Amazingly, we don't even converse much during practices. From her background in sports psychology and her experience in coaching both men and women, Desir e has concluded that it is not much different for a woman to coach a men's team. But, she says, it is very different for a man to coach a women's team. Men do not. I don't think many coaches realize there is a big difference mentally in coaching women.
Men come from behind better than women do for example.
The value of mental preparation was first revealed to Desir e while she was a member of the Michigan State track team. At the Florida Relays, she was going to have to compete in the longer 400-meter hurdles rather than her usual 100 meters. Essentially, I used up all my adrenaline to get pumped up. No one told me how to prepare differently for a longer race. I performed terribly.