We owe Aspen Ladd's coach an apology, and other random thoughts
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A few random thoughts for you on this lovely Tuesday in October …
Oct. 19 is a date I’ll always remember. Why? Because it was on this day back in 2007 that I launched my first web site, JarryPark.com. In retrospect, the site was kind of a precursor to this one. I’ve told the story countless times before, but it was basically my way to show people I can interview fighters. Without that site, I’m not doing this job today. No doubt about that. I took a chance, quit my job at Spike TV, gave myself six months to get noticed and the rest is history. Every year, I pay to renew the URL because that site means the world to me. Here’s the first thing I ever wrote for it, and here’s the first interview in the site’s history. So, happy anniversary, JarryPark.com. Long may you live.
A lot has been made of the way Aspen Ladd’s head coach, Jim West, spoke to her in between rounds on Saturday. I personally think the bigger story is how listless she looked out there (more on that in a second). Yes, the coach was intense. Yes, it was aggressive. And yes, it was brutally honest. But upon further reflection, I have come to this conclusion: he did nothing wrong. In fact, he did what he had to do. Those moments between coach and fighter are extremely personal. We just plop in there for 30-45 seconds and cast judgment, and that’s not really fair. In the NBA, for example, we are sometimes privy to coaches’ huddles. However, those moments never air live and go through a rigorous screening process. Only the most benign moments see the light of day. We, for better or worse, are privy to these moments live. It’s as raw (or real) as it gets. That’s a great luxury, but it’s also not really fair to the fighter and coach. Dare I say, it’s quite presumptuous on our part to think we can just weigh in on that dynamic after months/years of training from a 30-45 second exchange. Add to the fact that West and Ladd are a couple, and, well, it’s complicated. Not saying there is anything wrong with that — that’s their business, but I’m sure it complicates things a bit. In fact, when Miesha Tate was criticizing West for his coaching, I couldn’t help but wonder if she felt like it was reminiscent of her relationship with her former coach/boyfriend Bryan Caraway. She knows how tricky that can be. In fact, she even alluded to this:
See for yourself. Sure, it gets progressively more intense, but I see nothing wrong with this. Only moment I didn’t totally agree with was I thought he could have been a tad more positive after the fourth round, because that was her best round, but that’s nit-picking.
I’m surprised he felt compelled to apologize for his coaching. If anything, I feel like we owe him an apology and not the other way around.
And yes, I tweeted this on the night, but after watching the clip above, courtesy of my friends at BT Sport, I changed my mind. He started with technique talk and then lost his patience when Ladd wasn’t responding. That’s totally fair.
There’s a fine line between tough love and being too harsh. At first it felt like the former. Obviously he knows what she responds to best. But then it felt uncomfortable to watch. Too much. We didn’t hear any technique being discussed or a game plan. Not ideal.@arielhelwani how do you feel about Aspen Ladd’s Coaches demeanor and approach towards her? Felt like the was non responsive and kind of shut down mentally
David Castro @_d_castro_Anyway, the real story here isn’t Jim West. It’s what happened to Ladd and how does she get back to her old self? She is young and can still be great, but maybe the two-week turnaround after that scary scene on the scale was a little too quick. I still think she should fight again at 145, but she obviously needs a long layoff, for her mind and body.
I don’t think open scoring would have helped that fight or Ladd at all, but man I can’t wait for it to be a thing. And it’ll be a thing, trust me. More fighters want it than don’t.
