her growing up years.
Why shouldn’t a girl in her 20s be able to coach a basketball team at the highest level?
Alva Stark was one herself promising player. She left Prince Daniels Ockelbo as a 15-year-old to start basketball high school in Norrköping and took an early place in the Norrköping Dolphins league team. She had just come back from a foot injury when she dislocated her kneecap. At just 19 years old, she decided to end her active career, but she did not want to leave basketball.
– I have always thought that I have good leadership qualities and I have always seen myself as a leader, she says.
Alva Stark grew up in a family where a lot was about basketball. As a 15-year-old, she left Ockelbo where she grew up to start studying at the basketball high school in Norrköping. Photo: Veronika Ljung-Nielsen
After having leadership positions in the Dolphins, in a regional team and in the U15 national team, she became the head coach of Östersund Basket at the age of 21. In the first year, she led the women’s team to the Basketball League and in the following years to two SM semi-finals.
The youngest coach in the Basketball League also became the youngest national team captain when she took charge of the Danish women’s national team last year.
A record-breaking fast career of a record-breaking young basketball coach.
After four years in Östersund, the 26-year-old has now moved to Gothenburg to take on the hard-working Högsbo. She is happy to have been given the chance that far from all female leaders get and says that she herself never had a female coach during her playing career. Norms and preconceived notions limit girls, she believes, not only in sports.
– You don’t dare to bet on the girls and give them an honest chance. They draw their own conclusions that women would not be interested, that they are not as knowledgeable. A guy who is seen as driven and forward gets to take the boys 18 team, while the girl gets to take the girls 10. A lot of it is about creating excuses in your head that mean you don’t put women in situations where they get to develop and realize what they are capable of, she says.
At the age of 21, Alva Stark became head coach for Östersund Basket. Now she has changed clubs to the hard-working Högsbo from Gothenburg. Photo: Veronika Ljung-Nielsen
How often have you encountered these prejudices yourself?
She takes an art break and smiles.
– Very many times. For example, you may be told that that Alva is probably a good leader, but how much basketball does she really know?
Alva Stark was born into a basketball family. Father Johan Stark is the former elite player who became club director of the SHL team Brynäs and later became general secretary first of the Swedish Basketball Association and later of the Ice Hockey Association. Today he is a coach in Ockelbo, where his wife Anna is chairman and where Alva’s two younger brothers, Edvin and Viggo, play.
She says that the network that her family had access to facilitated her rapid progress on the leadership side. At the same time, she has always felt that she needs to prove herself when she takes a seat in a new forum.
The French bulldog Ubbe accompanies Alva Stark to her office in the Gothia arena. Photo: Veronika Ljung-Nielsen
Both in Östersund and in Denmark she was initially met with skepticism from some players, but mostly because of her age and not so much because she is a girl. It disappeared. Leading a basketball team where the players are many times older than herself is a challenge, as is making uncomfortable decisions to someone you have previously played with.
– The worst thing you can do then is try to play a new role. Then you will quickly be seen through. It is important to continue to be the person you are, then you will also gain trust. I think age has only been a strength for me in building relationships with my players. We have a lot in common, she says.
It is clear that she has thought a lot about leadership – and especially women. For a period, she worked as a teacher and attended leadership training under Brynä’s auspices.
– All women desperately want to be seen for their knowledge and not for their gender. If I am appointed somewhere, I want it to be for my knowledge, not for me to achieve a percentage so that the employer feels that it is thinking about gender equality, she says, adding that in certain contexts you have to think 50-50 in order to get change.
Image 1 of 3 Alva Stark has thought a lot about leadership. For a period, she worked as a teacher and attended leadership training in the Brynäs hockey club. Photo: Veronika Ljung-Nielsen Image 2 of 3 “All women desperately want to be seen for their knowledge and not for their gender,” she says. Photo: Veronika Ljung-Nielsen Image 3 of 3 “I have always thought that I have good leadership qualities and I have always seen myself as a leader.” Photo: Veronika Ljung-Nielsen
And she thinks she can see change.
– During my first year in the Basketball League, I was the only woman to be head coach, and last year it was closer to 50-50. It is clear that more clubs now dare to bet on girls. I also think that the concept of leadership has taken on a new meaning compared to when I was young. A leader no longer needs to be someone who points with the whole hand, she says.
Do you feel like a pioneer?
– No, I don’t know, there are many women who have done this before me, although perhaps not so young. I hope and believe that I pave the way for other women and that I can motivate and inspire younger but also older people that you can achieve a lot in a short time as long as you are motivated and end up in environments where you are given space.
How did it happen when you got the job in Denmark?
– The association’s sports manager called and asked if I was interested and asked me to send in an application. Then there were a lot of interviews and then they chose me. The Danish national team has been resting for a while. My mission is to build it from scratch. It feels big and flattering.
“During my first year in the Basketball League, I was the only woman to be head coach, and last year it was closer to 50-50. It is clear that more clubs are now daring to bet on girls,” says Alva Stark. Photo: Veronika Ljung-Nielsen
Basketball is a game where the coach has a greater opportunity to change the match picture compared to many other ball sports. Stark is fascinated by the tactics and admits that she has something to learn here. The more she coaches, the more knowledge she gathers. She sees not getting comfortable and constantly challenging herself as part of the learning process. That was one reason why, despite the success with Östersund, she moved to Gothenburg together with her partner Anes Zekovic, who plays in the men’s team.
Högsbo recruited six new players ahead of the season, all at Stark’s initiative, and the sights are set on SM gold.
– Högsbo wants to be a winner and so do I, she says as she stands in front of an impressive collection of trophies, which covers an entire wall in the home hall. The season has started well with three wins in the first four games.
Alva Stark’s partner Anes Zekovic, who plays in Högsbo’s men’s team, greets the dog Ubbe. Photo: Veronika Ljung-Nielsen
Stark has signed a one-year contract and makes no bones about the fact that she wants to coach a team abroad in the future. Another future goal is to coach a men’s team, which would be a new kind of challenge. She says that there are of course differences between leading women’s and men’s teams, but is not sure that they are that big. In most teams, the players demand knowledge, clarity and guidelines.
– Ask me in six, seven years, and we’ll see if I discovered any differences, she says and reveals the time perspective we’re talking about.
Facts. Alva Stark
Age: 26 years
Bor: Västra Frölunda, Gothenburg
Current assignments: Head coach for Högsbo in the women’s basketball league and for Denmark’s women’s national team
Former clubs as coach: Norrköping Dolphins (assistant coach), Östersund basketball
Family: Partner Anes Zekovic, parents Johan and Anna, siblings Edvin and Viggo, dog Ubbe
Award: Named Coach of the Year in the Women’s Basketball League for the 2021-22 season.
Current: Coaches Högsbo against Östersund, the club she left before this season, Saturday 2 November 16.00 in Gothia arena. Högsbo has started the season with three wins and one loss, Östersund with three losses.
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Facts. Female coaches in the Women’s Basketball League
Five of eleven clubs in the Women’s Basketball League have a female head coach this season:
Eos: Irene Otamiri
Högsbo: Alva Stark
Mark Borås: Dragana Svitlica
Uppsala: Chioma Nnamaka
Visby: Caroline Muzito-Walk
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