I've been deeply disturbed by all of these reports but attempting to be objective, and I realize that coaching almost always involves some disgruntlement. But this article cements the deal. It is obvious--that for whatever reason--Paye's approach is not working for our athletes. It is odd to me that someone who has been a Stanford WBB player would have such trouble understanding how to relate to our student athletes. There must have been a generational shift in attitudes and communication styles.
Frankly, I wonder if this is a shift that will occur in coaching more generally. The old-style coach as authoritarian leader who can brook no dissent is over in an era when the players are professionals who have lots of options. Coaxing the most out of our athletes will take more empathy. Willl the coach as psychologist replace the coach as military commander?
Of course the best coaches have in the past been both. But Pat, Geno, and Tara were not the touchy-feely kind that Cori is. Kate is far from the touchy-feely kind either. Early on there were those on this board who feared that Kate would not be tough enough. Perhaps she has been too tough.
The biggest mystery to me though is not how this happened, but why administration decided not to intervene, and much earlier. Hard to imagine the situation improving when this story is available for recruits and potential transfers to read.
Just after I posted I remember something from a chalk talk early on. Not sure it was this year, but it was after Kate took over. Someone (and it was not Kate) said something about expecting more from athletes now that they were being paid. I took it to mean that they might be treated more like professionals and less like college students. Perhaps this was the philosophy that was adopted, and perhaps it backfired and was perceived as too cold blooded or harsh?
It could be that professionalizing the sport created sharply different expectations--that coaches felt they could demand more, but that athletes felt they no longer had to put up with harsh treatment.
Frankly, I wonder if this is a shift that will occur in coaching more generally. The old-style coach as authoritarian leader who can brook no dissent is over in an era when the players are professionals who have lots of options. Coaxing the most out of our athletes will take more empathy. Willl the coach as psychologist replace the coach as military commander?
Of course the best coaches have in the past been both. But Pat, Geno, and Tara were not the touchy-feely kind that Cori is. Kate is far from the touchy-feely kind either. Early on there were those on this board who feared that Kate would not be tough enough. Perhaps she has been too tough.
The biggest mystery to me though is not how this happened, but why administration decided not to intervene, and much earlier. Hard to imagine the situation improving when this story is available for recruits and potential transfers to read.
Just after I posted I remember something from a chalk talk early on. Not sure it was this year, but it was after Kate took over. Someone (and it was not Kate) said something about expecting more from athletes now that they were being paid. I took it to mean that they might be treated more like professionals and less like college students. Perhaps this was the philosophy that was adopted, and perhaps it backfired and was perceived as too cold blooded or harsh?
It could be that professionalizing the sport created sharply different expectations--that coaches felt they could demand more, but that athletes felt they no longer had to put up with harsh treatment.