Come back every Tuesday for Recruiting Horror Stories™, athletes' first-hand stories on what can go wrong during the recruiting process.

You know those friends who you thought wanted the best for you, but when the time came, they let you down? Well, if you can say no, you are one of the lucky ones but in Talia's experience, that friend happened to be a trusted coach. I won't name any particulars because Talia wants to remain anonymous, but this coach changed the trajectory of her soccer career.

When Talia was in high school, she was in touch with a coach who she thought genuinely wanted the best for her. During the recruiting process, he would always tell her that she was so good, she would make the team better, and that he didn't understand how other coaches hadn't seen her potential. At the time, he was the assistant, but he had her back like no other. On the day it came to talk about one of the most important parts of getting recruited–the money–the head coach offered an amount that seemed unreasonable. Her assistant coach saw the look on Talia's face and knew something didn't sit right with her. He proceeded to say, “if you want more, ask for more.” That one sentence gave her the confidence to speak up for herself. She asked for more, and the head coach gave it to her. 

After she committed, little did she know, COVID would hit when it was time for her to report to campus. During this time, the head coach had received an over at another school across the country. The assistant, Coach Hardon, received an offer for the head coach position, and two years later, her team was finally able to return to campus. 

Rate Your Coach

During her first season post-COVID, Talia played in every game and became a starter. However, as time went on, she wasn't feeling the school and wanted to reach out to the coach who always had her best interests at heart. During this initial conversation, she brought up her concerns and mentioned that she didn't know if she wanted to spend the next 3.5 years at this school. The coach was initially very supportive and stated that he is all about women's growth and power and would help with anything she needs. As the season went on, Talia continued to play and help her team, but by the time it came to their last game, you could tell she was no longer mentally in it. 

After the season had ended, Talia knew that she wanted to transfer to a school with a higher division and a different atmosphere. When she went to talk to her head and assistant coaches, she was perplexed by their attitudes towards her. When talking about her options, her head coach said that she was entirely uncoachable, she won't make it at the DI level and continued to bash on everything he once praised and loved about her as a player. As he told her everything that he thought was wrong with her and that made her a horrible player, her assistant coach agreed with everything he said.

Rate Your Facilities

Talia soon realized that she could no longer trust a coach that seems too good to be true. If the coaches hated her as a player, why would they continue to play and start her in every game? Why do coaches switch up on players when a program ends up not being the right fit for them? 

Talia ended on a horrible note with her head coach who completely screwed her over and went against his word to help her transfer. He cut her off from the team right before the deadline to transfer. Now she is left to fend for herself and start her recruiting process all over. 

Sometimes programs have an ultimatum: if you are not with a team or their coach's methods, you are against them, and Talia got first-hand experience in how fickle some coaches can be. 

Have a horror story of your own? Email us at [email protected]

* Originally published on April 26, 2022, by Daesha Harper