"ll in love with basketball many, many years ago. When I came to CBC, I had very high hopes, as Coach Pursewell assured me that I would be a key part of his program. His assurance was short lived and as a result, I found myself in a very unsafe and hostile environment. I am not a disrespectful person. It was instilled into me to always show respect and be appreciative where my coaches and educators are concerned. I have been fortunate to play for coaches that impacted me in a positive way. I dealt with the discouragement of coaches that were mediocre. Then, I played for coach Nate. I once came to him regarding a difference that I had with another teammate. Instead of neutralizing the situation, I was told "I don't want to deal with your drama, and to keep it out of the circle". Let me be clear that feeling safe is not something you encounter at CBC, and I am not speaking of the location. It is the teammates that make you feel unsafe. There was one occasion during the 22-23 season where an actual fight broke out, not an argument, but an actual fight. One of the players was being choked by another player, and she almost fell from the second story balcony in the dorms. When another player tried to come to her aid, she was hit in the face and sustained a black eye. Be mindful that the player that initiated the fight is VERY introverted. She literally has NEVER bothered anyone. It was a chaotic free-for-all. I did not attempt to break it up. She was in a rage, so I did not want to compromise my safety. The bad part was that there were really no disciplinary measures taken. The aggressor was never given the opportunity to tell her side of the story or voice her concerns. She sat out 2 games, and was back on the court. I’m not bitter because she played, I’m bitter because coach Nate didn’t try to get to the root of the problem. Everything was swept under the rug, so as a result, the tension continued to escalate. This is a problem, a real problem. How can a team play together when they harbor so much resentment? What would have happened if the player fell from the balcony? This was a very frightening thing to witness. Why didn’t a meeting as a team take place? Why didn’t our coach enforce a stronger punishment and neutralize the situation? Instead of feeding my desire to play, I stayed consumed with the “what if’s”. I’ve always worked hard, and I take pride in being a player who has a great work ethic. My previous coaches always encouraged me to never stop working. I craved the desire to learn, and they had a passion for teaching. Fast forward to the current day. Imagine working your butt off for a coach that only focuses on favorites instead of building the team. It does not matter to him how dedicated I am, I will never be good enough. Imagine being insulted in front of your peers while the favorites snicker at your humiliation. My excitement I once had before practice suddenly turned into despair. I literally get horrible waves of anxiety, fearing that I might make a mistake that will cause public ridicule. Then I would dread class because the negative energy would spill over to the classroom. I want coach Pursewell to know making me feel bad and insecure about myself will not make me want to play hard for you. Telling me that my hard work is paying off but not keeping your word doesn’t make me want to work hard for you, for the team. I spent countless hours of my day avoiding eye contact with coach Nate because I constantly felt like I was going to cry. I put up a front and made him think I was okay with the way he treated me. The feeling I encountered is indescribable when I was asked by my peers why I didn’t play more. I lost all trust in coach Nate because he talks about players to other players. We have compared stories. Things that were told to him in confidence was passed around to other players. He will never have a team if he does not respect, correct and guide his players. it was also brought to my attention that coach nate did not want to coach us the first half of angelina, he even said it hisself “i should’ve coached the first half that’s on me, but i can’t go back in time i just have to keep moving forward” that’s very upsetting considering it was the sophomores last home game as a cbc player. Coach nate does not care about these incident that’s happens he cares about good reviews so his name doesn’t get tarnished and doesn’t want to lose recruits. instead of bringing us together as a team to talk about it he cares about what makes him look good. He has all the power in the world as a head coach but doesn’t use it to his full potential. i watched a 18 year old girl get bullied by a 23 during the 2021-22 season and nothing was done about it when Coach Purswell knew about it. i think coach nate is an incredible human being just not a good coach i was sold a dream. "

"I played under coach Collins for 2 years. He did not deserve to be the assistant coach, he deserved to be the HEAD coach!! "

"I was fortunate enough to earn a scholarship at CBC through Coach Purswell. I met some life long friends that I will cherish forever. But my time at CBC was anything but pleasant. I was in the worst mental state I’ve ever been in, I was isolated and far from home, I was bullied because of coach Purswell’s lack of discipline within the team, members who clearly didn’t deserve to keep their spot after multiple skipped practices, lies to the coach about where they were, or breaking curfew. Yet these players played over me even when I was at every practice, respectful and hardworking. When I informed coach Purswell that I would not be returning to CBC the next year, but that I still wanted to continue playing he benched me the remainder of the season. I ultimately decided to quit basketball as I knew being recruited elsewhere was very unlikely due to my lack of minutes played and no assistance from a coach who promised he cared. This decision was right for me in the end but I am not the first player whose dreams have come to end after attending CBC, and at this rate I will not be the last. I urge any athlete considering playing at Coastal Bend college to look at his win-loss percentage. This is not the program you go to to win titles or rings. Along with a coach that will look over you to boost his own ego, it is not worth your time, money or effort. "

"Coach Nate is one of my favorite coaches not only because of how caring he is but because he’ll push you out of your comfort zone when you need it the most. Coach Nate allowed me to become the player that I wanted to become. Not a lot of coaches allow you to do that. Coach Nate also opened my eyes to the kind of player i could be and more! He was there as a coach but also as a mentor outside of the sport. Let’s not forget he’s a great tutor of college algebra! Helped me with my homework multiple times even though I wasn’t his student! "

"Great coach Cares about his players !!! "

"Coach Nate is a very knowledgeable coach struggles with recruits sure to where’s he’s coaching I believe that Coach Nate has the best interest in all his players and wants them to be successful on and off the court and be better individuals in life. "

"My daughter, Savanna Smith, played under Coach Nate for two years. Overall, she had an extremely positive experience. From day one Coach Nate was always upfront about her scholarship and other basketball related subjects. He truly cares for his players and does his best to assist them in obtaining scholarships at a four year school after they have finished playing for CC. I attended every home and away game and in doing so I had a chance to observe his sideline demeanor and coaching style upfront. Surprisingly, he never yelled at his players and did his best to achieve a winning outcome. From my experience, most coaches, in Region IV, yelled at their players to motivate them. I never saw Coach Nate yell at his players or demean them. He was always positive on the sidelines. I also found Coach Nate to be very approachable and he always took time to greet each parent after every game and thank them for attending the game and supporting the team. Thumbs up to Coach Nate!"

"Great Coach and has done a great job! He’s drastically shifted the whole culture for not only the Women’s Basketball program but also the entire Athletic Department at Coastal Bend College. "

"Works hard for his team. Is available anytime they want extra work. Goes the extra mile. Cares for his players and academics "

"Coach Purswell has done great things for those girls. Records don't dictate culture, drive or the ability to motivate athletes. He is honest and transparent, even when silence would suffice. He has the ability to be compassionate while still making the prudent, logical and wise decisions, which is a trait rarely seen. Nate has an unquenchable thirst to help those young women succeed on and OFF the court. He also has a remarkable gift of giving grace to those around him while pushing them to achieve more than they though were possible. Given the fact he has little scholarship to offer the athletes he coaches compared to the ones he competes with in his conference and region, the man has done a STAND UP JOB! and for that I applaud you. Continue to motivate and guild young women in a positive direction. We need more fearless leaders like yourself! "

"Great caring person and passionate coach"

"I find it very ironic that all of these reviews were written in 2 days. This looks like a ditch effort to salvage his character. Although Coach Pursewell may be a nice guy, being nice does not win games. I have read each and every review. I am not seeing any comments where players have improved while playing on his team. How does he go above and beyond for his players? It must be on a personal level, because he does not go above and beyond when he is on the court. A good coach has the ability to make adjustments between losses. A good coach encourages his players at all times, not only when they win. A good coach does not show favoritism. A good coach does not allow players to bad mouth each other. A good coach does not compromise a players confidence. A good coach always invests in their own personal development. A good coach makes it a priority to improve their craft. A good coach has the ability to improve a players skills when they cannot improve it on their own. A good coach knows the intricate details about the sport they are coaching. A good coach knows what advice to give their team when the game is on the line. A "big teddy bear" is not promising where skills are concerned. I challenge whoever is reading this review to research his record since coaching at CBC. I want you to compare his win to loss ratio. I want you to measure the point gap for every game. I want you to look at the score for the game on 12/7/22. The opposing team has 8 players, 8 PLAYERS!! CBC has 16. The final score was 110-59. "

"I not only coached with Nate, I also got the opportunity to play for him when he was an assistant. One thing about Coach Nate that people won’t see from the outside is how much work this guy puts in - I know a college juco coach puts in a lot of work - but this guy goes above and beyond for his athletes. People don’t see him sitting in his office talking about how much he cares for his athletes. Coach Nate is one of the few coaches I have met that cares about trying to reach his players to make them succeed outside of basketball. Now CBC is not know for basketball, but from year one to now I have seen improvement. Working with Nate we didn’t agree on everything but he would always take the time to hear why I was thinking what I was and he would explain his thoughts, as an assistant coach you don’t get that often - someone who is willing to hear you out. I could go on and on about what I think of Nate, but in all honesty the one thing that will always stand out to me and will never forget it how insanely passionate he is about coaching, and the kids futures - it’s always been more than basketball and kids see that. "

"Having been an assistant for Coach Nate showed me that he is very passionate about what he does. He is very selfless and cares about everybody he works with from the players, assistant coaches, to the bus driver. He strives to get players on to four year colleges!"

"I spent my first 2 years of college with coach Nate and I couldn’t have asked for anything more than what I got from him. Made me believe in myself, after my injury he knew I still had a lot left in me. He believes in all his athletes and whenever you needed to talk to someone about anything he was there to listen. 10/10 "

"Coach Nate is very passionate about coaching. He’s also easy to get along with and knows a lot about the game of basketball."

"Coach Purswell is one of the best coaches I know. He has helped me beyond measures. He’s helped me with my confidence, with life decisions, and just grow as a human. "

"I think Coach Nate was a great person. There were some days were I think he was not working well with us but over all he understood his players! Some people weren’t coachable so it made him look bad. He has grown since the first time I saw him coach. He is positive and cares about his player’s academics. "

"I had the opportunity to play under Coach Nate. After my first year at CBC, I decided to return again for my 2nd year. We were never the best team but that is because CBC does not get the same opportunity (scholarship $$) as the others so it was difficult to recruit but he did the best he could! Given those circumstances, he never gave up on the team and pushed us to be our best. "

"Coach Pursewell is by far the worst coach. He does not utilize his players to their full capability & he does not use his time outs appropriately. There have been instances where the team has been down 20 paints before he will call a time out. That is a very large point spread before you call a time out to regroup. His coaching style is predictable, as he runs the exact same plays over and over. I would encourage any player interested in playing at CBC to look at his records in previous years. He does not correct players when they are not playing as a team. He is also verbally abusive to his assistant coaches in front of the players. This is not acceptable. "

"He gave his all to the programme, not everything was perfect but he always did his best to make things work. Us players played one game under him as head coach and we gave our all for him."

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