To Opine is Divine - Coached by a Woman to Conquer Men?

Yesterday Andy Murray, the defending Wimbledon Champion, announced that he was hiring Amelie Mauresmo as his coach - at least through Wimbledon.  Socially speaking, it was a groundbreaking hire.  There are no non-parental female head coaches on the tour coaching men.

The idea of a woman coaching a man or boy is culturally considered taboo.  I need no other proof than the reality that there are zero female head NCAA basketball coaches,  zero NCAA female head men's tennis coaches in the top 60, and very few female head boys coaches in high school.  However, the cultural belief that a woman cannot possibly coach a boy is misguided not only because gender makes no difference, but because it flows from the misguided belief that "in order to coach it, you must have done it (at that level)."

Coaching involves three core processes, none of which deal with actually performing a given task: 1) The ability to understand what must be done.  This can be done by reading, watching, and using your brain.  2)  The ability to communicate what must be done and how to do it.  Again the ability to demonstrate is not needed for this.  3) The ability to develop a good working relationship with the student/ player.  This mostly concerns a good personality match.

Richard Williams coached Venus and Serena - No tennis experience.  Jimmy Connors was coached by his mother through age 21 - She clearly never played men's tennis at any level, although she was a very accomplished player. George Seifert won two Super Bowls as Head Coach of the San Fransisco 49ers - never played a down of professional football.  Joe Gibbs won 3 with the Redskins - never played a down of professional football.  Success at anything is about preparation, organization, and delivery.

As an aside, I highly recommend reading  this SI article from 1978, about Jimmy Connors being raised and coached by his mother and grandmother.

Can Amelie take Murray's game to next level?  What obstacles does she face?

Naysayers will say that Amelie will struggle with tactics, as the tactics in women's tennis differ significantly from the women's game.  In women's tennis, because the players are less physical, slower, not as fleet as foot, and have much weaker serves, the game is about the first strike, and putting your opponent immediately on the defensive.   In men's tennis, the game is very physically demanding, the serves are much stronger, and defense is a priority.  Working the point and patience is more necessary.  Mauresmo's detractors will say because she never did it, she won't be able to help him.

Luckily for Mauresmo, experience doing something isn't necessary to coach it.  Nick Bolleterri - never played professional tennis - he did alright.

In fact, women are just as qualified to coach men as their male counterparts are to coach women.  Yet the latter is widely accepted while the former is taboo.  Perhaps men think having a female coach makes them appear weak - that if they don't have someone screaming at them with a testosterone induced rant, that they just can't raise their level to meet the demands.  It makes zero rational sense.

What players of both sexes need is a plan with goals, a way to track the plan, and a smooth professional delivery.  These things are gender neutral.

I personally hope Mauresmo is successful.  She did coach Marion Bartoli to last year's Wimbledon title.  The spotlight will be focused on her - win OR lose for Murray.  It is an unfortunate reality.  If she succeeds, more women will get the opportunity.  If she does not succeed, the tired old false statements about coaching will receive a new injection of life, to the detriment of everyone.  For his part, I also hope Murray keeps her on after Wimbledon to give her a true shot to prove herself.