I had watched our previous four women’s coaches enough to know they
were good coaches; two were men, two women. Very good people and
coaches, and I worked easily with all four. The job just didn’t pay much. So, I
was somewhat surprised by the initial response at the returning girls team
meeting. Before I said anything, one young lady offered, “we are so glad we
now have a man coach.” They all shook their heads in agreement. I didn’t
agree and told them so, in my first “coaching” of women. I offered, “You
wouldn’t mind a good woman coach. What you don’t want is a poor coach,
man or woman.” Many times I’ve heard women say, “I don’t want to work
for a woman boss.” I’ve seen too many good women in leadership positions
not to object to this logic. Elon University itself has several fine women
leaders and two-thirds of its students are women.