OV has been scheduled for weeks, and the team has already sent flight info. Four days before departure, a coach calls and says all visits for this weekend are canceled due to a “team problem.” He tells her to pick another date. Anyone had such a thing happen, and, if so, what was the problem? We can’t think of any possibility that doesn’t make her want to scratch the school from her list.
are they currently in season?? Maybe they are not doing well in pre-season and coach wants to have them purely focused on temporary goals? Coach has little time to work on team chemistry at this point, so maybe they dont want to add any new people into the equation. I’d just keep the communication open. I know the emails my dd has had to visit included practice with the team, so maybe they just don’t want to have that happen right now if they have team dynamics they are looking to improve.
Or, if they are in season, maybe there was a big party and they got caught/reported and coach is mad and he doesn’t want to have the OVs right now because the team won’t paint a pretty picture.
Maybe the team problem is that the students made other plans for the Labor Day weekend.
Google the university, the team, the coaches etc. Auburn Softball is in trouble for possibly condoning relationships between head coach’s son and teammates. Maybe this issue is causing ripples in other women’s teams to verify rules are being followed.
It could be a protest on campus is planned during OV, something that has nothing to do with team, but would impact quality of visit. (This seems unlikely since the words used were “team problem” but I am reaching for any possibilities here.)
If you have any connections to current students or alumni, you can ask them if they know anything. I would not ask directly to the team/coach/current players.
Time will tell, anything negative usually finds its way onto the internet.
You have good reason to question this team staying on your child’s list, and hopefully your child has several other viable options. No need to tell this school now that they are off the list, but give them time.
There is a slight possibility Coach has discovered a problem and is taking a stand to make it right. (Players Drinking or doing drugs, cheating on academics, etc)
Not yet in season. There is a football game on campus that weekend, so “other plans for Labor Day” seems unlikely. I’ve Googled, Twittered and Instagrammed, and nothing has come up yet. My best guesses are that (1) the entire team has been disciplined for hazing freshmen; or (2) the coaching staff is in turmoil, and departures are imminent. I think #2 is less likely because it’s a well-established program, long-term staff, etc. My daughter will ask if she reschedules, but the team’s standing on her list has taken a beating. Fortunately, she does have other good options.
Maybe you want to ask now, maybe at the meeting after the OV, but I think it is fair for your daughter to say she’s pretty concerned and would like more detail. It could be something that isn’t really important to daughter, and it could be a deal breaker. I would find out more, and if she has other options I would be honest with the coach. He may just tell her, or if he can’t outright he may still give her enough info to make a better decision.
My guess is also that she will be able to either hear the whole story or at least enough of it from the girls on the team when she makes a visit.
It kind of depends on how high this school is on your daughters list if she tries to just get this figured out before she decides if she still wants the OV, or if she wants to keep moving with the process in the dark and tries to figure it out when she gets there.
I’d be concerned too, but I would say that I’d rather my kid play under a coach who takes disciplinary issues seriously than one who turns a blind eye to them.
@Sue22, I agree with this, but I also wonder whether she wants to be on a team with a group that is engaged in a practice that needs this kind of discipline if, indeed, that is what it is. On the other hand, maybe some of the team members are being kicked off, and that has been disruptive but ultimately good for the program. Hmmm, might need to keep an eye on their roster.
I think some high number of the team went out drinking and the punishment is some kind of extra practices (within the rules) or that they are ‘grounded’ this weekend so can’t host a recruit, can’t go to the football game, can’t go to a tailgate.
Reschedule. It won’t change the team. This happened on my daughter’s team. In fact, they weren’t all drinking together but a few got in trouble and when the coach asked who else had been partying on a Sat night, up went another 5 hands just out of honesty. It really wasn’t a big deal at all but a recruit would have been uncomfortable being around kids in the dog house. The coach didn’t even bring it up with the parents, so if your daughter didn’t tell you, you didn’t know.
@planit “I agree with this, but I also wonder whether she wants to be on a team with a group that is engaged in a practice that needs this kind of discipline if, indeed, that is what it is…” I understand your feelings but this stuff can and does happen EVERYWHERE. Harvard soccer etc etc. That the coach asked her to pick another date is a good sign that they are managing something they envision to be closed up by then. I would remain open until further information.
I think @twoinandone’s scenario is as least as likely as that it is some systemic issue like hazing, mass cutting or an impending crack up on the staff. There could also be a tragedy someone on or around the team is dealing with, some NCAA issue that cropped up, some issue with eligibility, or just that there was a leak in the ceiling and the carpeting/furniture in the locker room needs to be replaced that weekend, etc (which happened recently at my son’s school). I would not leap to the conclusion that it is something horrible.
And not to sound trite, but there are vanishingly few teams where a good number of kids are not subject to discipline from time to time. It is just the way it works.
I would also echo @dadof4kids and advise your daughter to ask what is going on. I understand that some things are internal to the locker room, but the coach should be willing to give her a broad outline of what is going on. Then she can make her decision as to whether it changes how she feels about the school.
Just reschedule.
In case anyone is dying to know the outcome of this, the problem was hazing. All the coach would tell my daughter is that it did not involve alcohol or the police. She thought about it for a bit but has now declined their OV; on her first OV to another school, she met another girl who also turned down an OV because of this incident.
@planit: Thanks for circling back…If your daughter declined their OV and so did another kid…chances are that there are others. Sounds like it will be a rough recruiting year for that program.
Wow, and a female team. If, she really likes the coach, the school and the team, it might be a bargaining chip.I have no tolerance for that type of behavior but as an interested athlete would want to know more before dismissing the school and team. Best to your D.
@mamom, the coach was not forthcoming about the details. We DID want to know more before dismissing the school and team; they chose not to answer a direct question. So no dice. Their loss.
^^^correct call on your part!
Agreed
Always despised hazing, myself. Seems to bring out the worst in some people.
Was it women’s swimming?