Where are all the female coaches?

The Star Tribune’s David La Vaque reports today that in women’s high school hockey, only 21 percent of the state’s programs are coached by women. And no team led by a woman has ever won a state title.

There’s a reality about the State of Hockey — it can be stuck in the ’60s when it comes to female coaches and the way parents and players react to the notion that women know a thing or two about the game.

Caesare Engstrom, in her eighth season as an assistant at Hill-Murray, said she attended a coaches educational function last fall in Blaine. The male head coach of a team on Hill-Murray’s schedule throughout Engstrom’s tenure asked who she coached for.

Mounds View co-head coach Christina Hanson said that on several occasions, opposing coaches shook hands with Aaron Moberg, her male counterpart, but ignored her.

“You cannot be a weak-minded female and coach in this game,” Hanson said.

From the sound of things, the toughest obstacle is the female players.

“They told me, ‘We don’t want you,’ ” said Jessica Christopherson, who was hired to coach Coon Rapids in 2010. “They had never played for a female head coach.”