"Coach Jojo is one of the coaches who played a crucial role in both my athletic and personal development. She helped me break out of my shell and evolve into a dominant force on the court. Mental toughness became my greatest asset under her leadership and guidance. In hindsight, I realised she was and still is the perfect balance between being a tough coach and kind, nurturing presence. With over 30 years coaching, her high energy, passion, and unwavering commitment to positively impacting lives has yet to burn out! A mentor, a leader, a teacher, a provider, a mother and a friend— There’s truly no one better who could have helped shape me into the athlete I became.
“If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere!”- her daily mantra to us! And I left St John’s with those words imprinted on my heart. After 4 years being coached by her, Professional volleyball with other coaches felt like a breeze! “Take in what you need to take in, and leave out what you need to leave out!” — just one of her many quotes that became part of my daily life. "
"He has a short temper and lets his emotions get the best of him when things go wrong. Like during games he would freak out, causing him to make negative comments that lower the team’s morale. You can tell that he gives up by letting players fail. Solely because he doesn't believe that we will pick each other up and punch back to win. In high pressured situations he tries to give pep talks that end up making us feel like we are worthless and not good enough, which leads to a low success rate. He is so self-absorbent that he does not allow the other coaches to instruct. He also likes to blame other people for the bad and takes all the credit for the good. This takes a toll on our mental, physical, and emotional health because of the constant distress that we are put through by being around his presence. He shows little to no respect to players, coaches, umpires, and other people. The way that he acts and treats people creates this toxic culture. It can be reflected in how players act, the lack of chemistry, and the miniscule growth of our team."
"Rude, egotistic, dictator-like coaching style. Psychologically and emotionally abusive to players. Will use the threat of “sitting the bench” to incentivize perfection resulting in players competing in fear. Does not create an environment for athletes to thrive and excel in their sport, rather, belittles them to the point of transferring or loss of love for the sport altogether. Take a hard look at the athletes and what they are forced to endure day in and day out under a coach actively working to diminish their spirits."
"He doesn’t respect his players or his coaching staff. He doesn’t put effort into developing his players. He cares about his players to an extent, but has a very odd way of expressing/communicating it. Talks down to players, points fingers in your face, grabs players when they walk away from him. "
"Personally, I did not have a good experience having Coach Pompey as my track and field coach. I will say she is knowledgeable on the sport (primarily sprints) which is a given as an Olympian. However, Coach Pompey proves that although you may be a great athlete, that does not make you a half decent coach. With Coach Pompey, prepared to be bombarded with negativity and passive-aggressiveness regardless of your performance. Despite being a top athlete during her time coaching the majority of my teammates reported having awful experiences with her. In my opinion her negative attitude and unprecedented God-complex far proceed any knowledge of the sport she may have. I wish her as well as anyone who decides to have her as a coach the best of luck."
"Playing for the St. John’s Women’s Volleyball team is one of my greatest memories as it was a life changing experience where I made life long friendships.
I recently had an opportunity to reunite with my teammates and I realized once again how amazing and special my college career was playing for Coach Jo Jo, Coach Mario and my St. John's volleyball family."
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