PLEASANT HILL, Calif. (KCBS RADIO) – Recent bombshell accusations of bullying against Bay Area collegiate coaches may be just the beginning of a sea change in sports.
For more, stream KCBS Radio now.
Currently, Cal's women's swim coach is on leave while allegations are investigated and USF is heading to court this summer over claims its head women's basketball coach psychologically abused her players.
This reckoning comes as a new generation of athletes is stepping up and speaking out.
Eighteen-year-old Molly Ostrowski grew up staring at the black lane line at the bottom of the Pleasant Hill Dolfins pool, always knowing she could stop if she wanted to.
"Listening to yourself, your body and your mental health, even when it might not necessarily line up with what the coach says, sometimes it's necessary to take a break and step back," she told KCBS Radio.
It's a kind of self awareness that has emboldened athletes to push for changes — like at Arizona State University where Ostrowski plays water polo, the head coach was removed midseason.
"The returning players wanted things to be better basically and they had this higher expectation and so they wanted to make a change and they wanted the program to head in a new direction, so we spoke up," Ostrowski said. "Athletes, we have a voice and I think that's very important for everyone to know."
Pleasant Hill Dolfins swim coach Talli Pitcher has watched coaching change over the years and parenting too.
"I hate to see a six-year-old's parent angry at them for not swimming fast enough. It happens, even in rec swimming. I put a stop to it whenever I can, whenever I see it. You've got to stop it because that's never going to work long-run, it's got to come from inside them," Pitcher said. "That is the truth at all levels."
Long time Bay Area sports exec Andy Dolich has been in the front office of the A's, the Warriors and the Niners. He's readying a Stanford class on the Future of Youth Sports.
"Go to a driving range in the Bay Area on any weekend and see young kids being taught to play golf incorrectly," Dolich said. "You have parents teaching kids to play golf and they're never going to enjoy the game because the parents don't know what the heck they're talking about."
This is why Dolich advises parents to look for a good coach, as they would look for a good classroom teacher. "The kind of individual that looks towards not just the body, but the mind, because even with everything that we have — analytics and metrics — if the heart and the soul aren't there for these athletes, it’s not going to happen," he explained.
As much as you want your kid to get that scholarship, the kid has to want it more. "That's a really important conversation to have between parents and their kids and making sure that they're on the same page with what their goals are while they're competing in sports," Jason Sacks, head of the Bay Area founded Positive Coaching Alliance, told KCBS Radio.
"If at any point that athlete is like 'you know what, I'm burned out mentally, physically, I'm ready to tap out where I just need a break for a little bit' we need to be okay with that," he emphasized. After all, when you get right down to it, sports are supposed to be fun.
DOWNLOAD the Audacy App
SIGN UP and follow KCBS Radio
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Related
