"While Manny is undoubtedly passionate about rowing and brings a high level of intensity to his role, his approach to leadership raises serious concerns. He often frames his coaching style as fostering a “family-like team culture,” yet this has, in practice, enabled inappropriate behavior among athletes and blurred the line between professionalism and personal entanglement. In his first year, he appointed a rising sophomore as team captain—an athlete who went on to verbally abuse teammates over the next three years without any meaningful intervention. This lack of accountability significantly harmed team dynamics. By his third year, he appeared surprised when an entire women’s eight chose not to return, seemingly unaware of the long-term damage that poor leadership choices—enabled by his own oversight—had caused. This pattern suggests a larger issue: a coach who struggles with identifying and cultivating healthy, effective leadership, perhaps due to his own limitations in this area. Manny’s conduct has often felt erratic and unprofessional. He tends to single out athletes he disfavors and frequently overshares personal struggles, including mental health challenges, in ways that undermine his role as a stable and trusted leader. While openness can be powerful, it must be balanced with boundaries—something he often fails to maintain. His ego-driven coaching style limits collaboration and discourages input from others, even when they bring more experience or technical expertise. This contributed to the departure of the most accomplished coach the program had hired in recent memory—a significant loss for the team. Despite frequent rhetoric about a desire to win, results have not reflected meaningful progress. For instance, the men’s team placed identically at the end-of-season regatta two years in a row (third in the 3rd level final), despite his public insistence that the program has made significant gains. His communications to the broader rowing community often read more as spin than substance. Lastly, the team’s social media presence, which Manny manages, has not supported recruitment efforts. Frequent typos and awkward posts diminish the program’s credibility. Delegating this responsibility to student-athletes—who better understand what resonates with prospective rowers—could turn it into a more effective and engaging platform. This need for control, again, feels ego-driven. "

"Very aggressive on the sidelines of games thoroughout the season. Though he is very passionate about basketball "

"Perry is so hard and intense. Very tiring workouts. But so motivational! You def want him on your team."

"Nate Simms was a coach who cared about his players and wanted what was best for them but sometimes thought selfishly for the team and himself. He was disorganized at times, had an old school mentality and was not caught up to date on modern day coaching. He was a motivational coach that believed in you "

"Gail is definitely old school and cares more about her job than athletes. "

"Gail picks and chooses what programs she wants to focus on and does not listen to players complaints about the program. Disregards players emotions and is not supportive."

"Gail is very polite and good at her job. Gail is largely focused on politics and the appearance of the programme over the actual performance. "

"Not in favor of players mental health. Only cares about her athletes as players and not people. "

"Coach Plourde is guilty of playing favorites which causes resentment from one half of the team and adulation from the other half. He makes judgments about players before he meets them and his subconscious really drives his decision making. Other than that I really enjoyed my time at Skidmore and the culture is great."

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"Coach spends more time with the team focusing on things that do not directly correlate to on ice performance. This becomes increasingly difficult for the players to stay motivated as the season goes on. This also leads to a lack of cohesion as a 5 man unit in comparison to other teams by the time we reach the second half of the season."

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"Coach spends more time with the team focusing on things that do not directly correlate to on ice performance. This becomes increasingly difficult for the players to stay motivated as the season goes on. This also leads to a lack of cohesion as a 5 man unit in comparison to other teams by the time we reach the second half of the season."

"I think she is very passionate but doesn’t know how to deal with teenager girls or manage a team "

"not really a big fan. "

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"I think she is very passionate but doesn’t know how to deal with teenager girls or manage a team "

"not really a big fan. "

"Talks a lot about team culture and community, but fosters an environment of tension and social hierarchy/groups. Doesn't ever reach out to support you as a player unless you're a favorite. Seems very distant and unfriendly compared to other DIII coaches. "

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"Means well, new but learning quickly, very passionate"

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