Sophie Cunningham has never been afraid to voice her opinions and say what she wants on any subject. When she told ESPN that she is against transgender athletes competing in the women’s division, her candor actually got her into a lot of trouble.
The WNBA was engulfed for months after that opened Pandora’s Box. However, when it comes to basketball-related matters, Sophie is just as direct as she is about off-court subjects.
In a recent episode of her podcast, “No Hesitation,” Cunningham expressed her wish that female athletes would receive more rigorous coaching rather than being treated lightly simply because they are female.
Sophie remarked, saying, “Bring back hard coaching. I promise you, that is why all of us pros are where we are because we had coaches who truly cared about us, and loved us, and saw our full potential. But with that, they didn’t let us slip. Like if we did something wrong, they called us out for it. If we weren’t going hard enough, if we weren’t doing that, they were on our a–. And that is part of it.”
The topic came up after Sophie’s co-host, the well-known sports trainer Drew Hanlen, revealed that he had previously been instructed not to be as strict with elite female athletes as he was with his male clients.
But according to Drew, he insisted that the best way to maximize their potential is to push them.
Hanlen recounted telling the players, recalling, “You’re still a hooper. I don’t care if you’re a guy or a girl. I’m going to train you to my fullest capabilities.”
Sophie concurred with Drew but clarified that effective hard coaching requires reciprocity. Athletes must be prepared to listen to their coaches and take criticism with an open mind if the coach is going to be honest. According to Sophie, coaches only criticize their players because they genuinely care about them and recognize their potential.
She continued, adding, “But also, as athletes, you’ve got to take ownership of it, too. Like you can’t expect to be great and reach your fullest potential if you can’t handle someone correcting you… It’s okay for someone to chew on you a– a little bit. That’s part of it. That’s what makes athletes great.”
Sophie has played for at least seven head coaches since high school, including four in the WNBA: Stephanie White, Sandy Brondello, Vanessa Nygaard, and Nate Tibbetts. Although Cunningham has never publicly identified her favorite head coach or the person who helped her reach her full potential, Robin Pingeton, her college coach, might be that person.
When Sophie felt Cunningham rushed through a study hall assignment because she wanted to leave early, Robin forced her to work out on a stair climber for forty-five minutes even though the Tigers had a game the following day.
“I didn’t understand the situation,” Cunningham commented. “I thought I had done something good, only to receive this punishment. I worked out my anger on that machine. She was holding me accountable.”
Pingeton was at the Nike New York Headquarters when Sophie was chosen 13th overall in the 2019 WNBA Draft. Cunningham hugged her parents and sister before embracing the coach, whom she used to refer to as her “second mother.”
