Ohio State University

I just want to say that maybe if Coach Sparks had been given another year he might have been able to help the girls team along, but that would have had to come with some growing up. He didn't really want to coach girls, I can tell, because his focus was not on recruiting girls, he recruited boys. If he had realized he was not the men's coach he might have been able to hold onto his job. He might have been a good men's coach, but when it comes to coaching women, he had no clue.

Now, hiring Myers?? Big mistake, it will only fuel the vicious cycle that has become OSU's women's coaching. He will be there one year and then he will be fired due to his inexperience. If he thinks coaching is just holding a stop watch, he has a lot to learn. He will not be able to communicate with women because, let's face it, women athletes are a hell of a lot different then men, and he doesn't even have experience coaching men, he just rode on the coat-tails of others. Anyway, Rogers will realize there are no points coming from the female distance runners because they already lost thier number one girl to another school, and high school girls don't want to go to OSU. Sorry to expose the facts, but someone had to bring everyone to reality, take it from someone who knows.

Runnergirl, you obviously have a "few screws loose". Matt Sparks DID need a few more years, as ANYONE in his position would have. You can't expect someone with no experience to be perfect, but the word on the street is that he was a great coach. I'm glad he is moving on now, he deserves much more than what he was getting. Also, OSU lost their "best girl" to graduation, not "another school". The only girl they "lost" to another school was Brooke Patterson and she was more screwed up than any 19 year old girl should be--- dating a man almost 40 years old! No one from OSU missed her. They were probably praying for the day to come. As for Chad Myers--- only time will tell. He has had some coaching experience and with Robert Gary's help, it's hard to believe something could go terribly wrong. The women's team at OSU will need a few years to develop, but when they do, I expect a team that's similar to the success of the men.

You're saying the new coach won't be able to communicate with women because....he's a man? That's pretty damned sexist.

Can anyone out there summarize the differences between coaching men and coaching women(other than the physical differences and the periodic crying episodes)? Or could someone please recommend any books or articles on the subject.

Why should the girl "lost" to graduation be the number one girl. Oh, Sparks only coached her. Ok, that would explain it. And who came through for the XC team in the Big Ten meet, who didn't give up? Who was the number one girl then? And who got OSU a fifth place in the 800m and helped the 4x400 team when Merriman didn't run? Wait a second... Oh, not the girl lost to graduation. As I looked through the results, there wasn't really a clear cut first girl throughout the entire season, so I just went on who did better in the big meet. Chad won't be able to coach women because there isn't any experience, as was the reason with Sparks, no communication skills. That's not being sexist. Maybe OSU should have hired a woman since there are no females on the coaching staff now. Maybe that's sexist. And I'm not clear on why the age thing has anything to do with a person's sanity. But to each it's own, and so be it.

Can anyone with information please give some insight on the following. And please runnerwoman, oh yea, girl, refrain. It is pretty obvious that you are the girl in question trying to pump yourself up. As someone involved with the men's program, I had it on good word that the girl in question was told never to show up again. My info. says it came from the head coach that this girl was such a virus to the team that OSU was willing to eat her scholarship, allow her to keep it, but did not want her at practice or on the team. Can anyone back or refute this? I have also heard all is not well with the school she went to. If true, at some point the girl would have to see who/what the problem is wouldn't she? How did Sparks handle this situation. I saw him doing whatever he could with an uncoachable athlete that actually thought mediocre times were good. Sparks undeniably got a raw deal. Can anyone add more?

You hit it, fredo; but the women cry sometimes, too!

Fredo:

"Summarizing", particularly on a message board, could, in my opinion, only lead to sterotyping. My somewhat limited experience in coaching women in a club for a few years is that many of them have a motivation for training and competition that is quite apart from the relatively uniform machismo-type, Nietschian (I dunno how to really spell that, and am too lazy to look it up, but I think it's clear enough) male reasons (I am a male, and have much of that same motivation, and am not demeaning it).

Also, I found that the women I coached were more likely to do EVERYTHING they were told, whether it hurt or not, whether they were injured or not, unless the coach knew just what was going on.

No books though, and I've seen women who were just as "macho" as the guys, and vice versa, as well.

There, that should answer a little bit and cover my ass as well.

Runnergirl, your original post said nothing about the new coach's inexperience; it just jumped to what sounded like a sexist statement. From a qualifications standpoint, I think an inexperienced woman coach would do just as well as an inexperienced man. From an equality standpoint, yes, it would be nice if they could find a woman to fill some position in the athletic coaching roster, provided she's qualified. And willing to work for what sounds like a bad situation.

By reading runnergirl's second post, it is easy to see the problem Matt Sparks, the new OSU coach, and countless other coaches face. Runnergirl is actually arguing who was the best on a poor team. At the bottom of the league in X-C, where did their top runner finish? 50th? My gosh, if not in the top 10, the runner should be too embarrassed to even bring up the subject. She also brought up someone finishing 5th in the 800 in a very mediocre time. Ditto. Sparks and others like him have to stroke egos of very average athletes who have developed a self-exaggerated view of themselves during the recruiting process, then continue to keep them happy for 4 years. Tough gig!

People keep talking about how Matt Sparks was fired at OSU. I was under the impression that he resigned and they offered him a raise to stay?

He indeed was let go. There was some rumor of inappropriate behavior with some of the teammembers although the admin. member I know would not elaborate. What happened to Sparks? Did he get another job?

I don't think it would be inappropriate to be concerned about the physical and mental wellbeing of your athletes. If you can't "stroke" all your athletes, then you have no business coaching. The folks that only give positive attention to ALL of their athletes and not just their top end ones, end up with either a short career or with constant run ins with the athletes.

Read into my last post. There was a little more than egos being stroked. Coach, I'm not sure there were any 'top' athletes on that team the past few years. A few average talent/huge ego athletes who have left and some good solid middle to back of the packers. It's hard to treat some at the top different when there are not really any above average.

Sparks was not let go nor was he ever accused of any inappropriate behavior. He was simply unhappy with the situation he was in.