"The NCAA should investigate. This person should NOT be allowed to coach. Recruits everywhere should BEWARE. She has a track record of ruining programs and women athletes. Do your research people!!!!!!!!!! "
"When I asked him to encourage and coach me in workouts and races he said he didn’t have the time and energy. He only had the time and energy for the fastest/best athletes. When I did become one of the fastest on the team, but got injured, he asked me to race through my injury. He didn’t get along with with other coaches (got our team kicked out of meets) and departments (got our team kicked out of the weight room), after athletes did not race well he wouldn’t talk to us until the next day, he would lie to athletes, if you were injured he didn’t talk to you or give you a training plan, and so many other things. When he announced he was leaving I was so happy."
"Horrible horrible coach and honestly person too. Crushed the joy so many once had for the sport; she turned enthusiastic athletes into shells of their former selves. Was motivated by her own personal agenda and could honesty not care less how the team performed. Constantly pitting players against each other and really never had a clue what was going on- would ask assistant coaches or better yet ask players on the sideline what plays to run because she really didn’t know. Mentally abusive to anyone who wasn’t a favorite. Yes coaching is a hard job to please all, but at least know what you’re talking about… will say she was great at recruiting- or over promising and under delivering. Happy to see she’s gone from akron and lacrosse in general- keep her away from any athletes."
"Best coach in America! Took depleted program and built it into a MAC champion. March madness twice with nba draft pic of Indiana Pacers, Enrique Freeman."
"Brian cares about each individual athlete and he cares about who we are as people and as a team. He creates an environment where everyone thrives and gets along "
"As a parent I wish someone in NCAA or IWWLCA would do something. She has affected so many young athletes in a negative way. As you see in all of the reviews she has a long history of emotional abuse which is hard to prove. I saw the effects on my daughter. Months of stress and depression. Know how to play a sport is not enough to be a coach. I wish someone would dig deep and check the girls so they are not harmed. "
"Coach Jones is not near good enough of a coach to be as bad of a human being as she is. If she had a history of success, maybe we could get past all of her shortcomings but she doesn’t. She divides the team, turns friends in to enemies, and doesn’t know when to take timeouts. Awful coach and person. "
"This coach has zero connection with her players besides a few favorites. She does not encourage team bonding. Instead causes more division among the team. She tells the girls one thing to their face and does the opposite. She is new to this program this season and not once has tried to get to know the players individually. She breaks them down instead of building them up. It’s heartbreaking to watch. "
"Christy Mitchell pits players against one another rather than building a team atmosphere. She constantly tells players that they are replaceable rather than helping them improve creating a very toxic environment. She picks her favorites at the beginning of the year and doesn’t change her line up even when others have shown that they are now better than her favorites. Christy will throw people in a game on the opposite side of the field from where they have been practicing and expect them to be perfect, when they inevitably aren’t she gets upset at them for not performing. She should not be a coach. "
"One of the most caring coaches I ever met who genuinely loved her players. She built a team with little to no money .She had a rough season plagued with injuries but did her best to stay in the game. I am sorry to see her resign. Akron lost a real asset with her."
"Playing for Elaine Jones was almost a death sentence. She genuinely cannot stand positive and overall happy people and will do anything to bring you down to her level. She instills negative, condescending, and controlling values into her players so they leave the program as depressed robots. The team culture is horribly toxic. The players turn on each other and she lets it happen. She lets certain people completely crumble mentally and does not care about you as a person, you are just filling another pair of cleats. She picks her favorites before you even get to her program and everyone else is practically excluded and "out of the loop" from everything on and off the field. No matter where she is coaching (I cannot believe she is still allowed to coach after the MANY complaints), she will ruin the team, the culture, and ruin you mentally and emotionally. I am so glad I got out when I did or else I could not imagine how depressed as a person I would be. I know for a fact that if I stayed under her coaching, I would hate the sport of lacrosse. "
"I have no idea how Elaine Jones was hired at UIndy. My heart goes out to those players and families. Get out while you can.
I wish we could give zero stars on this site.
My daughter played for Longwood lacrosse. Within weeks of her freshman year, I didn't recognize my child anymore. My happy, lacrosse loving, motivated daughter was withdrawn, suffering severe panic attacks, terrified and her grades were spiraling. Numerous girls on the team were self medicating, vomiting, seeing physicians for depression and anxiety medication and begging for help every single day. We were getting calls in the middle of the night. The college counseling department was full and couldn't see students for weeks and weeks. The few providers off campus were also slammed and couldn't help. There were times that I considered contacting the police and in hindsight should have. Letters from many to the Longwood Dean of Students, Athletic Director, Counseling Center and many others went unrecognized and unanswered. The torment that team suffered under Elaine was real. My daughter left the program and university with many others that season. She was in therapy for YEARS. As a parent I don't think we will ever know the entirety of what she and others endured under head coach Elaine Jones. Its no secret that Elaine personally ruins athletes and young women. Elaine is a deplorable human being, recognizes it and leans into it.
I have no idea why it took Longwood years to finally give her the boot, they were aware and did nothing. The lacrosse world sighed with relief the day she was let go.
ELAINE SHOULD NEVER BE ALLOWED TO COACH EVER AGAIN.
Everyone knows what she does to these women. Permanent mental and physical damage!
To the parents - please constantly check in with your daughters. Know that it's ok to leave. There are so many other programs where they will be valued. Our daughter played again- for a wonderful coach and is valued, successful and very happy. Isn't that what they deserve?
"
"Disrespectful to players and other staff that works with the team including trainers and strength coaches. Whoever thought she was a good fit for a division 1 program needs to get their eyes checked. She has zero knowledge about the game of lacrosse get her out before she runs the program deeper into the ground"
"How do I put negative stars? She is god awful and administration just turns their head the other way. She is emotionally abusive and manipulative to players and any staff members that the team works with. She does not care about the sport or development of athletes she just wants power and authority over 18-22 year olds. Major narcissistic behavior, stay as far away as possible from Akron for your own well being"
"One start is still too many to give. Mitchell is the worse human on planet earth and the worst coach i have ever seen. She mentally abuses players, makes fun of them for their mental health struggles, and does not care about their overall well being. She has never played lacrosse a day in her life and is a disgrace to this sport. She is unorganized, manipulative, negative, ans creates a losing mentality around her program and pins the team against eachother. Get her out of the lacrosse world"
"I’m shocked she landed another role coaching somewhere else, especially at a school like UIndy. She’s a horrible person who knows a lot of lacrosse. I learned a lot and grew so much tougher but the team still didn’t perform so I’m sure not how effective her coaching can be.
If you can perform with your back against the wall with sprinkles of degrading comments you’ll do well, if not you will crumble quickly. She loved using running as punishment (but since that isn’t allowed saying it wasn’t for punishment) and disregarding players injuries. She was so disrespectful to training staff, and in general she lacks social cues. Makes me wonder about the reviews from the UC Davis players who really enjoyed being coached by her. The reviews that say she likes to pit players against each other is true, especially upperclassmen versus freshmen. You can’t do anything right except maybe once a year. When arriving to practice you can show up too early and not early enough depending on how she’s feeling that day. You will probably cry in anticipation before every individual meeting and after.
Despite all of this, it did make me stronger and have higher expectations for myself and others of mindfulness and attention to detail, but it also sent me to therapy and created really horrible performance anxiety. Spending my adulthood coaching kids trying to give them the experience I wish I had. Do I regret going there, no, but I hope she’s changed. If you’re a recruit, find out if the coaches you’re considering playing for have families, close friends, a social life, children, pets. These things may indicate that the coach has at least a minimal threshold for compassion "
"
I hate lacrosse because of Elaine Jones. She messes with your head as soon as you sign the NLI. College lacrosse ended up being the worst experience of my life because of her. Elaine Jones is a bully. Her favorite thing is to emotionally abuse you into tears every single day. In the beginning she would make you tell her you what you were weak in and then torture you with it for the next four years - if you made it that far. Elaine Jones didn’t believe in team bonding. She discouraged any type of friendship among teammates. She always made us say horrible things about each other to our faces. She used to tell us that this is what makes the team stronger. What really happened was we kept turning on each other. If your stats started getting too high she would make up a reason why she had to pull you off the field. She did this until your stats got really low again. Then she would use this to confirm what a bad player you are. I graduated a few years ago and I am still seeing a therapist about what Elaine Jones did to me. For your own sanity, PLEASE stay away from Elaine Jones!"
"I was sent this link and saw all of the negative comments about Elaine Jones. Not only did I play for 4 years under her at UC Davis, but I probably wouldn’t have graduated if it weren’t for her care. She had a tough group of girls who needed a lot of coaching on and off the field. Despite some of her social handicaps she did her best to see us succeed on and off the field. Regardless of her inability to create a super cohesive team with bonding experiences, she made me a much stronger person. I know after playing for Elaine Jones I can handle anything life throws at me and for that I’m grateful. F you see this EJ, hope you’re doing well!"
"Elaine is a horrible coach. My dreams of wanting to play Divison 1 lacrosse were crushed by her. She manipulates you, bullies you, and ultimately makes you never want to touch a stick again. She decides prior to your freshman year arrival if she will be nice to you or bully you every day. Under her incredibly toxic coaching style, she created such a negative environment that her players would be in the bathroom minutes before practice dry heaving and having panic attacks because it was so unbearable to be there. The players turned on each other and would do anything to get the heat off themselves- this includes ratting other players out over the silliest things, yelling at each other during practice, etc. She would make up lies and go the extra mile to gaslight you. She should never be allowed to coach in any sport ever again. Hiring her at Longwood was a huge mistake and ruined the college experience for many players. As someone who transferred out of Longwood, I loved that school so much and I wish to be back there with my friends every day, but it was not worth staying there with her and struggling with my mental health so much. As someone who endured her coaching, the PTSD and anxiety I dealt with after leaving the program is ongoing. For all of the girls that experienced her coaching, I'm sorry. We deserved so much better than that. "
"Quite literally made me hate the sport of lacrosse, that I loved SO much. I had dreams of playing Division 1 lacrosse since I was a little girl. When that dream became reality, it was the best thing ever. Until I met Elaine Jones. She was a bully if she did not like you. She was unmotivating and never once created a good team culture. She destroyed us mentally and physically, day in and day out. I started a NCAA investigation into her my junior year, they did NOTHING. Year after year, 10 girls quitting a year, and that doesn't raise a red flag that something horrible is going on here? Girls are TRAUMATIZED. I graduated undergrad 4 years ago, and she still negatively impacts my thoughts and actions. She would make you say all of the skills you thought you were bad at, just to turn it on you later on. She was conniving, abusive, and manipulative - She should never ever be allowed to coach any sport. Not just WLAX. She ruined my college experience and ruined my love of lacrosse. I will forever hate her. Please take these ratings seriously before considering playing lacrosse at Longwood University or playing for Elaine Jones. She WILL destroy you physically and mentally. "
"Literally horrible. Degrading. Manipulative. Pits teammates against each other. Favors certain players and places them of utmost importance. Created horrible experiences for me. Left me with trauma and anxiety from the time spent under her supervision."
"Discourages all forms of team bonding. Humiliates players constantly. Total disregard for physical and mental health of team. Should NOT be allowed near athletes of any age!"
"Killed any confidence I had as a player. Words and actions were very damaging. Almost completely ruined the game for me and I am forever grateful to have transferred. I appreciate the experience though, made me extremely tough minded. "
"Coach Arth is one of the best coaches I have ever had the pleasure of playing for. He makes sure all his players are able to succeed both on the field with his great coaching staff and all the resources he provides, as well as off the field with helping players in school through tutors and an academic program, as well as helping his players find jobs with alumni who now own and operate their successful businesses."
"Coach Jones is a soul crusher who preys on the destruction of young student athletes. She is a cancer to any program and systematically crushes any self esteem left in the young adults she coaches… If this is not enough, she targets players and bullies them into submission. She is a horrendous human being and a worthless coach. Stay away!"
"Worst human being to ever enter the lacrosse world. She has zero knowledge of the game and gets off on punishing players. Everything is a mind game and if she doesn’t like you she won’t play you all year to make you the example to the team. She created a toxic team culture and constantly pitted players against each other in the worst ways. So many injuries happened on this team due to her overtraining and punishment running. One time she even made us run 300s with our sticks over our heads the entire time and if a player was to drop their stick we would have to run another 100 yards. This is not productive conditioning, but a form of torture!! This is just one example too!!! I know so many girls who had to go to either the sports psychologist or actual therapy due to the result of her abuse. She absolutely ruined the game for me and I hope she never coaches again. "
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