"Phil Yoshida is one of the worst coaches ever. He is terrible at communication, terrible at budgeting for team trips, unfair to many athletes on the team, has favorites, fired dive coach for no valid reason, and countless other things. He rules out of fear and intimidation which makes him well hated on the team and receives zero respect from the athletes. Cal Poly needs to do something about him and the head of athletics needs to open his eyes to the complete mess of a program Phil has created. "

"He is disorganized. Treats others without respect and disregard for how they feel. Makes everyone miserable everyday. The only reason he is still at his position is because of his friendship with the athletic director."

"Phil is a horrible coach and the reason why I know no longer wish to swim. He’s completely irrational and never communicates with his swimmers. If your used to a club coach or school coach you can talk to or joke around, forget it all before meeting Phil Yoshida. On our countless interactions I can’t even count on one hand how many were awkward. That is just outside of the pool, I’m personally a passionate swimmer, I’ve never had a problem with any coach in my entire life until my time with Phil. Even in the pool any suggestions or explanation you want from training he will blatantly ignore. He rules by attempting to be intimidating whilst being completely oblivious to the fact that everyone wishes there was someone else in his position, it’s embarrassing. He makes to effort to change, reconstruct, or even consider. Please reach out to swimmers or knowledgeable coaches when considering swimming at Cal Poly, look for an honest opinion. There’s a list of things I wish were different to elevate this program. The problem lies with the man who insults, ignores, and disrespects his athletes, Phil Yoshida. Honest opinion shared by many. "

"This coach has absolutely destroyed my passion for swimming. His coaching is not beneficial to anyone’s training style. He is not good at being organized and communicating with his swimmers. Despite all of this he has no confidence in his swimmers abilities saying discouraging things to his swimmers."

"He is the worst coach I’ve ever had. From trying to build a raptor with him to his coaching style, it has all been a negative experience."

"Awful. Plays favorites, made a girl swim with a back injury, can’t communicate, disregards assistant coaches, unwilling to change anything, massively disorganized, unfit to be a coach anywhere."

"What was previously mentioned is unfortunately all true. There is ongoing bullying from this coach, unreasonable demands placed upon the team, and horrible communication, if any at all. It is sad that so many of us have to realize our dreams of competing for Cal Poly in such an amazing area, only to have our those dreams destroyed by his incompetent coaching. It appears as if we have the highest turnover of athletes quitting this team than any other Division 1 school and it is 100% due to Phil Yoshida. "

"This coach single handedly is destroying a program that has the potential to be a very competitive team. There is VERY high turnover and the athletes end up hating being with this coach. The coach does not care about retaining anyone be the just goes to the next round of athletes that apply and has to backfill a ton each year. He was fired from coaching the local club team as well. He does not know what he’s doing with the training, does not taper correctly, everyone has gotten slower since joining the team, swimmers are targeted and forced out, he is not easy to talk to or approachable, his communist terrible, and many athletes end up quitting & with mental health issues all because of him. "

"I had the pleasure of swimming for Phil when he was an assistant coach, and I then worked alongside Phil as a volunteer coach for a season. If you care about the sport and you put in effort, Phil's passion for coaching and your success is clearly evident. Phil is tough, but fair, and his coaching extends beyond swimming, preparing you for life's challenges and opportunities. Swimmers have earned a reputation outside of the sport for being incredibly tough, disciplined, and able to grind. Swimming for Phil will help you develop that discipline, resilience, and self-belief that will serve you in all aspects of life. I would absolutely hire a swimmer who swam for Phil for 4 years."

"Phil clearly cares about the swimmers and divers. His transition from Assistant Coach to Head Coach was difficult and Covid added to the challenge. Phil has a young team with a lot of potential and they’re poised for serious growth in the next few years. Phil could benefit from coaching and administrative support. Expect the team to build as the culture improves."

"Honestly if I could I would give him 0 stars. He was a terrible coach and the reason why I quit the team. I love diving and still do and he wasn’t even my coach. In fact he had our INCREDIBLE dive coach fired for NO REASON. He is very disrespectful and will be rude directly to your face. Our team even attempted to get him fired the past year. He is terrible at communication and does not respect anyone unless you are one of his favorites. I had a conversation with him talking about how I was mentally struggling because of the loss of my mother and grandfather and was told “It happens to everyone” and “is a part of life.” As someone who has gone through this, that is NOT something you should tell them. He’s not worth it. If you are getting recruited by him, I would look elsewhere it’s not worth the degrading and disrespect. Don’t get me wrong I LOVE Cal Poly but he made my experience miserable. "