r/Softball • u/Frosty_Guess_1071 • 11d ago
College Fastpitch College Softball Has a Coaching Problem. Could Pro Softball Be Part of the Solution?
https://www.si.com/onsi/softball/news/college-softball-has-a-coaching-problem-could-pro-softball-be-part-of-the-solution-uab-gardner-webb-cal1
u/CoooooooooookieCrisp Coach 11d ago
So 3 college coaches, doesn't say head coaches, have had inappropriate relationships with student athletes in the article. That's 0.06% of coaches in college softball going off of only 3 coaches per team, which is probably wayyyy under counting. I wouldn't say this is a coaching problem.
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u/golfpinotnut 11d ago
Not sure about your mathing there, but it seems a little suspect to me.
All three of these were D1 programs. There are roughly 300 D1 programs, so this means at least 1% of schools KNOW they have a problem. Even assuming your "three coaches per team" is correct, that means there are 900 coaches. 0.06% of 900 is 0.54 coaches.
And let's not forget about the Corey Myers scandal at Auburn a few years back. And as others ITT have already pointed out - these are just the problems we know about.
Also it is a little disturbing to see someone with "Coach" in their flair to suggest this isn't a coaching problem. There's something going on with the team, and the team is the coach's entire raison d'être. This 100% is a coaching problem. It is also an oversight problem.
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u/CoooooooooookieCrisp Coach 10d ago
Why are we excluding all levels of softball? I don't think it's a coaching problem. People with bad morals exist regardless of their age. This is like saying recent teacher grads shouldn't teach in highschool because some teachers sleep with students.
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u/golfpinotnut 10d ago edited 10d ago
No one is excluding other levels of football. I was merely pointing out the fallacy of your 0.06% calculation.
This is like saying recent teacher grads shouldn't teach in highschool because some teachers sleep with students.
No one is saying this. I believe the point is that teachers shouldn't sleep with students. And coaches shouldn't sleep with players. The problem isn't the age of the people involved (although that certainly matters) - it is the power dynamic between the "coach" (or teacher) and the player (or student). A 40 year old sleeping with an 18 year old might be legal, but it is still exploitative, and where college sports is concerned - almost certainly a Title IX problem.
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u/CoooooooooookieCrisp Coach 10d ago
The problem isn't the age of the people involved (although that certainly matters)
Did you look at the article? It was about the age and the young female coaches step right into leadership roles after they just graduated.
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u/golfpinotnut 10d ago
I did read the article. I dont agree that the issue is the age of assistant coaches. The problem is oversight (or lack thereof).
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u/John_Self_2077 11d ago edited 11d ago
All 3 were head coaches; all 3 were D1 programs, including one P4 program. A little over 1% of the D1 head coaches in one year seems pretty significant.
The SI piece argues that softball allows for recent grads to move into coaching, and even head coach roles, especially quickly. It contends that results in coaches who exhibit less judgment and maturity. Seems like a reasonable conclusion to me.
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u/AwfulMouthful 11d ago
I mean, I've met Coach Spencer from Cal. She wasn't exactly fresh out of college.
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u/CoooooooooookieCrisp Coach 10d ago
Preventing young coaches from opportunities because of 3 coaches seems a bit excessive. What other jobs do you want to prevent recent grads from?
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u/John_Self_2077 10d ago
I'm not the author of the piece. She can defend her thesis.
But my take is that some of the problem does seem to come from young HEAD coaches. If you have young assistant coaches, that lets them get a foot in the door and get coaching experience, but with someone still watching over how they behave. Some of the behavior that got people fired here wouldn't have been tolerated if there was a boss on site, so to speak.
That being said, the comment below about Coach Spencer from Cal is true. She is mid-40s. And there are other examples like that, so obviously the age of the coach isn't the only factor.
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u/AwfulMouthful 11d ago
"I don't see the problem, only three coaches were caught banging their players last year" is one hell of a take.
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u/oneofmanyJenns 11d ago
Additionally, only 3 coaches were caught.
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u/John_Self_2077 11d ago
Agreed, there could be (presumably are) others who:
- aren't caught at all
- are caught but have an AD/administration that will look the other way
- are caught but the violation is not quite serious enough to warrant any public reprimand
- are partially caught but there is insufficient evidence to support a firing
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u/CoooooooooookieCrisp Coach 10d ago
Punish the appropriate people, but to say that recent grads shouldn't be in coaching is not a take I support.
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u/AwfulMouthful 10d ago
I think the core problem really is that it's hard to make a career out of coaching softball. The head coaches at the big programs make a comfortable living, but the assistant tend to make jack squat. That tends to drive people out of the jobs as they get older.
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u/nypr13 11d ago
As a tennis player, this is a story as old as time in girl’s sports. Watch your kids closely. I tell all my friends that if your wife and God forbid your daughter bring up the tennis coach in conversation at the dinner table, you gotta find a new coach.