The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, July 23, 1980, Page Page 7, Image 7
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Spontsi
PamP<
A candid i
By Mike Chibbaro
Sports Editor
Lady Gamecock basketball
coach and women's athletic
director Pam Parsons: considered
by many as the premier women's
basketball coach in the country.
On the court, Parsons is a dictator.
She takes complete command
of her team. Every move she
makes is strategically oriented.
She is intense, authoritative, and
demanding. She demands the
ultimate from her players and then
asks for a little more.
For some, Parsons' coaching
methods mnv annpor tftft covaro
Her winning record, however
stands as undisputable revocation
for anyone that may attempt to
criticize her austere coaching
style.
Aside from being a coach,
Parsons is a pioneer in women's
athletics. Her understanding of
sports, of people, and of life is
imDressive She is a nerf#v?tinnict
always seeking ways to improve
her program, her team, and
herself.
In a mere three years, Parsons
has transformed USC's women's
basketball team into a national
powerhouse. Before Parsons'
arrival, the women's program was
stumbling aimlessly through
mediocrity.
THIS PAST SEASON, the Lady
Gamecocks finished the year
ranked third in the nation. Despite
last season's success, four
members of the team may not be
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nterview u
returning this fall. Suzanne
Woolsten and Jean Walling have
transferred to Old Dominion and
Rita Johnson has elected to foregc
her senior year of eligibility. It is
also not likely that Cheryl Autry
will be returning because of
academic deficiencies.
In Parsons' three years at USC,
over a dozen players have left the
women's basketball program
before their eligibility expired.
When put into proper context, this
fact is not as alarming as it might
appear. The number of female
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equal footing with the national
average. The University of Tennessee's
women's basketball team,
consistently one of the leaders in
women's basketball, has lost about
17 players in the past three years.
Parsons views the rash of
transfers as a part of a "national
epidemic" which is plaguing
women's athletics. She discussed
her loss of players from USC.
"Sometimes problems of
working together arise that just
can't be worked out," she said in
retrospect. "They usually stem
from a lack of communication.
"In no way do I deny making
mistakes," Parsons said in
reference to the departure of
Woolsten and Walling, "but in
looking back, I believe I did my
best to do what was in the best
interest of the girls. I wouldn't
have done anything any different."
PARSONS BELIEVES successful
athletes must be mentally
t .L nt- - '? 1
luugn. one says ner acuity to teacn
I mental toughness to her players
has been the catalyst for her
success as a coach. Unfortunately,
this quality is not acquired easily.
"In an intense moment,
sometimes I push a player to make
her mentally tough," Parsons
7/i an intense momt
player to make her me
exolained. "Somptimps fhinac on
taken out of context. A player maj
take one cliche or one thing I sai(
and harbor on it and use it to mov<
on."
Parsons admitted that then
have been times when she feels sh<
has pushed a player too hard
"Sometimes I want it so bad foi
them that I don't realize how hare
I'm pushing.
"Maybe sometimes I am to<
blunt, but that is my style and that
is what has made me a winner,'
Parsons said.
Perhaps the underlying reasor
for the great number of tran
sferring female college athletes is
the lack of an AIAW rule which
would force a transfer to wait one
year before becoming eligible for
athletics at a new school. The
NCAA forces its transferring
athletes to sit out one year before
en Classif
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becoming eligible. The lack of such
a rule in the AIAW is a destructive
force which is severely hindering
the growth of many women's
programs.
Parsons said the present AIAW
rule would not be changed until
"enough people experience " the
time, effort and money that goes
into recruiting a girl and then
experience losing that girl just
when she is ready to begin the best
years of her career."
TO PARSONS, the essence of
coaching rests upon one's ability to
"deal with people." As a women's
wt, sometimes I push a
_ '
many luuyri.
Pam Parsons
i coach, Parsons has had to over1
comc additional obstacles in
1 learning to handle her players. She
3 said "people aren't used to having
a woman lead women.
"I can remember getting mad at
r my mother for making me practice
1 the piano when I was young. I used
to play the wrong notes in>
tentionally just to anger her,"
t Parsons recalled. "But I can never
1 romomKflt" rfattinn
viuviiiuvi iiiau ctt my
father like that. Women have a
i problem accepting other women as
- leaders."
i Although basketball has brought
s Parsons much fame and
prominence, she says, "basketball
s should be just a part of your life,
[ not your whole life. It's not my
whole life."
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course. I'll be forced to have Dr. Chuck spill
his guts about the boost in the Upper Room.
Sphinct about it, King Crab.
- r". : " . " . : - ' - . - - "'* ' - < ;
. sum
lady of LJi
"Student athletes should not be
used or abused. I want my players
to enjoy college life. I want them to
be the best students they can be
and I really want them to experience
all parts of college life. I
think if you take care of these
things first then basketball will fall
into place."
Parsons views her coaching job
as a multi-faceted position.
"Women never had idols like
men," Parsons commented. "They
have never had any role models to
pattern themselves after. I think
girls need more tlian just a coach
when they come here. A coach can
be an important factor in their
lives at age 18 and it is my
philosophy as a person to be more
'Women .have a
other women as leade
than just a coach. I see it as a
service to womankind to help these
girls.
IN HER THREE YEARS at
USC, Parsons has witnessed rapid
growth in women's athletics in the
state of South Carolina. She is
obviously pleased with the acceptance
of her program by South
Carolinians. "It is so gratifying
and touching to see the kind of
appreciation we have received for
what we did last year," she
remarked.
"I think the students are a little
r pr ni
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behind in their acceptance of our
program. I wish more of them
would come out and see us because
I think once they experience it they
find it refreshing and exciting,"
she added.
Parsons, however admitted that
she was disappointed with the
coverage of women's sports by the
local media. "We finished in the
top ten in swimming and we had
trouble getting the least amount of
coverage. I think all of the
university's sports do not receive
the kind of coverage you would
expect from the local DaDers "
In fighting for the advancement
of women's athletics, Pam Parsons
has faced many obstacles.
One of the toughest obstacles she
problem accepting
rs'
Pam Parsons
has had to overcome is the
frequent loss of an athlete to
another school. Female athletes
have departed from USC for a
number of reasons. Some have left
simply because they didn't find
Parsons' style compatible with
their own.
It is no secret that Parsons is a
demanding coach. But she does not
make demands without offering a
reward for the fulfillment of those
demands. The most tangible
reward Parsons offers her players
is the thrill of becoming a win
ner..the thrill of becoming a
champion.
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... cherishing the results
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