Stephanie Crawford has the Terriers at 1-2 going into tonight's game. (Courtesy of the St. Petersburg Times)
When Hillsborough announced its intention to hire Stephanie Crawford as the basketball coach of its boys’ program in June, there was a backlash. It’s 2009, but this is the first time a woman has ever been hired to coach a high school varsity boys basketball program in the Tampa Bay area.
In this day and age, the reactions were somewhat surprising. Comments on the articles announcing the hire on both the St. Petersburg Times and Tampa Tribune websites were negative for the most part. Anonymous readers who apparently were familiar with Crawford used phrases like “unprofessional” and “plays favorites” to describe her. One reader even said, “If they’re coached by a girl, they’ll play like girls.”
For Crawford, who has 22 years of experience coaching both genders, the goal was to make sure she focused on the team and not on those around her that might be scrutinizing her every move – and rest assured there are those that continue to do so.
The sad part is that, of the 15 candidates for the job, she was likely the most qualified on paper. Crawford takes over a program that won 21 games last season and won the district title for the first time in 13 years. If that success was going to continue, the replacement for departed coach Andre Lewis, now at Strawberry Crest, would have to be well-qualified.
Crawford fits the bill. However, like trailblazers before her, it isn’t just about the work when it comes to accepting a responsibility like this one. When Jackie Robinson was chosen to break the color barrier in baseball, Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey said he chose Robinson not only because of how good a player he was, but because he was the type of man who could handle the pressure of being the first black man to blaze that trail.
Of course, it might not be fair to compare her to the man some would consider the pinnacle of all pioneers when it comes to this area in sports, but she isn’t just the first woman to coach major male prep sports in Hillsborough County. She is also taking over a position with some prestige to it now. There is some pressure on her to succeed, not just because of her status as a woman in a male-dominated role, but as a new coach taking over a winning team.
If Crawford comes in and goes 18-10 and is bounced in the first round as the district runner-up, is that good enough? Will onlookers be harder on her because of her gender than they would be if she were a man filling this same role with similar results?
What makes her ready for this task might be her past. Crawford grew up playing basketball with two older brothers. She worked with men after enlisting in the Air Force for four years. She has coached young men on the court for more than 20, and she runs her teams like you’d think a military veteran would – with a lot of discipline and little tolerance for messing around.
She wants to let her team and what they do on the court do the talking for her. Hopefully, with her help, the Terriers will not only achieve what they are expected to do, but maybe even surpass it. If so, maybe this experiment will quiet the doubters and pessimists who are sitting back waiting for her to fail.
There are women who used wonder aloud about why Tennessee Hall-of-Famer Pat Summitt was never given the same kind of respect as a John Wooden, Bobby Knight or Mike Krzyzewski. Some men, not all, would argue that Summitt, the most successful women’s college coach of all-time, would have nowhere near the same kind of success if she were to coach male players. The problem is that no female coach would ever be given an opportunity to prove it in our current society.
Hiring tendencies like Hillsborough’s with Crawford could spell an end to that bias. It could provide a pedestal for intelligent coaching minds, male or female, to influence players of either gender. Maybe it will work or maybe it won’t, but how can we know if the opportunity isn’t there?
The importance of Stephanie Crawford and Hillsborough in the 2009-10 season is simple. Right now, she has the opportunity. Sometimes you only get one shot. The next one might not come along for a while. Her influence could create the kind of waves of change that only happen once in a blue moon. That’s why this is important. That’s why this is groundbreaking.
Be the first to get Tampa Bay prep sports updates. Subscribe to my column today by clicking the Subscribe to Email link above. You will receive automatic e-mail notification of articles, previews, high school sports news and more.
If you're interested in being featured in the Suncoast Preps Mailbag, send your questions to DerekJLaRiviere@gmail.com.
Please leave your opinions and questions below in the comments section. Follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/dereklariviere or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dereklariviere.
Comments