The University of Texas (El Paso)

"This coach has a tight relationship with the community. Ben does a lot of work (aka you do a lot of work) giving back/making connections with the city. He is also knowledgeable on the game and really pushes the players in practice or film. What I came to learn is that this coach is a sales man. He will tell you whatever you need to hear to get what he wants, but it is never truly honest. Additionally, he treated each athlete differently. Those he liked would be held to a different set of standards than those he didn’t. This created frustration amongst the team. Unfortunately there was also situations where girls were treated really poorly because they had decided to leave the team. This was surprising because he preached family but was the first to go after those same girls he claimed to care about. In regards to culture, the team does a lot of work outside of practice to improve mental strength. We were asked to also abide by team rules and were punished if we didn’t. This is perfectly fine as it creates a standard for a team. Although tension arose when we would be punished for being 10 mins late, but then our coach would should up the next day 30 mins late. There was no consistent leadership that could be respected. It all just felt like talk. "

"He was very awkward and had unprofessional relationships with his players. He would talk and touch players uncomfortably. He was not a leader and only provided unhealthy food options. He communicated poorly. The players had more tennis knowledge than this coach and he would frequently give bad advice and coaching and become offended during tennis conversations. "

". Expectations shift depending on which player does what, if he favors that player or not. Feedback is often personal and demeaning vs instructive. He blames players for a loss vs taking a team approach, encouraging introspection. He calls for cohesion but is divisive. He expresses rules that he says are important but ignores serious infractions for his favored players, making excuses. He does not coach to maximixe the full strengths of the team, he caters to a few. He goes to great lengths to present as Christian but behavior, words, and integrity do not match. "