The No Look: Why aren't there more women players, coaches watching the game?
- Kristul Thomas (@puptent10)
- Dec 10, 2015
- 3 min read
How many times have you ever heard a male basketball player who has aspirations of being a professional athlete, whether in the NBA or overseas, not watch the NBA? The answer is probably rarely ever. Men and boys alike will almost always watch the league they have dreams to one day play in. I wish I could say the same for the some women's college players and coaches. I've even experienced first hand accounts of highschool and colleges players, coaches not watching the professional women's game. How can you as a player or coach, perfect your craft if you don't even take the time to learn your craft. The better question is, why won't they watch? Do they not know they are missing quality basketball? Do they not know that there was a reason the WNBA came about in 1997?
Don't get me wrong here, I am not speaking for those that do indeed watch the WNBA, Women's basketball and actually enjoy it. I'm speaking of the ones that plan on reaching the next level with their games, coaching. Over the summer alone, I've seen a great deal of articles coming from Hoopfeed, Sue Favors, etc. expressing their same concern over those involved with the women's game not watching the women's game. It's becoming a sad case. I feel that in order to expand the branding and knowledge of the league, more eyeballs have to tune in to the women's game. Not just any eyeballs, but the eyeballs of the sports media, colleges players and college coaches. Especially with the new rule changes that have occurred in the league, many of which could be applied to the college game in the future, could be better understood. It's a shame when a few college coaches don't even know the rules to teach to their up and coming seniors who have hopes of reaching that next level.
In my own personal experience, there was a player on my AAU team a few years ago who didn't know who the great Dawn Staley was. Now if any one of you know me or follow me on twitter, you know how big of a Dawn Staley fan I am. I was completely shocked that this point guard, the same exact postion as Staley, new nothing about the legend herself. In fact, I was one of only a few people who actually knew who Dawn Staley was. No one else on the team felt that this was a problem. I remember being the only one excited about the upcoming WNBA season that year as well. No one else on my team was excited at all. In fact, no one on my team specifically watched a single WNBA game. No one seemed to care about the upcoming 2008 draft. I was the basketball black sheep on a girls basketball team. A girls basketball team that DID NOT watch women's basketball. Is it just me or does that now sound comical? I actually got crazy looks when asking my fellow teammates if they followed the WNBA. I was sure I would get alot of yes answers. Little did I know I would be more wong than a 7 year old kid in a baby stroller.
To keep a long blog short, Many people involved in the Women's game need to watch the game more. Not only are they missing some really great basketball, but they are also missing an oppurtunity to use the pro women's game as a teaching tool and a learning tool for themselves.
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