transfer portal 2024-2025

[CameliasFingerpaint]

From what I’ve heard about the UCLA team, it is not the coaches who are in charge

Can you say more? This doesn’t surprise me one bit, but I wondered if you had more context.

Part of good coaching is being able to manage strong personalities, it sounds like they have completely lost control.

 

[RedBirdie]

Did they ever have control? Janelle MacDonald didn't exactly walk into a situation with a well-run team.

 

[MaryClare]

Can you say more? This doesn’t surprise me one bit, but I wondered if you had more context.

Part of good coaching is being able to manage strong personalities, it sounds like they have completely lost control.

Without going over the Alexis situation again, basically a particular clique ruled the roost at UCLA. Any decent head coach wouldn’t have allowed music with offensive language to be played in the first place. Especially if some people were then going to appoint themselves the authority on who could and couldn’t sing the lyrics. That whole dynamic continued with Janelle’s appointment. Those gymnasts and their families were even part of the recruiting process of a new head coach. It may hopefully settled down now, with most of that group gone.

I’d describe it as a Jay at Georgia situation, but much worse

 

[Orange]

UCLA under Val was such cult of personality that I’m not surprised that things have spiraled since she left. She kept everyone in line and on brand. I mean, she was micromanaging the gymnasts’ hair ties. That’s crazy.

Waller and Janelle seem to be more chill, which is good, but that seems to have led to a power vacuum. Chris Waller appeared too ineffective at doing much of anything so he didn’t last long. Honestly, I have more hope for Janelle just because she kicked Selena off the team. Things had to be bad for them to kick their best gymnast off the team, and if she needed to go then props to her for actually doing it.

 

[david]

If that’s all true, good on this coaching staff for putting their foot down, in particular with an athlete that has been so successful. That’s putting a line in the sand and not easy for a first time HC with a program that was so broken when she arrived to let go of your best gymnast.

 

[Regionals]

It doesn’t even require behind the scenes knowledge to know the team was broken during the Waller years. Public interviews made it apparent team members were not expected to have meaningful relationships with the whole team. It definitely wasn’t a cohesive unit who were friendly with each other, but rather isolated groups of athletes.

 

[Hatsumomo]

I wonder if these NCAA teams would benefit from having counselors and conducting team/individual counseling sessions. These schools are recruiting girls from toxic environments where they learned unhealthy coping and defense mechanisms to avoid the wrath of their coaches. It would also help mediate different personalities that won't always mesh together.

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

I wonder if these NCAA teams would benefit from having counselors and conducting team/individual counseling sessions. These schools are recruiting girls from toxic environments where they learned unhealthy coping and defense mechanisms to avoid the wrath of their coaches. It would also help mediate different personalities that won't always mesh together.

It's an interesting suggestion.

For a long time, there was the idea that NCAA in itself was a more healthy environment than elite, that it was curative. Which may be true in some cases, but it's become very clear over the last few years that this is far from universal. And it's not surprising, really.

I wonder as well if the NIL thing might exacerbate problems. In a very team focused environment, some of them making a lot more money than others could really do a number on the dynamics if things aren't managed well.

 

[nog]

UPDATE— this was apparently a fake account. Not the real CGN

 

[blake]

View attachment 10272

Reddit is NOT going to like this news lol

 

[CameliasFingerpaint]

Called it. Only that toxic ass team would welcome a personality like hers.

 

[RedBirdie]

That's not the College Gym News twitter account. That's someone impersonating them.

 

[MaryClare]

That's not the College Gym News twitter account. That's someone impersonating them.

I will never not adore The Gymnternet

 

[nog]

Wow. What a stupid prank for whomever is spamming…I mean whomever is impersonating cgn

 

[BB12]

Without going over the Alexis situation again, basically a particular clique ruled the roost at UCLA. Any decent head coach wouldn’t have allowed music with offensive language to be played in the first place. Especially if some people were then going to appoint themselves the authority on who could and couldn’t sing the lyrics. That whole dynamic continued with Janelle’s appointment. Those gymnasts and their families were even part of the recruiting process of a new head coach. It may hopefully settled down now, with most of that group gone.

I’d describe it as a Jay at Georgia situation, but much worse

I still find it so weird that gymnasts and their families had any say in the new coach of a college team.

 

[MaryClare]

I still find it so weird that gymnasts and their families had any say in the new coach of a college team.

Particularly so as it was only some gymnasts and their families

 

[Laura722]

Talk on Twitter is that Selena Harris is in Gainesville today.

 

[ptvvibezz]

Selena also posted this on Tiktok…

 

[Sasha]

That's the LSU L. Curious.

 

[Laura722]