The Harvard Crimson posted an article about Patrick Wales-Dinan and his distance squad. Looks like a fun situation to be involved with...
http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2017/3/23/distance-runners-team-divided/
The Harvard Crimson posted an article about Patrick Wales-Dinan and his distance squad. Looks like a fun situation to be involved with...
http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2017/3/23/distance-runners-team-divided/
Fascinating article.
BTW: Any mens'-team corollaries (or counterarguments)?
SMH at the eight former team members that wrote the letter demanding the coach be fired because they didn't like his coaching philosophy. These entitled kids are fooling around with a man's livelihood and reputation.
1. A "toxic environment" doesn't make a team go worst to first.
2. If there was a specific incident of clear sexual harassment, he would have been fired and the current athletes would not be on his side. This is like Goucher with the "I know they're dirty because I trained with them but can't give one single specific example".
So basically there complaint is he expects them to do there best and it's too hard for some of ur girls...
Changes in philosophy can be hard, no matter what. Other colleges, in my personal experience, have faced similar problems with a change of coaches/emphasis. When competitive success follows, it's pretty hard to argue.
One of the smartest things I ever did as a coach was to require weekly ten-minute meetings with each member of the team, outside of practice. The meetings were ten minutes max--the athletes were free to leave when the time was up, and were encouraged to do so--which was enough time to listen to what the student had to say, but not enough for me to add much. (They heard enough from me during practice, anyway.) If I ever go back to coaching, that'll be about the first policy I install. Gotta think that listening, one-on-one, could defuse a lot of uncertainty and hard feelings.
And perhaps--not sure, because there's too much we outsiders don't know about the Harvard situation--something like that could have eased the transition to PWD.
may be the first time in their lives that they were told "no" or that they were "incorrect" or that they weren't "the best."
god forbid you choose to run for a Division 1 track team and are asked by the coach to be fully committed to excellence. if you can't be good at both running and school, then quit one. don't expect the bar of expectations to be lowered for you.
seems like the team is winning without them.
I am sure there is a running club for those that don't want the expectations or commitment levels of being a Division 1 student-athlete.
The real question is, how many of these complainers used the athletic department for an "admission slot." How many of these kids would NEVER have been admitted to Harvard without their running credentials.
Gonna be a cruel world out there that don't know what it means to be a team member and to have an authority figure who set the rules.
This is why coaching women sucks. Sounds like the prior coach had a feel good d3 team enviroment. The women who were angry about the new direction the team was heading would have been running club members at any other d1. They like running but collegiate track is too intense.
A coach should adapt the training to suit each individual for the overall benefit of the team. Is running the be all and end all for a Harvard student?
You have no idea what you're talking about folks.
First, the Crimson is wrong about Wales-Dinan being a "winning" coach. Harvard womens track wins titles because of the sprinters, not because of the distance teams. Their performance is generally abysmal. Look up the distance performance.
Did you read the article? Do you really think half the team, all champions in high school, quit because they are entitled whiners? Or do they have a healthy sense of self-respect and self-preservation that led them to make the wrenching decision to leave the sport they love?
Did you read what those men did to Erika Vaikidis,an All-American whom they humiliated and barred from the team because she got sick? Athletes of this caliber don't quit because they are told "no" or that they are "incorrect". They quit because they want to see a doctor when they are injured and the coach says no; they do not want to report to the coach on their private lives; they do not want to be "advised" on what easy courses to take at Harvard University; they want to be dismissed from practice before the dining hall closes; they do not want to be hounded and berated in front of their teammates.
As for the coach's recommendation above of ten-minute meetings, sounds good. When your athlete begins to cry because of how you are treating her, do you tell her to go ahead, she's not the first girl who cried in your office that day? Wales-Dinan does.
Do you make sure your athletes are isolated from all aspects of university life? Wales-Dinan does. Do you make your problems your athletes' problems? Wales-Dinan does. Do you tell your athletes that if they get sick, it is their own fault, even if they get cancer? Wales-Dinan does. Do you create a cult of your favorite gals, who are totally committed to your needs and wishes, to the exclusion of their own? Wales-Dinan does.
If it was your kid, I doubt very much you would consider her an entitled whiner. You would want her to get the hell away from Wales-Duncan before he could do her further harm.
He does not belong at Harvard, or anywhere coaching women. His behavior with respect to this Crimson article is typical. He does not speak for himself; he sends out girls on his team to do it. Harvard should be ashamed that he is still there.
My props go to the fast and mentally strong girls who excel under Wales-Dinan. (And good riddance to the whiners.)
To all these Letsrun posters who have never even been in a mile radius of the harvard team and coach: how dare you call these girls whiners when you have no idea what is really going on. You read one article and now you're the expert on how this guy coaches? I hate this website sometimes.
Facts Matter wrote:
Did you read what those men did to Erika Vaikidis,an All-American whom they humiliated and barred from the team because she got sick?
When your athlete begins to cry because of how you are treating her, do you tell her to go ahead, she's not the first girl who cried in your office that day? Wales-Dinan does.
Do you make sure your athletes are isolated from all aspects of university life? Wales-Dinan does.
Do you make your problems your athletes' problems? Wales-Dinan does.
Do you tell your athletes that if they get sick, it is their own fault, even if they get cancer? Wales-Dinan does.
Do you create a cult of your favorite gals, who are totally committed to your needs and wishes, to the exclusion of their own? Wales-Dinan does.
.
Libel is the written one, right?
Only if it's false
The article says they won a women's xc title for the first time in 2 generations. Those sprinters must have some range if they are responsible for that.
The article says the complaints have been heard, and investigated multiple times. Since the article mentions no discipline for the coach, I am assuming the smart and competent people of Harvard, and those Harvard paid to investigate have come to their conclusions.
There is an attrition thread on this very website where most responses show similar attrition rates for a variety of reasons in xc programs all over the country.
You didn't get your satisfaction. You didn't get your way with the coach, and you didn't get your way with the investigators. All that is left is for you, clearly with inside information, is to see how much damage you can cause to the program, the coach and the school. Unfortunately I assume you will get your
satisfaction in this regard. Harvard and Harvard track/cross country will suffer for this, so you can finally feel satisfied.
There is no "satisfaction" involved. This coach damaged many young women, mentally and physically.
No one except an internet troll who likes to be clever online about strangers could take any satisfaction in any of this awful situation. I don't.
The "smart and competent people of Harvard" have not announced any investigation results or taken any action.
As for cross country results, sure they won last year. Should have specifically referenced track results.
yet you continue to comment negatively.
by not announcing or taking any action, they have de facto "taken action." Surely if it were found that this coach "damaged many young women mentally and physically," there would be action taken.
That this is now a public discussion yet no action has been taken, at a prestigious place like Harvard, leads me to believe no action is warranted. Surely Harvard, having heard the complaints wouldn't allow it to continue knowingly. Surely there would be immediate action if your level of concern were shared by the proper authorities.
If I am wrong, I will clearly stand corrected.
You are right, all we have is an article. Therefore I will look toward authority for confirmation.
There is no reason for these girls to be lying about this. Given that this is Harvard and they were all champions in high school athletically and academically, I do not imagine that they would not want to continue pursuing success in both areas unless something was seriously wrong.
There is no reason to lie, but people do so all the time.
I am not on the Harvard women's distance team, however I have interacted with their members, former members, and the men's distance team in the past year, and from my experience I can say that the team environment is frightening. There is a lot of tension and fear amongst athletes, and the team is their life. They aren't allowed to do anything besides school and running. Also, do we all remember the workout video from earlier this year (before it was edited), and the threads/posts on this website that were deleted?