Where there is smoke there is fire. There is definitely enough here to conduct a thorough investigation and to make public the findings. Coaching and athletes have changed since my time. Heck I know I continued to play after sustaining a concussion and that happened on multiple occasions during my football & rugby years.
This coach does appear to be an odd duck (bear). Why punish a team that conducts a captain organized practice session??
I love the game of soccer and support this team, so this is disturbing. If these allegations have merit, Cal is best to get rid of him. Ole coaches like him rarely change even if they say they have.
Where there is smoke there is fire? What does that mean? A kid gets cut and files a law suit. An elite DI athlete is asked to address fitness issues and calls that “fat shaming.” I know this coach very well and what type of person he is and this is NOT a fair representation of him as a person or a coach. This looks like a situation where athletes that can’t cut it at the highest level because it’s “hard” therefore, it must be the coach’s fault. Elite athletics is supposed to be hard and isn’t for everyone.
Also, it appears that you failed to hear the complaints of the women. They made it clear it was the emotional, psychological and mental abuse. Not so much having to run or train. I agree a part of coaching is psychological ~ if used to benefit the individual and the team.
We shall see if the final investigation concludes that this coach was acting within his parameters.
I agree D1 sports are hard and isn't for everyone. As a former D1 athlete I experienced it first hand.
You may know this coach "very well" are you implying you played for him? Knowing someone on a personal basis is much different than playing for them.
Given the multiple of athletes interviewed and / or contributed to this investigative piece there is cause to complete an investigation and as an alum I support the university doing just that!! Plenty of smoke IMO. The most damning interview was the woman who played for him in high school and then experienced an entirely different coach in college ~ albeit she was warned of such. D1 coaching is stressful and can change a coach, sometimes for the worse.
Given you know him so well, what gives with punishing a team for doing a captain organized / lead practice?? I know from first hand that this isn't something Jack Clark would punish a team for. So would like to hear your response on this?
I've been to a handful of Cal women's soccer games, and as a fan I just hope that this gets worked out. It does not necessarily mean a change in coaches is needed. But the department should revisit the complaints and make recommendations if changes are needed (and if those can be made with current coaches). I know that students have changed in the 20 years that I've been teaching, and I've had to adapt to that. And that it's harder to change mindsets when you are in the ultra-competitive D1 sports world. As a guy who played soccer through high school, I had good coaches (some were a-holes), and crappy coaches (some were a-holes) that I suspected I wasn't getting a fair deal from. Evaluation of players and who deserves playing time can be tricky, and often feels unfair and tainted by personal relationships. On a a 20 person roster, you know who your stars and weakest players are, but there's a lot of gray area between those. That is so common. I'm sure it's hard from the coaching side as well.
The girls' stories are 100% compelling. Good reporting by KTVU. The University's response shows it is more concerned with PR and mitigating legal liability than they are in taking care of student athletes. McGuire needs to go. His teams have consistently underdelivered in relation to their talent. Recruiting seems to be his greatest asset and I can't imagine that won't take a hit once these allegations spread.
That video was tough to watch, although this is, unfortunately, a relatively common problem across the countries across many different sports. Toward the end of the video, there was a letter from Indigo Gibson who was drafted 18th overall (in the 2nd round) of the NWSL Draft but nonetheless quit soccer soon after that draft; now that decision starts to make more sense (I had just assumed that she had a physical injury, rather than a mental scar).
I think Olivia Sekany had graduate-transferred to Washington, although she was not going to play much at Cal with a stud like Angela Anderson who won Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Year honor last year as a freshman. Good for Liv to still find the love for soccer.
I don't know if Cal will decide to part with Neil Mcguire since he probably still has the support of Cal soccer boosters and has been good at recruiting (although the results often did not quite match the talent, Cal has never legitly challenge for the Pac-12 title or make many deep runs in the postseason). Cal soccer also may be facing the challenge of losing their home field to the University in the near future (the University has talked about taking over Edwards Stadium and that prime real estate from Cal Athletics for assuming the Memorial Stadium debt), even the women's team due to Title IX is far safer from being cut than the men's team.
I think it will come down to whether these allegations affect recruiting at all. I can imagine how of the older boosters believing that "tough love", even if it is temperamental, is perfectly fine in coaching.
Worst case scenario is that all this culminates in a change of leadership in 3-4 years for a Cal Soccer program that will also have to move from a nice stadium like Edwards to the small one above Clark Kerr (or some local high school).
The more hopeful scenario may be that Neil McGuire changes the way that he coaches.
Where there is smoke there is fire. There is definitely enough here to conduct a thorough investigation and to make public the findings. Coaching and athletes have changed since my time. Heck I know I continued to play after sustaining a concussion and that happened on multiple occasions during my football & rugby years.
This coach does appear to be an odd duck (bear). Why punish a team that conducts a captain organized practice session??
I love the game of soccer and support this team, so this is disturbing. If these allegations have merit, Cal is best to get rid of him. Ole coaches like him rarely change even if they say they have.
Where there is smoke there is fire? What does that mean? A kid gets cut and files a law suit. An elite DI athlete is asked to address fitness issues and calls that “fat shaming.” I know this coach very well and what type of person he is and this is NOT a fair representation of him as a person or a coach. This looks like a situation where athletes that can’t cut it at the highest level because it’s “hard” therefore, it must be the coach’s fault. Elite athletics is supposed to be hard and isn’t for everyone.
Also, it appears that you failed to hear the complaints of the women. They made it clear it was the emotional, psychological and mental abuse. Not so much having to run or train. I agree a part of coaching is psychological ~ if used to benefit the individual and the team.
We shall see if the final investigation concludes that this coach was acting within his parameters.
I agree D1 sports are hard and isn't for everyone. As a former D1 athlete I experienced it first hand.
You may know this coach "very well" are you implying you played for him? Knowing someone on a personal basis is much different than playing for them.
Given the multiple of athletes interviewed and / or contributed to this investigative piece there is cause to complete an investigation and as an alum I support the university doing just that!! Plenty of smoke IMO. The most damning interview was the woman who played for him in high school and then experienced an entirely different coach in college ~ albeit she was warned of such. D1 coaching is stressful and can change a coach, sometimes for the worse.
Given you know him so well, what gives with punishing a team for doing a captain organized / lead practice?? I know from first hand that this isn't something Jack Clark would punish a team for. So would like to hear your response on this?
I've been to a handful of Cal women's soccer games, and as a fan I just hope that this gets worked out. It does not necessarily mean a change in coaches is needed. But the department should revisit the complaints and make recommendations if changes are needed (and if those can be made with current coaches). I know that students have changed in the 20 years that I've been teaching, and I've had to adapt to that. And that it's harder to change mindsets when you are in the ultra-competitive D1 sports world. As a guy who played soccer through high school, I had good coaches (some were a-holes), and crappy coaches (some were a-holes) that I suspected I wasn't getting a fair deal from. Evaluation of players and who deserves playing time can be tricky, and often feels unfair and tainted by personal relationships. On a a 20 person roster, you know who your stars and weakest players are, but there's a lot of gray area between those. That is so common. I'm sure it's hard from the coaching side as well.
The girls' stories are 100% compelling. Good reporting by KTVU. The University's response shows it is more concerned with PR and mitigating legal liability than they are in taking care of student athletes. McGuire needs to go. His teams have consistently underdelivered in relation to their talent. Recruiting seems to be his greatest asset and I can't imagine that won't take a hit once these allegations spread.
That video was tough to watch, although this is, unfortunately, a relatively common problem across the countries across many different sports. Toward the end of the video, there was a letter from Indigo Gibson who was drafted 18th overall (in the 2nd round) of the NWSL Draft but nonetheless quit soccer soon after that draft; now that decision starts to make more sense (I had just assumed that she had a physical injury, rather than a mental scar).
I think Olivia Sekany had graduate-transferred to Washington, although she was not going to play much at Cal with a stud like Angela Anderson who won Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Year honor last year as a freshman. Good for Liv to still find the love for soccer.
I don't know if Cal will decide to part with Neil Mcguire since he probably still has the support of Cal soccer boosters and has been good at recruiting (although the results often did not quite match the talent, Cal has never legitly challenge for the Pac-12 title or make many deep runs in the postseason). Cal soccer also may be facing the challenge of losing their home field to the University in the near future (the University has talked about taking over Edwards Stadium and that prime real estate from Cal Athletics for assuming the Memorial Stadium debt), even the women's team due to Title IX is far safer from being cut than the men's team.
If these allegations prove to be true, I have to imagine they outweigh the support of the boosters.
I think it will come down to whether these allegations affect recruiting at all. I can imagine how of the older boosters believing that "tough love", even if it is temperamental, is perfectly fine in coaching.
Worst case scenario is that all this culminates in a change of leadership in 3-4 years for a Cal Soccer program that will also have to move from a nice stadium like Edwards to the small one above Clark Kerr (or some local high school).
The more hopeful scenario may be that Neil McGuire changes the way that he coaches.