page 14
daily nebraskan
Wednesday, march 9, 1977
Men coaching woman athletes;
are there really differences?
By Mike McCarthy
A slap on the behind or a squeezing bear
hug, often characterizes a coach's pleasure
with an athlete's performance. And a
humiliating scolding often shows his dis
pleasure with the ballplayer,
, But if George Nicodemus was seen
giving one of his players an aggressive bear
hug, some eyebrows might be raised.
- Nicodemus is UNL's women basketball
and Softball coach. But Nicodemus, who
coached boys for 17 years, said the "gen
der" problems that occur are minor.
, He is joined by UNL women's swim
ming coach Ray Huppert.
; Nicodemus said he has a female manager
that notifies, him when the women are
done putting on their uniforms before a
practice or a game.
"But if the manager isnt around, I just
yell 'Are you ready?' and knock on the
locker room door," Nicodemus added.
"It's no problem at all,"
And what does he do at halftime?
"Well, I usually wont go to ihe locker
room for about four minutes," he said.
X)ne reason is to regroup my thinking so I
can calm down and don't say something s
off the top of my head. The second reason
is to let the girls do what they have to
do."
"I know where I stand when it conies to
the lockerroom."
Never 'slapped a rump'
But Nicodemus said he has never "slap
ped a rump" or "bear-hugged" a girl at
UNL or when he coached at the now de
funct John F. Kennedy College in Wahoo.
"I don't do that," he said. "In my
excitement during games at JFK. I think
more girls have grabbed me than I did
them."
Nicodemus said he has used foul lan
guage only once.
"I said 'damn' to the girls when I first
started coaching (at JFK), he said, "and I
apologized to them for saying it."
Nicodemus said he treats girls the same
as boys, and he sees no difference between
coaching the two.
v "I don't expect girls to dunk a basket
ball, but I do expect them to play up to
their abilities," he added.
Training rules forbidding liquor and
smoking also might present difficulty for a
coach to enforce. But Nicodemus has the
same punishment for. boys and girls, if
they're caught breaking regulations. They
are off the team, he said.
"I learned a lesson from a coach of mine
a long time ago," Nicodemus said. "He said
'You can run the beer out of them, but not
the nicotine'."
. Kicked player off team
Nicodemus said he kicked an all-Ameri-can
woman basketball player off the team
for breaking regulations, and the team
went on to a championship season.
He added he" doesn't think women
necessarily coach women sports better than
men.
"I'm not saying women can't do a good
job of coaching sports, but you don't see
men saying, Oh, let's get this practice over,
I got a hair appointment at 5."
"Women coaches are not yet willing to
place their coaching ahead of their home,"
he added.
However, Nicodemus said, he thinks
that trend will change as women's sports
become as widespread as men's.
"The point is that a coaching job should
go to the best qualified person, regard
less of sex, he added.
'I make this comparison. If women
should be coached by women, then why
dont women go to women bankers, doc
tors or lawyers?"
- Ray Huppert, UNL women's swimming
and diving coach, agreed with Nicodemus
that women's and men's sports require
similar coaching. But Huppert said women
are more emotional.
"They cry when they're happy and
when they're sad. Yet, a good coach should
understand, whether its boys or girls, that
they are dealing with individuals," Hup
pert said.
Huppert added that he has never resort
ed to physical or verbal abuse when dis
ciplining a woman swimmer.
Watches his language
"I most certainly watch my language,
whether it's a girl or a boy," he said.
U
i1- '
' n . -
o t
J
V
i .
Husker women's basketball coach George
coaching women.
"I'm not a saint, and I have used damn be
fore, but I catch myself and get upset,
"I've seen male coaches at this univer
sity use four-letter words right and left
with guys," he said. "But what are they
accomplishing."
Huppert said he never walked into an
embarrassing situation in the girls locker
room, but he 1ias to be very careful."
like Nicodemus, Huppert uses the man
ager and knockon-the-door system when
entering the dressing room.
However, unlike Nicodemus, Huppert
said he "shakes and slaps hands when a
swimmer has a good swimming time.
When there is sorrow, I put an arm around
her shoulder " i . - .
Training rules are the same for Huppert,
Photo by Ted Kiric
Nicodemus talks of the problems of men
whether he is coaching men or women.
"Just because I coach girls, I dont
'change the rules," he said, "My policy
stands,"
"On road trips, we represent the univer
sity use four-letter words right and Jeft
Girls should recognize they shouldntgo
overboard.
"They wont be able to handle our pro
gram and 6 a.m. practices if they're in the
bars drinking all night."
Huppert said he is uncertain how much
to expect from a woman swimmer.
"I wonder how far and how much I
can demand out of a girl. I am not sure
how far you can push a girl. You can push
a boy nine to 10,000 yards in swimming
in two hours. But with girls, I just dont
know."
UNL runner now recognized for more than red socks
By Rob Barney
He said the red socks were supposed to make him more
recognizable. "
The socks might not be the answer, but senior track
ster Matt Reckmeyer has become one of the most notable
figures on this year's UNL team.
"The socks were just something I joked about. I said
I would wear them because I was finishing where people
couldnt see me," Reckmeyer said.
"They've been a good luck charm for me. They set me
apart as an individual. I dont know if that's why I'm
doing better, but IU keep wearing them for now."
Reckmeyer has come into his own this season. He fin
ished second in the 1 ,000-yard run at the Big 8 Confer
ence meet two weeks ago at the UNL Sports Complex.
"That was my highest finish ever," he said. "Last year
I failed to qualify (in the 1 JD00). I did place sixth or
seventh in the mile."
He qualified for the NCAA indoor championship in the
1,000-yard run last weekend in Detroit. His 2:10.4 time
in the event in a triangular against the Air Force Academy
and Drake University beat the national qualifying time of
2:105. 0
However, the Mt. Morris, El., native said he does not
think hell compete in that rice this weekend. He plans
to compete just in the two-mile relay event.
"Both of the events have prelims and finals. That
would be four races in two days and that would be pretty
taxing so 111 just run in the relay.
Reckmeyer has had success running in relays at De
troit's Cobr via. Last year, he was a member of the
distance medley relay team that finished fifth at the meet,
"This year there are four different guys in the dis
tance medley," Reckmeyer said. "My goal is to place high
in the two-mile relay. I think we should be right in there."
Reckmeyer said the Huskers' two-mile relay team had
the fourth fastest time in the nation when it qualified
for the nationals.
Two consecutive years at nationals cannot be too bad
for a person who was not even going to run track in col
lege. T originally hadnt considered running track in col
lege," Reckmeyer said. "Things fell together my senior
year in high school and when I was offered a scholarship
to help finance my education, I decided to run. I'm glad I
did."
He said he chose Nebraska because of the Pharmacy
College and a partial scholarship offered to him by head
track coach Frank Sevigne.
Reckmeyer has postponed Pharmacy College plans for
now, but he has been accepted to the University of Neb
raska Medical Center.
"When they transferred the Pharmacy College to
Omaha I didn't want to commute and I wanted to run my
r 1 fV; - o
Vie szzior llxtt Reckmeyer, wearkg Lis favorite red rcki, crosses
CctiSzTzzss Izioct Tisdc tnd FkU CkzrploTs&'.
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Photo by Tf Kifit
the firJJi line to second place a the V.g 8
senior year, so I requested a year leave of absence.
"I'm going to forego pharmacy for now and try medi
cine. I was accepted to med school at Omaha and I plan
to start in July."
Myles joins Buckeyes
UNL lost its third assistant football coach in as many
months Monday when linebacker coach Bill Myles an
nounced his resignation from head football coach Tom
Osborne's staff.
Myles, a five-year member of the Husker coaching
staff, accepted the offensive line coaching job at Ohio
State University under head coach Woody Hayes.
Two months ago, defensive back coach Warren Powers
left UNL to become the head coach at Washington State
University, and defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin
accepted the post of defensive coordinator at the Univer
sity of Arkansas. .
"I was surprised that coach Hayes contacted me,"
Myles said. "I wasn't seeking the job. Coach Hayes got a
hold of me a week ago last Friday and then he and Coach
Osborne got together.
"Ohio State is one of the few places you'd leave Neb
raska to go to," Myles said. "Professionally you cant
coach at two finer schools."
Myles, whose duties at UNL included , coaching the
offensive line for two years, will leave for the Buckeye
campus next week.
"I think its a great move professionally, for my family
andfor educational opportunities," Myles said.
"It will give me a chance to coach in another confer
ence and to learn another system. And I know I was hired "
as a coach because there is already a black coach on coach
Hayes' staff."
Ohio State will be Myles second college job. He
coached high school ball for seven years in Kansas Gty,
Mo., compiling a 45-20-3 record.
Myles said his slay at UNL was a pleasant one.
"It was a pleasure to work with the fine coaching
staff," he said.
'1 think I benefitted from being able to work with ail
of the coaches on the staff. And it was a privilege to work
with the great athletes here."
Woog, not Wilcox
The remarks in Monday's Daily Nebraikan tennis arti
cle, Husker tennis players snare weekend victories"
were incorrect attributed to Chris Wilcox. The remarks
were made by Phil Woog, not Wilcox.