2022 Coaching Changes (vacancies in post 100)

[irichluck21]

UCLA posted the job listing for HC earlier. It says the application process closes in a week so I’m assuming they already have someone willing to take the position.

It would be hysterical if it were Kristina Comforte.

That would stop the Twitter Mob gloats of “WE WON!”

 

[Sasha]

I was thinking that it would be funny if Val came back.

Either would just trigger a new mob though.

 

[RedBirdie]

At least we won’t be waiting too long to find out who the new coach is. Of course, now I’m extra curious who they’ve already decided on.

 

[One]

In an additional plot twist the gymternet needed, rumor is CKC was able to renew her contract for another year but fired one of her assistant coaches. I don’t know how much Georgia going to be able to improve in a year or what the exact terms of her extension were.

She was tweeting about meeting future recruits next season, so that might confirm it.

 

[david]

Larissa Libby would be an interesting pick for UCLA. She’s a seasoned HC whose done a great job at Iowa in recent years, shes a strong choreographer, Im not aware of any drama with her or the program, and she has no history with UCLA, so it would be a clean slate.

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

In an additional plot twist the gymternet needed, rumor is CKC was able to renew her contract for another year but fired one of her assistant coaches.

I think UCLA should get Kupets, just for shits and giggles.

 

[Bananna]

I’m curious as to when the decision to ditch CW was made. He sold his gym in Dec, which would indicate to me that he was confident of a contract extension at that time, otherwise why sell? Sometimes I wonder if the AJ story would’ve come out when it did if a gym mom hadn’t leaked it on Facebook.

Considering how quickly UGA got rid of Jay and Danna with better results, UGA is mad to keep CKC on. Finishing 30th and with rumours of Roberts and Nguyen transferring, I can’t see Georgia getting any better with just one change of AC.

 

[cuuf]

If its true that CKC got a one year extension then it probably is a “you must change the trend this year if you want to keep your job” extension. I dont think they are expecting nationals or bust, but probably she made some compelling case/plan that she can steady the ship and show some upward improvement. Maybe if you believe she can get the girls to not implode on a rotation they would have had much better results? Still a bit of a head-scratcher, and goes against most modern athletic department coach management philosophy. Mainly for recruiting, you never want to have a coach under a 3 year window contract since recruits might be skeptical that the coach they commit to will be the coach when they get there. Idk how she is going to sign anyone other than diehard UGA fans/legacies.

 

[irichluck21]

In an additional plot twist the gymternet needed, rumor is CKC was able to renew her contract for another year but fired one of her assistant coaches. I don’t know how much Georgia going to be able to improve in a year or what the exact terms of her extension were.

This is exactly what happened to Bryan Raschilla at Alabama. Sports department was on Duckworth about the team’s performances and she threw him under the bus in order to keep her job. He went to Auburn as volunteer coach and is now an assistant at Oregon State.

 

[irichluck21]

Larissa Libby would be an interesting pick for UCLA. She’s a seasoned HC whose done a great job at Iowa in recent years, shes a strong choreographer, Im not aware of any drama with her or the program, and she has no history with UCLA, so it would be a clean slate.

Libby has had some drama with athletes especially during their low points when they were ranked 40th and missing regionals. This is circa 2004-2007 time frame. It might be too far back to find the internet articles. I will try Wayback machine. IIRC athletes complained about having to train through injury and several athletes transferred from the program. I want to say an athlete wanted to switch from Iowa to Penn State and Libby blocked the transfer, forcing the gymnast to have to take a full year off. This is when coaches could block athlete transfers, which can no longer be done. I am struggling to recall the gymnast’s name.

 

[irichluck21]

However, at least one gymnast has come out about her poor experience at USU under Smith. There’s also been something like 20 gymnasts who have left the team since she took over which is worryingly high. So it seems that an Amy Smith hire could be a scandal waiting to happen.

This is the first time I am hearing this.
Utah State also recruited level standout Brie Clark and the program has been breaking records.
I would love to find out more information about the complains of said gymnast.

Gymnasts leaving schools I am not so concerned about and wouldn’t equate it to being the fault of Amy Smith. So even if the number of gymnasts that have left Utah State is at 20 it is a big assumption that it is due to the coaching staff.
Gymnasts switch schools more often than not at those mid-tier schools. Sometimes it has to do with coaches but more often than not it has to do with not liking the school itself, or wanting to be closer to home, etc.
On top of that, athletes from other sports leave schools all the time and it has nothing to do with the athletic team or school program.

 

[Laura722]

I can’t believe Kupets might have gotten a one-year extension. Georgia has been in such freefall. Last season she kept putting Oakley out there and you can tell she was in great physical pain.

 

[david]

I hadn’t heard that about Larissa, hope her coaching has evolved since then.

 

[RedBirdie]

I would be absolutely shocked if a coach didn’t have at least one dissatisfied gymnast out there.

 

[irichluck21]

I hadn’t heard that about Larissa, hope her coaching has evolved since then.

Yes.
Iowa made NCAAs as a full team in 2003 and 2004.
They were ranked 15th in 2002, 11th in 2003, 12th in 2004.
Then in 2005 when Libby took over they dropped to 35th and then 39th in 2006, followed by 40th in 2007.
During this time many gymnasts transferred or medically retired and had expressed disappointment in the program and in Libby’s coaching philosophies.

I will try to find the articles but 2004/2005 is sorta lost unless you dig deep in Wayback.

 

[Bananna]

This is the first time I am hearing this.
Utah State also recruited level standout Brie Clark and the program has been breaking records.
I would love to find out more information about the complains of said gymnast.

Gymnasts leaving schools I am not so concerned about and wouldn’t equate it to being the fault of Amy Smith. So even if the number of gymnasts that have left Utah State is at 20 it is a big assumption that it is due to the coaching staff.

It was Glory Yoakum who was on the team over the 2018-19, she put this on twitter last year but it’s only seemed to have gained traction since the UCLA vacancy came up. She doesn’t name Amy Smith, but from context clues it’s likely that’s who she is referring to.

 

[Bananna]

Josh Overton, Georgia AC is out.

 

[RedBirdie]

Dvora Meyers just published an article on fivethirtyeight about how NCAA gymnastics isn’t some perfect space free of many of the same problems that plague elite gym.

College Gymnastics Isn’t Exempt From The Sport’s Larger Problems

We need to be wary of how we contextualize the joyous picture of this sport.

fivethirtyeight.com

 

[irichluck21]

I’ll just have to take your word for it since I can’t read that tiny text. I even went to her profile page and tried reading it and I couldn’t.

Seems like this is a trend that gymnasts don’t like their scholarships hanging over their head.

I want to have empathy for the gymnasts. However, they are on athletic scholarship and are expected to perform for that scholarship. I don’t blame coaches for having to decide to discontinue scholarships or to bring them up to athletes.
Otherwise if something is fully guaranteed, there is no incentive or motivation to continue.

I am sure that this has also been abused by coaches, so it is a fine line.

At the end of the day the coaches want to keep their jobs and have to ultimately take responsibility for the efforts of the team and their success.

I want to be on team gymnasts of course, but there are always two sides of the story.

Division 3 is really where it is at though. No athletic scholarships, you are on the team or not on the team, it is really up to you.

 

[Bananna]

Yeah, I agree that it isn’t necessarily bad or abusive coaching to decide to bring up scholarships to athletes. However, I think it’s inappropriate and counterproductive to do so to an athlete who has told you that she is struggling with anxiety/depression as well as an ED. Yoakum was clearly having lots of problems and from what she wrote, just wanted to feel supported to help her in her recovery (her words). Instead, Smith (or potentially Whitnee Johnson) told her she needed to transfer, said she (Yoakum) was to blame for her MH problems, told her to sit in the stands in meets and called her the weakest link in the team.

If it was Smith who said those things to Yoakum, then I hope she has changed because I think that’s an awful way to treat a gymnast. I don’t believe that coaches need to be therapists to their athletes, but I do think the minimum should be being supportive of their athletes when they are experiencing difficult times.