The Los Angeles Clippers named Natalie Nakase as an assistant coach for the two-week NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, this past summer.
So, as it goes, there is always a question that relates to an individual who steps from the norm into an area where the majority of folks think it’s strange, out of the ordinary, or can’t understand and maybe can’t accept this happening.
What makes people unacceptable of others who are pursuing their dream? I have coached boys and girls for over 40 years in basketball, track, tennis, soccer, cross country, and no one ever questioned me as a girls’ coach.
Now understand, after coaching boys basketball for 27 years, I jumped to girls basketball in 1999 toward the end of my teaching career, all just before retiring in 2006. I had planned to continue as the girls’ varsity basketball coach, but was blocked because of a clause in the teacher’s contract, which favors an active teacher, giving them the right to step into the position over anyone from the “outside.”
I was now on the “outside” and someone from the “inside” wanted the job!
This article isn’t about what happened to me, but I had to mention why, after I retired, I didn’t continue with coaching the girls.
By the way, that person who forced me out was bumped by someone else within the district— such is life!
Natalie Nakase, who has so much courage to step out of the shadows where many female coaches have been hiding, possessed little apprehension in her pursuit to fulfill a dream. There’s a misconception that the women coaching men might be inadequate, and lack knowledge of the “manly style” of a masculine-dominated environment.
The San Antonio Spurs just hired Becky Hammon as an assistant basketball coach, making her the first female full-time member of an NBA coaching staff.
There seems to be a crack in the glass ceiling for women in men’s professional basketball, with the acceptance that a female can have knowledge of the game.
The pros have made some gender progress, but maybe not so much at the college level. There are no Division I women coaches in men’s NCAA basketball. According to a report from the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport, the representation of women working in college athletics is getting worse, not better.
In an article written by Amanda Hess, who writes for “Slate,” she was told some interesting information by an anonymous source who had an off-the-record interview with some NCAA athletic directors, who were asked if they would ever hire a female to coach a men’s team
“They gave a quizzical look at the fact that would even be a question,” Hess said.
Throughout the history of humanity, we all have been influenced by a woman or women, in our lives. Our moms, grandmothers, or maybe an aunt, and teachers, have all had a direct or indirect affect in the shaping of our lives.
And husbands/dads, don’t forget your wife and/or daughter. It’s time to admit how important these ladies are in life’s venture. There’s always a need for the female intuition.
There is little doubt on my part that there should be more female coaches in the world of athletics, that is to say, women coaching the male gender. Knowledge is power and there are many female coaches who I have come to respect during my career, who I feel have the knowledge to coach boys or men. I have witnessed it and have also coached with women, and I can say that to a certain extent, they might even have an edge on men because of a woman’s ability to relate better to people/athletes.
The ladies have an innate understanding of the needs of people, it’s called compassion. There are more humane characteristics of a woman and even a lesser ego. This is all pretty much a part of the female psyche because women have a special way of communicating, and it, in my opinion, is to their advantage.
I’ve always felt that if we had more world leaders of the feminine gender, there would be less worldly problems, and fewer wars. Just think if Iran, Syria, or any other Middle Eastern nation had a woman as their leader. I know that’s way out there, considering the geographical location, but how different things would be. If North Korea’s leader was female— that says a lot!
Women are starting to get some attention in the masculine world of professional sports, and when the players begin to see what the ladies have to give, it’ll get better. I always thought that retired and famed basketball coach Pat Summit, of the University of Tennessee, could have been very successful as a men’s coach.
In the next few years, I think we’ll start to see many more female coaches in men’s basketball programs, as assistants and head coaches, at all levels.
