Wales-Dinan out from Harvard at end of month

Gotta keep the hands off wrote:

I know for a fact that the runner in the video who Patrick was helping (and in no way improperly touched) is brokenhearted that he is leaving and loves him as a coach.

This must be "Patrick" himself, who is definitely crazy!

The Wizzard wrote:

This issue had nothing to do with touching.

Whatever planet you're on, isn't this one.

Could be the Mrs. To be.

They have been after Patrick's head for two years. It has been by more than just a few people who have been after him. Given the state of the athletic department, right now isn't the time to be the person stirring the pot. You just aren't going to make it, even if you are winning. Student-athlete welfare will trump winning which frankly is a refreshing stance. Patrick could've made it.

It probably would've killed him though. He has a singular focus that just wouldn't allow the necessary comprimise whether he sees that or not. Jason fought to keep Patrick. Jason was all in with PWD. Anyone else close to the program knew that the PWD ship was going to sink.

Regardless of all of this, the accusations are way overblown with PWD. That doesn't mean he wasn't a significant player in his own demise, it just means that much of what is written on the board is unobjective b.s.

Go put on your pink hat and march with the other idiots you fool

I watched the video of this guy on Youtube.

Obviously he is an enthusiastic and dedicated and very intense coach.

I attended a university similar to Harvard - close in the rankings, but one of the few at that level of ranking which gives athletic scholarships. I am familiar with the culture of these schools, as I supported my two daughters through Ivy League institutions (yes, not a good value, but saying no to my daughters is not something I do well, it at all).

This coach doesn't seem like a good fit. When I was recruited as a high school athlete, I received a call from a world class athlete affiliated with one of the truly great track and field programs. He quite rightly made the case that if you really wanted to succeed, he thought you (at least statistically) should go to one of the handful of programs which really put people on top. I understood his point, and it really helped me in my decision. Yes, i was a serious athlete, but especially given my poor socio-economic background, I just had to invest in academics, and do it very seriously. (And yes, even as immature as I was, I bought off on the notion that of the three major pillars of college athletic life - academics, athletics and social life, that the social life would have to be sacrificed). I can't help but think that the majority of athletes who go to Harvard have the same considerations, absent the poverty that I experienced.

To this end, I just wonder, as others have mentioned, if the right answer here is that this coaching match was not a good fit. And the invective cast about here doesn't help the issue. If someone wants to really grab the most resources out of the university, which should be the objective for most any college student anywhere, that doesn't mean that they are a snowflake for pursuing academics with absolute rigor. Given that track and field offers very little return on investment (beyond school days) for even the most talented, being a rational decision maker should not be conflated with a snow flake.

My comments here are infected by my own bias. Education was a great investment for me. Track deserves its due in that process. But I would not have been a very good teacher or coach or even in any athletic related career endeavor (kudos to those who can do it), and coming from having nothing in a single mother unemployed and on assistance home, a focus on analytic development and education (where my skills were present) has given me a life I didn't even know existed (I do highly compensated complex intellectual property business and legal work, and truly love my job and what it has given me). I get it - I didn't have the dedication of Arkansas runners and others like them - who of course deserve considerable respect - but that level of intensity didn't make any sense for me. I can't imagine anything different is coming into play at Harvard.

By the way, don't take my comments as derogating the great toughness and dedication displayed by top, top Division 1 athletes. I respect them to this day, and sometimes have regret not following their path. But it wasn't the right course for me.

Wtf ????????? wrote:

Gotta keep the hands off wrote:

I know for a fact that the runner in the video who Patrick was helping (and in no way improperly touched) is brokenhearted that he is leaving and loves him as a coach.

This must be "Patrick" himself, who is definitely crazy!

If Judy ran for Patrick for another six months, we would be asking "what ever happened to Judy"? she would be alongside Smith. She will benefit greatly from his firing, she just doesn't know it yet.

I assume you mean Paul Gompers

Alex P Keaton's Left Nut wrote:

Gotta keep the hands off wrote:

I know for a fact that 99 percent of the women on the team are crushed that he is leaving.

It would be interesting to see the true % split between those who thought he was good and those who thought he was abusive. I doubt 99% are crushed, I doubt any coach has that high an approval rating, but anything over 75 or 80 would still be a good number.

The two current members of the team (i.e. 20% of the team at this point) that I know well were dissatisfied with his coaching. They both had solid XC seasons leading into injuries and poor track performances in the fall.

They both agreed that the Flotrack video was wildly overblown, and neither feels PWD behaved inappropriately towards them at any point in time. Their issues were with his coaching, which they both saw as heavily geared towards rapid short-term success at the expense of long-term development, academics, and general physical wellbeing.

Gotta keep the hands off wrote:

taken the women's cross country and track teams to new levels. Last year the women's program won the cross country, indoor and outdoor heps championships.

Also, it's worth noting that Indoor/Outdoor Heps probably did not help the guy's case much. Both those championships were won off the back of the strongest sprint and field squad in the Ivy League; in both of these meets, Harvard had lowest distance (800 - 10k) scores of all the teams competing.

But realistically you were just posting to bash members of the team rather than because you actually know anything about the situation, so this point is probably lost on you.

The problem with the Gompers theory is that many individuals that PWD harmed reported it to the AD and the Administration. I don't know the guy, and he could be super powerful, but he was not alone.

Kind of like Murder on the Orient Express.

california dreamin' wrote:

Gotta keep the hands off wrote:

taken the women's cross country and track teams to new levels. Last year the women's program won the cross country, indoor and outdoor heps championships.

Also, it's worth noting that Indoor/Outdoor Heps probably did not help the guy's case much. Both those championships were won off the back of the strongest sprint and field squad in the Ivy League; in both of these meets, Harvard had lowest distance (800 - 10k) scores of all the teams competing.

But realistically you were just posting to bash members of the team rather than because you actually know anything about the situation, so this point is probably lost on you.

Great point, good coaches don't run the team into the ground as the year goes on like PWD did. Go back and look at his history, this is the norm. Just look at his volunteer assistant, hasn't run a PR all year and all she does is run.

I would also add that several of the girls in the Heps XC Championship team will probably never run well again, was it worth it girls?

To say that 99% of the women on the team are crushed is absurd. And to blame one athlete is ridiculous. PWD's select few girls (how many are there? 6?) are the ONLY ones who aren't overjoyed and why shouldnt they (you) be unhappy. You had a coach totally devoted to your EVERY need. He called constantly, texted constantly, ate dinner with you, ran with you, cooked for you, got you medicine when you needed it, and signed you up for more massages than you needed, giving you some personally. You slept in his office, studied in his office and it didn't end with you. He even communicated with parents. Did you not fail to see what was going on with your peers, runners just as talented as you? Did you happen to notice the neglect and mistreatment of them. Did you even know he has a men's team? That's right. Because you were well - groomed and totally self-absorbed. Did you even notice your own slip into slower times and injuries. Did you not realize the indoor and outdoor heps titles had nothing to do with you. Go read about grooming. It's text book. And your unstable rant further proves the point. Go ahead and leave with the coach. It seems you think he is the reason for your self-proclaimed greatness.

But choosing a school like Harvard for the coach and not all else Harvard has to offer? Really? Then you don't belong anyway. Someday you hopefully will realize all that has happened once you come out of your trance, and the grip of the coach has been eliminated. As someone pointed out previously, you are much better off. You just don't know it yet.

Abuser Alert . wrote:

Gotta keep the hands off wrote:

The only reason he is leaving is because some spoiled entitled brats blah blah blah.....

As for the video I watched it and nothing inappropriate happened.

Anyone who thinks nothing inappropriate happened is someone who should not be around women, and should not be coaching young people. Please, find out who this woman abuser is, and make sure he's kicked out of coaching like the others.

Everyone who disagrees with your opinion should be fired? What country am I in?

Yes that is who is behind most of this nonsense

Gotorunner5 wrote:

PWD was my coach at Long Beach State, where he coached before coaching at Harvard. Let's just say, our team faced the same issues brought up but the women's Harvard team. Couldn't help reading the article in the crimson, and thinking how all to familiar it sounded.

Another Long Beach State athlete here. PWD played the same mind games with our women's team that he did at Harvard. He even tried to sleep with one of our athletes. But the girl he made a pass at wasn't interested in men, so she just laughed at him and didn't even report the incident to anyone.

PWD is a leopard that just can't change his spots. He is who he is, and I don't think he will ever change. PWD should not be coaching girls or women of any age.

Beach Patrol wrote:

Gotorunner5 wrote:

PWD was my coach at Long Beach State, where he coached before coaching at Harvard. Let's just say, our team faced the same issues brought up but the women's Harvard team. Couldn't help reading the article in the crimson, and thinking how all to familiar it sounded.

Another Long Beach State athlete here. PWD played the same mind games with our women's team that he did at Harvard. He even tried to sleep with one of our athletes. But the girl he made a pass at wasn't interested in men, so she just laughed at him and didn't even report the incident to anyone.

PWD is a leopard that just can't change his spots. He is who he is, and I don't think he will ever change. PWD should not be coaching girls or women of any age.

If she wasn't interested in men, why wasn't she interested in PWD? He is not a man?

merica wrote:

Everyone who disagrees with your opinion should be fired? What country am I in?

Apparently you think it's pervert-America.

News Flash ~ it isn't. wrote:

merica wrote:

Everyone who disagrees with your opinion should be fired? What country am I in?

Apparently you think it's pervert-America.

No I don't think it is pervert-America. Better lock me up since I don't agree with you.