Hiram College

"As an athlete outside the program who observed his program I wish our program had been run to the same level as the volleyball program was. "

"Built the program into the best it had ever been at the school while also establishing an environment where the athletes knew what expectation were. "

"Michael is extremely knowledgeable about the sport and has a deep understanding of strength training. He knows how to create a competitive athlete and what to do to win. Michael is the type of coach who will push you to greatness. He will figure how what you need to do or change to reach your full potential, but he also puts part of the responsibility on the athlete to make those changes as well. It is hard for Micahel to devote individual time to athletes when he is the only full time coach and the director of aquatics, with a growing team. There is a lot he has to juggle with practices, recruiting, fundraising, meet scheduling, etc., and the only help he has is from Jason Groselle, a part time volunteer coach who has another job and a family. Michael relays heavily on his captains to do the work of a GA or assistant coach. Because of this, communication in certain areas is not great. The practices and overall atmosphere does feel like a Boys Club at times. Michael is still rather young himself, and is coach of both the men’s and women’s teams The needs of the women’s team are sometimes brushed aside or not taken as seriously as they need to be. Michael also tends to put more responsibility on the female captains than the male captains as well. Overall, Michael is a decent coach, he just needs a full time assistant coach (preferably a female coach) to help him with the load of a fast growing team. It is hard for just one person to cover many different roles so soon into their careers, and it is evident that an additional coach would be beneficial to athletes and to Michael’s coaching abilities. "

"All this coach did was play favorites. We would constantly lose and he would never give other players a chance. He tears you down and makes you feel insecure. Talked a really good game to get us to play there and did not hold up his end of the bargain. He’s also way too touchy to be coaching females. I had to transfer because he ruined my college experience at Thiel. "

"Just an awful guy. Abusive toward team (much different than hard coaching) and taps into female insecurities. Zero motivation. "

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"Very intense and dedicated to her players and the game. Pushed me every day to hit my fullest potential and for that I will be thankful. But most importantly, coach cared for her players and would do anything for us if we needed her! Thanks Coach and you will be my child's godmother ;)"

"The most caring and understanding coach I have ever had. She pushed me to my limit and expected 110% every day, which is why I improved every year under her leadership. To this day, I am still in contact with her and I appreciate all she did for me! Thank Coach!"

"Dan is an excellent coach overall. I have known him for over 10 years and I have grown as a player with him being my coach."

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