Ryan Higginbotham Reviews

All he does is yell and scream. I don’t think he likes one single girl on the squad. Even the upperclassmen are miserable here. There is not one girl that has passion to play the game of soccer like they did when they left club. Most came here because they thought it gave them a chance to go to the next level and I don’t know if there is anyone that wants to play at the next level if this is what soccer is going to be like at the next level. This coach has stripped all the fun from the game. Plus, when we have our weekly coaches meetings I feel like I am being questioned by the FBI to find out which one of my teammates is not being positive. The atmosphere here is extremely tense and fake! I skipped a team party to study for a class exam and I was questioned about it as if I was a bad seed instead of a responsible student!?

A little background: My daughter played either DA or ECNL (when DA disbanded). Her team won a National Title at U14 and then were in the final 4 each year after that either to finish second or third each season. I tell you that only so you know that she was well trained from the age of 6. Her TCU Scholarship was what she fought hard to accomplish. However, she soon found out that Eric Bell is only the figurehead. Ryan is the guy running things and boy He is a screamer. My daughter played for him for 1 year. I have never seen her so unsure of herself and I would say slightly depressed. At the end of her club experience, she played the best soccer of her career. She felt comfortable with the ball at her feet, even with little space to work. She would play one-touch triangles, be creative to work out of tight spaces, and never second-guess her own decision-making. By the time her freshman year had ended, she was a shell of her former self. You could tell that she was nervous just to be on the pitch. Her play became so conservative. Most of the time she would play a negative ball (or a pass backwards) because it was the "safe" pass. All of her creativity and attacking mentality had left her spirit. She changed everything about her game to please him but what she never understood was that he was a screamer. She was trying to earn his appreciation and validation because all she wanted to do is please the man but he is never going to give you that satisfaction. He is trying to make you SO mad that you stick it up his butt!

He is a leader by fear. He has a certain style that he wants played and that is all he cares about. If you are someone that believes in having a certain level of creativity on the pitch this is NOT your coach. He wants EVERYTHING done his way! He is an awkward fellow. Doesn't talk to many of the players outside of soccer. We were traveling and one of my best friends on the team went to get breakfast downstairs in the lobby, when she got on the elevator Ryan was the only one on the elevator. He never even acknowledged her with a "good morning", "did you sleep well?..." "are you ready to play today?" just looked at her and rode the next 3 floors like they didn't know each other. A-W-K-W-A-R-D!

Bob Knight-type coach. Leads by fear. We saw him heavily recruit a girl from the University of Kentucky and then never play her. Totally wasted this girls Sophomore year which she then got frustrated and hit the portal again and transferred to Villanova but since this was her second transfer she now is going to miss her Jr. Yr now. My daughters class the 3 highest ranking players that they recruited (2022) all have left. 1 quit all together and the other 2 have transferred.