Savannah College of Art and Design

"Coach Shotwell is the current PE and lacross coach at my school. She has made countless kids want to complain but i will say mostly evreyone is to scared to speak up. IN the past 2 weeks i have cried for an hour and she refused me to the clinic. She made us sprint a mile and kids threw up almost fainted and she did not do anything about it other then saying its our fault and we are not breathing right. My expirience was not being able to stand eyesight surrounded with black seeing stars pluged hearing and nauesa. I have told her what i felt and insistead on me to keep running. Some kids were not able to walk so they fell and she made the rest of her team run doubles which was so un fair because that ment they could not even get a water break. We also have a girl with docter diagnosed knee problems. Her mom has sent countless emails saying she should not even be running the mile so for sure not sprinting. This girl her knee twisted and she fell in the gravel and the coach questioned her falling the laughed. The poor girl had to be taken out in a wheel chair. And she does have knowlage on sports but the whole physical eduacation thing is not happening. She made me question evreything to the point where im to insaccure to step on a volleyball court. She does nothing but point out what you are doing wrong. And instaed of saying good job its do this or do that. I have scored an ace and she said that i did it wrong hoe i would have ruined the team if i missed anyway. This coach rather the motivates dicreases confidents in her players. SHe has shown me nothing but doubt in myself. And i get coaching but this is straight horriable. So many kids have gotten injured thrown up or just hated their sport after their class. I have a friend that was on the varsity lacross team as a 6th grader and she has scored so many goals bit instead of congradulating her she brought her down. Later we are going to go ask people around about what they think and their expiriences with her but this is what we have so far. " she asked if i was really on the volleyball team". " she really said and this is why we start with begginer level". " I had my cupcakes and thats what we call our period so that she knows we dont swim and she made us say it which made uo feel very uncomforball near the boys". And this is just a few of the many many raesons why we dont want other people to go threw this"

"I currently have Coach Melody. She has been putting us in a living hell and does not care about our health. She has made the kids throw up and not stop. I sprained my ankle and was crying for at least an hour, and she refused me to the clinic. In this past week, 30 people just from her class have been to the clinic. She's rude, picks favorites, and holds a grudge. We don't want anyone to experience this. She is a PE coach as well, and she made me lose my love for volleyball by making it all just what she wants rather than us learning how to play."

"I have Coach Mel as my coach now, and honestly, I can understand why I have heard that she was fired from past schools. She runs her players into the ground and acts like taking care of your health means you are being weak. If you take one break, you can run doubles. If you take too long to run, you can run doubles. It feels like no matter what you do, there is always another punishment waiting for you. What really bothers me is that this is not just about being tired or having a hard practice. There have been situations where girls were clearly hurt or exhausted and still were not taken seriously. One girl sprained her ankle and was crying for around half an hour, but she was still made to run. Another girl literally fell into a hole because she was so exhausted, and instead of making sure she was okay, she was told she could get some ice and take a breath before continuing. A girl being injured, crying, or struggling to breathe should not be treated like she is just making excuses. The worst part is that Coach Mel and her CO made 11 kids throw up. These are 12- and 13-year-old girls. I understand that sports are supposed to be challenging, and I understand that coaches want their players to be in shape and work hard. But there is a huge difference between pushing athletes to improve and pushing them past the point where they are physically sick. Making kids throw up should never be something a coach is proud of. A coach is supposed to care about their players, not just their performance. We should be able to tell a coach when something is wrong without being scared that we will get punished for it. We should be able to take a break when we genuinely need one, especially when we are injured, sick, or completely exhausted. Being a good athlete does not mean ignoring your body until something seriously goes wrong. This does not feel like normal tough coaching anymore. It feels like our health and safety are being put second to conditioning and punishment. We are kids. We are here to learn, compete, improve, and love the sport—not to be pushed until we are injured or throwing up. There is a difference between making a team stronger and hurting the people on the team. Right now, it feels like that line is being crossed."

"Fired from Reinhardt Mens lacrosse and now coaching women's lacrosse with no experience? Run! "

"My daughter just started playing lacrosse and has come home every day from school and hasn't stopped talking about Coach Melody and lacrosse! She hasn't been excited about a sport in a long time so she must be doing something right. Coach Melody has built a relationship with my daughter and her friends which has created a great trust for her to grow in the game. Coach Melody has great patience to teach them lacrosse and also brings positivity, motivation and inspiration to young girls. I can already see her improving and shes excited to play every day!! Our family is excited to be a part of Coach Melody's program! "