what's the difference between a coach and a cheerleader?

first off...

THANK G-D FOR THE WARM WEATHER!!!! a chick was straight 'bout to bust waiting for the sun to decide to be out for more than 15 minutes a day.

but on to the real topic of today's post:

what is the difference between a coach and a cheerleader? i recognize that a bunch of my sports fans will take offense to comparing the two, but since most sports metaphors are offered from a male perspective, i felt like this was a topic that deserved further exploration.

i have been going THROUGH dear reader, and this is why i have been MIA for such an extended period of time. by no means did i intend to abandon all four of my fans like that. lmao. but shit has been real in the battlefield for your girl. life is all about growth and changes and sometimes, those changes happen a little bit faster than we'd like them to. my life over the past month is a prime example of this.

among some of the realizations that i've made as of late was that one man's cheerleader is another man's coach. through the course of interactions with someone, i felt like i was being encouraging, supportive and rah rah shish boom bah-ish like a cheerleader. i was promptly corrected and told that i was actually not a cheerleader, but rather i was always scratching and clawing for the coach position. assumedly, i was labeled as this because my encouragement often came in the form of directive suggestions on how an individual could improve their attempts and have more positive outcomes.

now, i have been a cheerleader and i have been a cheerleading coach. in looking at some of the cheers, i can't understand what really separates the two other than uniform and a whistle. here's an example of a cheer my girls do:

dribble it
shoot shoot
just put that ball through the
hoop hoop
put it up and in
put it up and in
score two
come on let's win!!!

if anyone ever sat and actually listened to the words of cheers, they would discover that there is absolutely NO difference between what the cheerleaders say and the pep talk the team gets in the locker room. i know dudes may take issue with being ordered around by a squad of scantily clad chicks, but at the end of the day, it really is the same fucking thing.

some may argue that the cheerleaders aren't there to encourage the team, but rather they are there to keep the crowd motivated and energized because that in turn will keep the team crunk. doesn't that essentially make them passive coaches then? if the coach's job is to direct and motivate the team, then how are they so different?

ultimately, what the fuck is wrong with being someone's coach anyway? if life isn't panning out for them as they see fit, why is it such a big deal to try to help them by either cheering or being a coach? i'd love my own personal pep squad or coach when life started to bring me down.... thoughts?