The desire to become a head coach starts with a dream and a single step. But for a student-athlete with the goal of becoming a coach, that first step is complicated sometimes by a quick transition to a position of authority over former teammates, or at least over student-athletes just a year or two removed in age.

Marc Mayer, 2002 graduate of Drury University and current graduate assistant coach under Henderson State University head men's basketball coach Rand Chappell, is starting that journey. Mayer is working in the business school, working with the basketball team to gain experience in coaching, and -- oh, yes -- working toward his master's degree. While many student-athletes remain at their undergraduate institution to learn, Mayer wanted a different experience from the one he already had.

"I am glad to have a change," Mayer said. "So many things are different here (at Henderson State) from Drury. The recruiting is different, the players are different, the systems we run are different. I am able to learn something new while I am here."

Annie Lewis, 2001 Campbell University graduate, took a different approach from Mayer. Instead of moving into coaching immediately after graduation, she spent a year at the NCAA national office as an intern.

"It helped me because I see the big picture now," said Lewis, currently a softball graduate assistant coach at Gardner-Webb University. "The student-athletes here have more opportunities than I ever experienced, and it is my job to make it happen for them. For example, we don't have CHAMPS/Life Skills, so I am working to help bring it here."

Period of transition

While the new experience is often rewarding, the transition can be awkward.

For instance, many graduate assistants coach their peers, playing with them or against them one year and making them run the next. It creates for an interesting challenge for the new coach, who has to be seen as an authority figure, and the players, who have to see a peer switch roles overnight.

Mayer admitted he was anxious at first because some of the players are actually older than he is. "I think it helped because I just played and graduated," he said. "I try to take a more joking-around approach instead of going at them aggressively like the head coach."

Mayer said the players always have treated him with respect. He attributes that team attitude to the rest of the coaching staff, who treat him as an equal and even call him "Coach."

Lewis agrees, saying she made a conscious effort from the beginning not to drive the players into the ground. After her first day, a player said she disliked coaches her own age "because they made her run more." Lewis says once you prove yourself to them and show them you can help them grow, age doesn't matter.

"Being just out of playing, it is important for me to remember what happened to me and how I felt about it," Lewis said.

Graduate assistants and assistant coaches usually are closer in age to the student-athletes and are often seen as a gateway to the head coach, who makes all the final team decisions, including personal playing time.

Stephanie Erickson, in her third year with Stanford University's women's soccer program, has been co-interim head coach since the head coach resigned early in the year. Erickson, who is 26, led the Cardinal to a top seed in Division I Women's Soccer Championship.

"The roles between a head and assistant coach are much different," she said. "It is safer to develop closer relationships when you are an assistant coach. My role has changed a little (since being named interim head coach), but the relationships that already are established don't change. It is different with the freshmen, but it will take a while for me to find a balance."

Student-athlete/coach hierarchy

Lewis and Mayer, both graduate assistants, agree that the role of an assistant as a mentor, friend or confidant is easier because they are closer in age to the players, which allows athletes to relate to them better.

"Even though coach Chappell is a players' coach and players feel they can go to him, they still may go to an assistant first," Mayer said.

Erickson said being close in age was harder when she first started coaching, but the gap grows every year. Although she isn't much older than some of her players, Erickson says her life experience is much different, and that makes the gap even wider.

Anita Kubicka, assistant athletics director and head softball coach at Montclair State University, does not want to have student-athletes turning to her simply because she is young. Instead, she encourages a hierarchy in which student-athletes try to work out problems among themselves and with the assistant coaches before they come to her.

"I am getting older and I want someone there for the players to have a pulse with what is going on today," she said. "I don't have the mentality of an 18-year-old. You have to be very selective when picking an assistant coach. Sometimes you have to play the heavy, and that's my role. Separation makes a difference."

With that selectivity comes some desired attributes.

Kubicka seeks an assistant who works well with her and fits with her personality, a person who is creative and takes the initiative to be courageous and take a calculated risk.

Theresa Grentz, head women's basketball coach at the University of Illinois, Champaign, is looking for a smile and someone she can teach. Grentz, who initially wasn't interested in coaching herself, was quick to add she would ask athletes why they want to coach to make sure they are doing it for the right reasons.

But no matter the age difference or experience level, most established coaches are quick to give advice to their potential peers.

Mayer recommended that student-athletes expand their horizons rather than staying with the coaching staff they played for. And Lewis suggested searching for an assistant position in the same way that a prospect searches for a college: Make sure the coach and the team share the same values and look for the right fit.

"Find the best program where you can get your foot in the door, even if it means you are making no money," Erickson said. "I started as a volunteer coach when I could have had a paying job, but as a result, more doors opened for me at top-level programs."

And the secret to being a good coach?

"The key to coaching is to build a relationship," Grentz said. "You need a two-way street built on trust. Once your athletes have trust in you, you can teach them the important lessons -- the life lessons."