WAG Must read for anyone with NCAA aspirations...

[Gymmommy71]

I'm surprised they have to "sell" NCAA gym to recruits - aren't there hundreds of qualified L10's just beating down the doors and begging for those few scholarship spots? I don't see why they just can't be honest and the ones that don't like what they hear can just pass and make room for those who wouldn't mind a little drama and meanness in order to be on the team. Why would you want girls to come in expecting all sunshine and roses and then be miserable when they find out their club was a much better environment.

Just sounds really selfish of these people to paint an unrealistic picture - tell the truth and if you lose a few recruits, so what? At least you aren't making someone miserable for 4 years just so you can have bragging rights that they signed w/ your program.

 

[bookworm]

Yes, that's what I meant. Once again, thank you for your candor.

To be fair, lots of non athletes don't have magical college expirences either.

Oh I get that ......and like Briley, my daughter also had a lot of friends who weren't athletes or were athletes in different sports and I can tell you, they saved her life ...they gave her the sense of normalcy for college and affirmed that she was a good person, was liked by others and was worthy of these friendships and her place at school. She hasn't had a ton of contact with her former teammates, except for 5 or 6 of them ...the rest , to put it bluntly, just weren't nice people. She
doesn't wish them any ill will but sees no need to reach out and be friends with folks who can't reciprocate....She's in a good place now and I don't have to dread every call or text being tear filled and I'm finally sleeping at night again...hurrah!

 

[bookworm]

Just sounds really selfish of these people to paint an unrealistic picture - tell the truth and if you lose a few recruits, so what? At least you aren't making someone miserable for 4 years just so you can have bragging rights that they signed w/ your program.

This!! It is an art form in NCAA...

 

[bookworm]

I know when we went through the recruiting process the second time , I DID ask those questions and when the coach/whoever wouldn't answer the question, I ended it right there...I'd say "thank you, we have the answer we need to not consider here.
I would preface my questions with " if this is how your program rolls, fine , but we want the info to make an informed choice and not get back into a nightmare|"...some schools answered our questions but many did not, and I crossed them right off our list...once bitten , twice shy.

Information is power to make an informed choice....if you're not going to give me the info, good bye.

 

[txgymfan]

I would ask so many more and different questions if I were selecting a college now, not as an athlete, just as a student.

 

[bookworm]

It is quite interesting to go back and read what she wrote (or perhaps more appropriately, what someone in the athletic department told her to write) about her time at Michigan during her senior year: Link Removed.
.

I would say this part was definitely encouraged by the powers that be at Michigan given her post on 6/10....

From March 2016: (written by Briley)
My teammates have tremendously influenced my sense of belonging. I don't think that I could have ended up at a better place with better teammates and friends than I have. My teammates have been a blessing to me and have gotten me through many personal struggles. My coaches have been my extra set of parents throughout my college life, and I am sure they will continue to serve the unique role of being a coach and a family member for the rest of my life. I am blessed to have had each coach at Michigan touch my life in a personal way as well as an athletic way.

I am going to miss the feeling of being special and good at something that I grew up doing. It is going to be hard to find something physical that I love to do and be good at. I will miss the sense of being able to flip in front of people while wearing a beautiful leotard. I will miss feeling beautiful and strong at the same time...

Sad that this was really what she hoped for but never happened...

 

[Deleted member 18037]

I would say this part was definitely encouraged by the powers that be at Michigan given her post on 6/10....

From March 2016: (written by Briley)
My teammates have tremendously influenced my sense of belonging. I don't think that I could have ended up at a better place with better teammates and friends than I have. My teammates have been a blessing to me and have gotten me through many personal struggles. My coaches have been my extra set of parents throughout my college life, and I am sure they will continue to serve the unique role of being a coach and a family member for the rest of my life. I am blessed to have had each coach at Michigan touch my life in a personal way as well as an athletic way.

I am going to miss the feeling of being special and good at something that I grew up doing. It is going to be hard to find something physical that I love to do and be good at. I will miss the sense of being able to flip in front of people while wearing a beautiful leotard. I will miss feeling beautiful and strong at the same time...

Sad that this was really what she hoped for but never happened...

 

[CuriousCate]

Did she take it down? I started to read it this afternoon and just went to finish and it's gone.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Link Removed

Does that work?

Not any more.

 

[ladybird]

I hope she wasn't pressured to take it down.

 

[txgymfan]

That would be my guess.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

That s#cks

 

[txgymfan]

It was truly heartbreaking.

 

[CMA25]

I've still been able to access the story, but the website seems glitchy. I've had luck clicking the link to her blog on her twitter. Definitely worth a read! Link Removed

 

[bookworm]

That would be my guess.

I hope she wasn't pressured to take it down.

I wondered how long the post would last....the compliance departments at every school scour the Internet for anything written about them or that mentions them so I'm sure that they got a flag when her post hit the internet...I know with my daughter's university athletes were made to remove postings pretty quickly if the school "disagreed" with the content...not sure what exactly happened here but the timing (up only 2 days...) is suspect...

 

[Seeker]

To me, the contradicting nature of these two posts does make it seem rather disingenuous. I'm not saying she's lying -- but it does make me wonder why she would have posted the original if her experience was so bad. Why post anything at all when still in school (1st post) if you've had a miserable 4 years? It's a bit difficult to reconcile the two.

Did something change or perhaps she had a revelation? She doesn't come out and address the disparity between these two posts, which would help readers better understand the disconnect between the two. I'm genuinely curious as to what happened between March 2016 and June 2017 to turn the experience so sour. Maybe she'll post a follow up...

 

[Seeker]

I've still been able to access the story, but the website seems glitchy. I've had luck clicking the link to her blog on her twitter. Definitely worth a read! Link Removed

It does appear to be gone...I clicked thru the twitter link and got a 404 error.

 

[bookworm]

To me, the contradicting nature of these two posts does make it seem rather disingenuous. I'm not saying she's lying -- but it does make me wonder why she would have posted the original if her experience was so bad. Why post anything at all when still in school (1st post) if you've had a miserable 4 years? It's a bit difficult to reconcile the two.

Did something change or perhaps she had a revelation? She doesn't come out and address the disparity between these two posts, which would help readers better understand the disconnect between the two. I'm genuinely curious as to what happened between March 2016 and June 2017 to turn the experience so sour. Maybe she'll post a follow up...

She's not lying. What "happened" between the 2 posts is that in March of 2016, she was still a student at Michigan and was 1 of 3 seniors on the roster. The sports information dept probably asked for a volunteer for an article from a senior and her name was probably given or suggested. She gave exactly what Michigan would have expected....a positive article about their program but not necessarily her actual experience...and as she says in her recent article, it was the experience she hoped for. If she had written the current article while still a member of the Michigan team she would have been crucified and her time there would have been even worse. The pressures these athletes are under to do as the school wishes can not be underestimated and if you've never known anyone going through it, it's tough to comprehend but it's a constant, demanding pressure the whole time they are there.

Her article now comes after her graduation , when she should be free to write whatever she wants ...the good, the bad and the ugly. And that's why there is a dichotomy in the posts. And she does address the fact that others may have had different experiences but that this was how she was treated and felt during her time there and again, it's information she wished she'd had before doing college gymnastics but no one clued her in so she's hoping to inform others. Thank you Briley.

 

[Seeker]

@bookworm -- I hear what you're saying and I stated explicitly that I didn't think she was lying. Just that the dichotomy between the two posts was alarming. I feel bad for her -- but as the parent of a young L10, I also really want to know the backstory. I guess maybe she was "voluntold" to do the first post...

 

[gasrgoose]

@bookworm -- I hear what you're saying and I stated explicitly that I didn't think she was lying. Just that the dichotomy between the two posts was alarming. I feel bad for her -- but as the parent of a young L10, I also really want to know the backstory. I guess maybe she was "voluntold" to do the first post...

Agreed. It seems if things were so bad, a senior (21 or 22 years old) would have said "don't put my name on the positive article." She was either lying in one of the articles or confused. There aren't many other ways to spin it.

I personally know multiple current, recent graduates and long ago NCAA gymnasts who had extremely positive experiences. I know one who dropped off a NCAA team, but no one was surprised when it happened. Just as with anything in life some will flourish and others will fail, some will be given second chances and some won't. I have an NCAA athlete in another sport at a major D1 university. There have been athletes who have left the team because it wasn't for them. The things they sited as problems are the same things my athlete enjoys. That's just life, it's not always fair or equal.

This sounds like a sad situation and it's important to hear it, BUT it doesn't speak for every program or every gymnast. Everyone has an outlet now for their story, but the only stories that seem to receive much attention are the negative ones. We rarely hear about the former gymnasts who became doctors, teachers, coaches, moms and love their universities.