Milan Bolden-Morris: A Trailblazer Coach Looking Out for Other Athletes

(Dated April 8, 2022)

Milan Bolden-Morris just spent the past exhausting few days moving into her new apartment in Ann Arbor, Michigan, but you would never be able to tell that from looking at her. The newly-hired 22-year-old graduate assistant, who will soon be coaching quarterbacks at Michigan football, looks cool as a cucumber in her fresh Wolverine gear. From the glint in her eye, she seems like she would be ready to turn around, walk onto the field, and start coaching if anyone told her to — with no fear, only excitement.

Bolden-Morris, known as Mimi, is in the midst of taking a huge step in her athletic career: -the leap from player to coach, from student to working adult. And she is taking it all in stride. Why? Because she is an athlete who is on a mission to make sure every athlete she reaches feels supported and healthy. Because she almost never got the chance to feel that way herself.

Bolden-Morris grew up in Belle Glade, Florida, the daughter of a sports fanatic and former NFL player. She has fond memories of sports being an integral part of her childhood as she played both baseball and softball: “My dad had this rule where my brother, Mike, and I had to play two sports, regardless of what they were. I’m not sure if it was to keep us active or because he was an athlete as well, but that was so big for me,” Bolden-Morris recalled.

But sports were never just fun and games for her family or her community. It ran much deeper. “The area where I’m from, not many people really make it out, but the ones who do are the ones who play football. So football is like religion… it’s like gospel there,” Bolden Morris said.

Her dad, Michael, was able to support his family by playing football, and he passed on the connection with the sport to his children by taking on the role of coach. Bolden-Morris was there at every one of Mike’s football games, watching not only her brother (who now plays for Michigan football), but her dad, too. He quizzed her on things like what team was playing, where it was from, its quarterback, its coach, until it all became habit. It became love.

Bolden-Morris never played football, but as she got older, her own athletic journey began to hit its stride. She started playing basketball late in middle school, working hard to eventually earn a scholarship to play at Boston College. Coming off of a terrific freshman year, being selected for the All-ACC Freshman Team and breaking a record for freshman 3-pointers (she had 80), Bolden-Morris’s future looked bright.

However, a new head coach changed her entire career — and not for the better. The coach, Joanna Bernabei-McNamee, immediately told Bolden-Morris she was overweight and needed to lose a lot of pounds fast, making her do running tests, visit her office to show her what she was eating, and do weekly weigh-ins. She was benched for many of her games, barely playing. Soon, Bolden-Morris developed an eating disorder and spiraled into depression, taking the enjoyment out of sports and life.

“No one had ever taught me how to eat properly and nutrition was never talked about in my home,” Bolden-Morris said. “I didn’t know anything about my body and what it needed to be successful.”

COVID-19 was hard, but elements of it came as a blessing as the time she spent at home allowed her to see nutritionists and psychologists who gave her personalized plans to improve her eating and mental health. She opted out of her senior year at Boston College and transferred to Georgetown, graduating in December of 2020. Wrapping up her undergraduate career, she began a new chapter at Georgetown as part of the graduate school’s Sports Industry Management program and of the Hoyas women’s basketball team.

Bolden-Morris made an immediate impact on the Georgetown team during the unprecedented 2020-2021 season, both on and off the court. Not only was she the team’s second-leading scorer, but junior center Graceann Bennett, who became Bolden-Morris’s roommate during the season, said that her presence changed her life.

“I was really struggling with the COVID-19 bubble we were playing in, and the isolation was really hurting my mental health, but then Mimi came in, and she was just so genuine and warm. Her energy filled the court… everyone just gravitated toward her on the team,” Bennett said.

In the 2021-2022 season, Georgetown introduced former Hoya and WNBA player Sugar Rodgers as an assistant coach. Bolden-Morris attributes her success on the court that season to Rodgers, saying she was an extremely capable coach. But what she remembers most about “Coach Sug” was that she was a great person, too. “She was so young and relatable. She spent time and energy on us making sure we were good as a whole. On our worst days, she would come to see us at our dorms and check on us before practice,” Bolden-Morris said.

Now finished with her last college season as a student athlete and stepping into her own coaching role, Bolden-Morris is looking forward to being that kind of caring coach for her team, since so much of her career lacked one. “I want to hone in on those connections and be able to help them be well-rounded individuals, not just great athletes. I think sometimes coaches don’t understand how much of an impact they have on a kid,” Bolden-Morris said.

Michigan seems like the perfect fit for Mimi. It is where her brother plays as a defensive end, and where coach Jim Harbaugh is looking to make waves in inclusion and diversity; Bolden-Morris is the first female graduate assistant coach at a Big Ten school and at a major FBS program.

“We had some great conversations and I came away extremely impressed with her desire and ideas for coaching, and for making us better as a team,” Harbaugh said. “Mimi is a very bright, intelligent and competitive young woman who will be a great addition to our program and offensive coaching staff.”

Looking into the future, Bolden-Morris is not worried about the challenges that may come with her historic new role. She knows that she always wants to be involved with sports in some way and use her opportunities to lift up the next generation of female athletes and coaches. She also dreams of creating a non-profit or facility that allows athletes to grow as whole people, with an emphasis on mental health and nutrition, especially in underserved communities.

Bolden-Morris has been through a roller coaster of physical and mental challenges in her athletic career, but she is nowhere close to letting go of sports. Instead, she is taking charge and carving her own path of health, support, and inclusion. She is entering this new chapter of her life with humility and a whole lot of competitiveness.

“Everyone has a starting point, and this is mine,” she said. “I wouldn’t pass it up for anything.”