Playing Like a Girl by Betancourt Marian;

Author:Betancourt, Marian; [Betancourt, Marian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 4516111
Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
Published: 2013-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

MEN WHO LOVE COACHING WOMEN

“NBA Coach Finds Joy in Women’s League” was the headline over a New York Times story about Richie Adubato, coach of the WNBA New York Liberty. After 40 years of coaching men, Adubato’s life has turned around, and he appears to love it, although he admitted he is sometimes baffled by the women who cry if they win and cry if they lose.

Carol Blazejowski, Liberty general manager, was skeptical about hiring a man who had never coached women before. But he loves basketball and is not a screamer.

Other men, including Van Chancellor, coach of the WNBA Houston Comets; Geno Auriemma, coach of the University of Connecticut women’s basketball team; and Tony DiCicco, have made names for themselves and their teams by coaching women and seem to enjoy their roles as pioneers. And they have done so with style and dignity. There may be a certain amount of pride in being on the front lines of this new arena of women’s sports, and also in the experience of coaching women, who do respond differently than men.

Marcy Bright, who plays hockey with the Chicago Ice, believes the enthusiasm of their male coaches may stem from never having had daughters to coach. Two coaches, who each have two sons who also play hockey, bring their sons to the games. “They never had the joy of coaching a daughter. Maybe that’s why they coach us.” The Chicago Ice has several coaches, all men, and they represent the wide range of personality styles, current attitudes, and arguments in coaching women.

Bright, who has been playing with the Ice since 1996, described her coaches as “the keys to my success as a hockey player.” She feels this way even about Larry Wisniewski, the coach who was voted out because of his screaming. She describes him as a “finesse” player who teaches his students to “dance” with the puck around defenders by using innovative skills and creativity. He also became the coach of Bright’s squad in her first season with the Chicago Ice.

“Larry was a screamer. He was a very intense coach who expected a lot from his players. He did not see us as women. He saw us as hockey players,” said Bright. “I remember skating around on eggshells, praying not to make a mistake or do something that would make him mad. I realize today that the reason he yelled at me was because he could see my future as a player, and he wanted to push me harder so that I could succeed more quickly. Unfortunately, some of my teammates didn’t see it that way and sort of voted him out of a coaching job at the end of the season,” Bright said.

Nevertheless, Bright said, “He was the first instructor to see me on my first day on the ice with all the hockey gear on. He must’ve been laughing hysterically to himself! I was a very good skater, but I had never before carried a hockey stick or handled a puck.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.