Something that stood out from the sidelines at the Pan American Games was the number of U.S. head coaches leading South American teams. There were four in all; Brian Fredenberg for Venezuela, Brian Hawkes for Argentina, Marcy Lynch for Chile, and IRT Commissioner Dave Negrete for the Dominican Republic. Fredenberg and Hawkes are, themselves, former U.S. National Team members.

Most of the coaching positions started with a phone call, not too far in advance of the games.

“Rafael (Fernandez, Dominican Republic) called and told me they were looking for a coach and asked if I was interested,” explained Negrete. “I accepted and came down here twice before the games and had Claudine (Garcia) and Rosa Gomez come to Chicago once to train.”

Lynch was at a coaching seminar giving lectures on nutrition and the mental aspects of the game when she met Pablo Fajre and Angela Grisar. “I was at a coaching workshop in January when I met Angela and Pablo,” she said. “They called me about a month before the games and asked me if I wanted to coach.”

The former U.S. Team members were asked if they would have trouble coaching against their own country. They each had a different response.

“Not at all,” said Hawkes who was on the team in 1988. “It doesn’t matter to me who is playing. I am just coaching my players and helping them to win.”

Fredenberg, who didn’t have to face his country in any of the matches, was a little more hesitant. “I think it would have been hard.”

Did the coaching help? It’s hard to say, but Chile’s Angela Grisar earned a bronze in singles and Argentina’s men’s doubles team of Daniel Maggi and Shai Manzuri also earned bronze. Either way, Lynch felt like it was a good step for other countries to tap into the U.S. resources.

“I feel like it’s good for racquetball for other countries to get better,” she explained. “I think when they take advantage of what the U.S. has — like coaching — they will get better. That makes the sport better and helps it to grow.”