Let's talk about positive experiences with college coaches

[Mad Hornet]

I know I have spent a lot of time on negative college coaches lately in another thread. How about some of you post your positive experiences with college softball?

I will start. Bruce Anderson took over as head softball coach at Otterbein last year. My older daughter had a fifth year of eligibility due to COVID. Had the old coach remained, she would have been done. But the old coach left (or was asked to leave we will never know) and she really wanted that one more year. Otterbein was picked dead last during preseason, but they came out and shocked the conference finishing fourth and making the OAC tourney. Bruce made the experience very positive and did a great job coaching those ladies up. I would enthusiastically recommend this program for anyone considering Otterbein! And we were very happy our daughter got to finish her career on with a positive experience.

I know she wants to be a coach some day and is already helping with a travel team but she has definitely seen the good, the bad, and the ugly in her years and has a good idea what not to do and what to do when she gets her shot.

 

[CARDS]

Working NCFA events, through travel ball and HS softball coaching I have come in contact with a lot of great people.
Many don't realize a lot of college coaches especially at DIII, NAIA and JC have other jobs outside or inside of the school. I know of a couple that also coach travel softball teams as well as their college.
I have had many players play for these coaches and stuck with softball as well as college with nothing negative to say about the program or coaching.

Art Williams Spaulding University
Thomas Thornton Georgetown College
Steven Beachler Sinclair Community College
Tracy Coffman UNOH
Beth Goderwis Mt St. Joseph
Lindsay Eagan Thomas More university
Dan Kenny UC Clermont
David Dews Lindsey Wilson College....
Sadly the school released Coach Dews after 8 seasons... This link has many reasons why players, parents and other coaches thought so much of him.
https://www.change.org/p/athletic-c...son-really-support-their-athletes-and-coaches

 

[Passion4theGame]

I will echo Mad Hornet. Bruce is the Man! Love that guy. Straight shooter too.

All experiences I have had dealing with college coaches for the past 3 yrs has been positive.

Coach Pratt w MVNU great coach and easy to deal with.

The Excitement a coach shares when they finally see a player play they like is magical! Thats the part that gives me goosebumps. When I see a big smile or excitement from a coach after an athlete makes an amazing play or great hit at that point I'm locked in on them.

 

[daboss]

Quiet thread. I hope the list of coaches mentioned aren't the only ones in the game that we can put on our shoulders. lol

Just kidding.

 

[Passion4theGame]

I can name more if need be. Lol.

 

[daboss]

I can name more if need be. Lol.

I really expected more out of this thread. lol. Can't help but laugh. I'm weird that way.

 

[Mad Hornet]

Yep. Lots a crickets unfortunately....

 

[CARDS]

Honestly; I feel there are only a dozen or so travel tournament ball organizations/coaches in Ohio that actually have honest college coach connections or are members of a professional coaching network.

Many coaches and organizations skate through the ACE training and concussion/SCA training just to be compliant and are not interested in professional coaching networks and training outside of what is required to help build networks.

Parents and players in college (with the exception of a few) have long forgotten about the OFC and other fast forums that they mostly just used to find tryouts or tournaments.

I see more HS coaches out and about at softball coaching events held by NFHS,NFCA the REDS etc. than TB coaches.
Generally if an organization has connections with colleges it is only a couple coaches that have built connections and in some cases relationships with their college coaching partners while most connections are formed with the parents and players.

NFHS https://www.nfhs.org/nfhs-for-you/coaches/
NFCA https://nfcaevents.org/coaches-clinics/
One of many coaching sites to promote programs and players https://www.fieldlevel.com/app/feed
LinkedIn is a pretty solid platform to help coaches build networking relationships with not only HS and college coaches but specialty coaches and ADs.

There will be a new www.coachbook.org is coming in April 2023. (This is for all sports). The old coachbook had very few softball or female sport coaches compared to the other sports maybe the changes will improve that.

With Covid unfortunately I see a future where most of the personal relationships will be replaced with the virtual connections as networking, training etc. goes down the path of social media and electronic formats.

 

[Passion4theGame]

Quick list of coaches w positive experiences over the past 3yrs. This is just me opinion on these coaches as I have only had great conversations with them. Multiple times.

Great Experiences
Lane Leedy - Findlay (Best Hug giver)
Dani Lowe- Findlay
Mark Pratt- MVNU
Jeana Howald- MVNU
Jessica Bowman- Taylor U (one of the most positive people I’ve met)
Kyle Gross- Hillsdale (hitting Guru)
Meghan Simons- Mt. Union
Kim Griffin- Canisius (so enthusiastic)
Beth Floyd- Wilmington (sweetheart)
Kim Stiles- Holy Cross
Cammi Prantl- OSU (one of my favorite people)
Ashley Skelly- Adrian
Paige Mcmenemy- Tiffin
Coach Coleman- Notre Dame college
Stopp- Notre Dame college
Anna Kirk- Bucknell
Hailey Sims- EKU
Jane Worthington- EKU
Summer Collins- Hiram college

I am Sure I am missing a few but it’s on the fly writing this. Just quickly going through my head of who I have shared great conversations with.



Bad Experiences
I have a couple but not going to list them.

 

[Mad Hornet]

Quick list of coaches w positive experiences over the past 3yrs. This is just me opinion on these coaches as I have only had great conversations with them. Multiple times.

Great Experiences

Jane Worthington- EKU


I am Sure I am missing a few but it’s on the fly writing this. Just quickly going through my head of who I have shared great conversations with.



Bad Experiences
I have a couple but not going to list them.

I also had a positive experience with Jane Worthington. Good conversations about her growing up in southern Utah, her mom, dog, all while fawning over my daughter. Went to several camps, even brought my Laser Blue team down for a series of friendlies with Turnin' 2.

That positive experience completely changed shortly after she got on campus. She sure had us fooled.

 

[Passion4theGame]

I also had a positive experience with Jane Worthington. Good conversations about her growing up in southern Utah, her mom, dog, all while fawning over my daughter. Went to several camps, even brought my Laser Blue team down for a series of friendlies with Turnin' 2.

That positive experience completely changed shortly after she got on campus. She sure had us fooled.

I completely understand and I sympathize what these athletes have went through. I can’t judge someone off of someone else’s experience. I can only list my experience. I have been to dinner w her and many many conversations and I have nothing but good to say at this point.
With that said our Athlete that verballed there is looking at other options and being cautious.

 

[LiaNwmn]

I also had a positive experience with Jane Worthington. Good conversations about her growing up in southern Utah, her mom, dog, all while fawning over my daughter. Went to several camps, even brought my Laser Blue team down for a series of friendlies with Turnin' 2.

That positive experience completely changed shortly after she got on campus. She sure had us fooled.

Heard only good things about her. (Edit: I asked again, so now I'm not sure of my words. ) It seems that you can only trust your own experience

Quick list of coaches w positive experiences over the past 3yrs. This is just me opinion on these coaches as I have only had great conversations with them. Multiple times.

Great Experiences
Lane Leedy - Findlay (Best Hug giver)
Dani Lowe- Findlay
Mark Pratt- MVNU
Jeana Howald- MVNU
Jessica Bowman- Taylor U (one of the most positive people I’ve met)
Kyle Gross- Hillsdale (hitting Guru)
Meghan Simons- Mt. Union
Kim Griffin- Canisius (so enthusiastic)
Beth Floyd- Wilmington (sweetheart)
Kim Stiles- Holy Cross
Cammi Prantl- OSU (one of my favorite people)
Ashley Skelly- Adrian
Paige Mcmenemy- Tiffin
Coach Coleman- Notre Dame college
Stopp- Notre Dame college
Anna Kirk- Bucknell
Hailey Sims- EKU
Jane Worthington- EKU
Summer Collins- Hiram college

I am Sure I am missing a few but it’s on the fly writing this. Just quickly going through my head of who I have shared great conversations with. I had different situations, and as the author of the paper writes at https://studydriver.com/personal-experience/ people can trust your opinion, which can lead to both good and negative consequences. Therefore, I will not talk about whom I heard or talked about friends, but share the names of those with whom I had personal experience.



Bad Experiences
I have a couple but not going to list them.

Thanks for your list. Nevertheless, it would also be helpful to hear about negative experiences.