Sonoma State University

"Coach genuinely ruined college running for me. When you initially meet him he seems like a very intelligent and caring person who is trying to put together a strong team. None of this was the case sadly. I could genuinely write a book about my experience on this team... From not being fed at training camp/meets, missing classes and important exams due to poor planning, etc. We literally did not ever have enough food which is the most important thing for any athlete. One of my biggest issues on this team was the fact that coach would not give us a set schedule. I was unable to have any form of social life and I felt extremely isolated as a young adult living in a new area. At times I also felt we had way too many rules, considering this is literally a public school. At meets you were meant to feel isolated from family and other teams, which made the whole experience quite depressing. We also rarely had days off, and when we did it was often a surprise (aka someone is bordering injury after running for 7 days straight). I literally had to tell one of the trainers I hadn't had a single day off of physical activity because my body was in constant pain. I was constantly sick the small amount of time I was apart of the team because we genuinely never had time off of any physical activity. We were not ever treated like adults on this team at all. It was extremely stressfull. It was the biggest relief when I finally quit because I could actually be on time for classes and have a chance at getting decent grades. Every season more and more people would quit. It was a miracle anyone actually made it through all 4 years. The mental and physical pain I endured while training on this team was unnecessary. "

"college sports are supposed to be difficult, not isolating, depressing and manipulative. For a while i genuinely thought that i just couldn’t handle the difficulty and stress that comes along with college sports, but the team environment that is created by this coach is not normal and definitely very toxic. He will talk badly about other teammates to people on the team, he will isolate people who are either very talented or not the fastest. He has had many title 9 cases filed against him, and potentially one lawsuit involving title 9. Running was my favorite thing, i loved to work hard and go to practice and this experience genuinely ruined the sport for me for a while. I have since talked to many girls who compete for other colleges and can say with 100% certainty that the way we were treated and the environment on this team is not normal."

"Do NOT let David Lawrence coach you. He pins runners against each other, gossips about others to you, plays favorites, among other aspects a coach should never engage in. He has a football background, not a running one. It is clear that he has never competed or ran at this level so it is hard to respect his word. He makes inappropriate comments and has negatively affected many runner’s collegiate experience. Many athletes have spoken out about him, but we have all been ignored. He is good at charming you at first and uses manipulative tactics to get you to believe what he wants. He is not a genuine coach and should not be trusted with female athletes. He isolates top athletes, overtrains his team, and does not cultivate a positive team atmosphere. "

"was not a normal experience at all. isolates you from everyone, extremely controlling and manipulative. This coach will tell you everything you want to hear when your being recruited then everything changes once your there. Should not be a head coach or have any kind of authority over these young adults. It’s not the matter of “he’s just strict” it goes far beyond that line. If he continues to another school and none of these problems are acknowledged it will hurt more students down the line. Many students have been manipulated or made to be scared to speak about their experiences because of how he is. I have never had someone completely alter the way I think and make me have such a low self esteem. It’s horrible to see athletes lose their light for something they were once so passionate about because of their experience here. It’s always tense around him to where you have to walk on eggshells, extremely uncomfortable to be around. Try’s to get way too involved in athletes personal lives and isolates you from everyone. You’re not allowed to speak to people from other teams, not even different sports from our own school. If you do, your interrogated on why you were talking to them and what you were talking about. It was so mentally exhausting having to explain myself because everything i did was always wrong. If there’s a problem, he will never address it but instead, make being at practice feel uneasy and tense. If anyone says they want to leave the team, he cuts them off coldly."

"was not a normal experience at all. isolates you from everyone, extremely controlling and manipulative. This coach will tell you everything you want to hear when your being recruited then everything changes once your there. Should not be a head coach or have any kind of authority over these young adults. It’s not the matter of “he’s just strict” it goes far beyond that line. If he continues to another school and none of these problems are acknowledged it will hurt more students down the line. Many students have been manipulated or made to be scared to speak about their experiences because of how he is. I have never had someone completely alter the way I think and make me have such a low self esteem. It’s horrible to see athletes lose their light for something they were once so passionate about because of their experience here. It’s always tense around him to where you have to walk on eggshells, extremely uncomfortable to be around. Try’s to get way too involved in athletes personal lives and isolates you from everyone. You’re not allowed to speak to people from other teams, not even different sports from our own school. If you do, your interrogated on why you were talking to them and what you were talking about. It was so mentally exhausting having to explain myself because everything i did was always wrong. If there’s a problem, he will never address it but instead, make being at practice feel uneasy and tense. If anyone says they want to leave the team, he cuts them off coldly."