Jennifer Gish's belief that the world of men's athletics is primed for a female coach, even one as talented as Katie Abrahamson-Henderson of the University at Albany, comes off as ignorant and naive to the real problems in the coaching world ("Coaching needs greatest call," Jan. 31).
Young athletic men will probably never respect and fully listen to a woman coach, no matter how decorated her resume. It is a problem to treat anyone in a position of authority that way, but who better to exemplify that respect than, for example, a strong male coach who loves his wife and would do anything for her?
Let's deal with the heart of the problem: Men have a hard time connecting on an emotional level with, well, anybody. That is a problem that must be solved.
Joe Ehrmann's book, "InSideOut Coaching," explores his personal experience with abusive coaches and how it negatively affected his outlook on sports, money, women and power. Ehrmann then advocates for coaches to stop using fear and punishment to motivate players, encouraging them to build positive relationships.
In all honesty, outside of that little bubble, no one cares about wins or losses, sectional titles or championships. It's just a game. That's something I am still trying to understand as a young coach.
Thankfully, I have a great mentor who has journeyed through being a coach who only cared about winning to a coach who now wants to impact his players beyond the baseball diamond.
Think about what you remember from your sports days; I'll bet it's not scores or points, but the coaches.
Matthew Sindoni
Watervliet