Women's Lacrosse

Liza Oakley

Women's Lacrosse Head Coach

Youngstown State University

NCAA DI • Mid-American Conference | MAC

Inexperienced... Desperate Hire That Ysu Should Not Have Made

Date: March 11, 2026

By Other

1.0

Overall

Caring

Motivational

Knowledgeable

Honest

1.0

Tags

"Liza Oakley provides a misleading fake persona of who she is. She does not put the student-athletes first at the end of the day and certainly does not put the student-athletes health and safety first or make it a priority. She has poor communication toward the student-athletes and support staff. She does not involve the support staff in communication decisions or leaves the support staff out of scheduling changes. Liza creates cliques within her team and makes all her communication run through her captains versus addressing the team as a whole together. She would rather run her 11 starters to the ground then utilize her bench full of talented players then there we are already losing by 10. She is disrespectful and disregards the one person who has been here for us the last two years through all the ups and downs. She can't even be bothered to show up to practice one time... she shows up 15 minutes late to practice every day."

1

Women's Lacrosse

Rob Harris

Head Women's Lacrosse Coach

Youngstown State University

NCAA DI • Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference | NACC

Disheartening To His Team

Date: February 1, 2026

By Parent

1.0

Overall

Caring

Motivational

Knowledgeable

Honest

1.0

Tags

Poor Communication Intense Disorganized Old School Mentality Direct

"Unfortunately this coach started out on the wrong foot immediately. He berated his team in front of others and would scream horrible words to refs and other coaches as well. He seemed to never be present and thought by screaming would motivate his team. Girls do not respond to that kind of coaching, they shut down! Unfortunately my daughter had a terrible senior year with him as a coach and for the first time she didn’t enjoy her sport! "

0

Women's Lacrosse

Kendyl Clarkson

Former Women's Lacrosse Head Coach

Youngstown State University

NCAA DI • Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference | NACC

Unprofessional

Date: February 1, 2026

By Parent

1.0

Overall

Caring

Motivational

Knowledgeable

Honest

1.0

Tags

Poor Communication Disorganized Intense Honest Believes In You

"This coach was so rude and condescending to her players as well as had some girls play that were not up to the challenge. She was seen drinking with some team members and decided to have a relationship with one of the teammates! How unprofessional!! Which describes her behaviour exactly!"

0

Women's Lacrosse

Liza Oakley

Women's Lacrosse Head Coach

Youngstown State University

NCAA DI • Mid-American Conference | MAC

Liza Oakley Has No Coaching Skills.

Date: January 28, 2026

By Athlete

1.0

Overall

Caring

Motivational

Knowledgeable

Honest

1.0

Tags

Intense Direct Honest Knowledgeable Believes In You

"Never gave kids the opportunity to prove themselves to her, also only played a certain players sister so she would stay at ysu…. yikes"

0

Women's Lacrosse

Rob Harris

Head Women's Lacrosse Coach

Youngstown State University

NCAA DI • Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference | NACC

Horrible Coach, Worse Person

Date: January 28, 2026

By Athlete

1.0

Overall

Caring

Motivational

Knowledgeable

Honest

1.0

Tags

Poor Communication Intense Disorganized Old School Mentality Direct

"Genuinely the worst person I have ever met. I played for Rob during my senior year of college. After 3 years of complete coaching chaos - quitting, firing, hiring, and re-hiring, I had faith that Rob was being brought it to completely change the program and the culture and allow me to enjoy my final year of college. But it quickly became apparent that it was the complete opposite. I had never been more excited after my final game to never play lacrosse again. Not only did he really have no knowledge for the women's game, he was also just an awful person. Vulgar, aggressive, hostile, and horrible are the best ways I can describe Rob. "

0

Women's Lacrosse

Rob Harris

Head Women's Lacrosse Coach

Youngstown State University

NCAA DI • Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference | NACC

Inconsistent

Date: January 25, 2026

By Parent

1.6

Overall

Caring

Motivational

Knowledgeable

Honest

1.0

3.0

2.0

Tags

Poor Communication Intense Disorganized Old School Mentality Direct

"Coach Harris too often said what was on his mind without filter. Players never knew which coach was going to show up on a day to day basis. "

0

Women's Lacrosse

Kendyl Clarkson

Former Women's Lacrosse Head Coach

Youngstown State University

NCAA DI • Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference | NACC

Favorites Played

Date: January 25, 2026

By Parent

1.8

Overall

Caring

Motivational

Knowledgeable

Honest

1.0

5.0

1.0

Tags

Poor Communication Disorganized Intense Honest Believes In You

"If she believed you were on her side, you played. If she thought you would turn her in, you sat on the bench. "

0

Women's Lacrosse

Rob Harris

Head Women's Lacrosse Coach

Youngstown State University

NCAA DI • Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference | NACC

He Loves His Drone More Than His Athletes

Date: January 22, 2026

By Athlete

1.2

Overall

Caring

Motivational

Knowledgeable

Honest

1.0

2.0

1.0

Tags

Poor Communication Intense Disorganized Old School Mentality Direct

"They say that finishing your collegiate career would be difficult but Coach Rob made it extremely easy. As a player of his for two years, I went from being hopeful that he would bring joy back to the sport after past bad coaching experiences to him joining the long line of manipulative, unprofessional, disrespectful, dishonest, and selfish coaches. Not only to me but to the many other athletes on the team. Parents, fans, and other teams would see this as he would belittle his team not only behind closed doors but also infront of everyone. I have never felt so unwanted. I have yet to pick up my stick since leaving and don’t think I ever will. Nobody deserves that, especially a bunch of young females. "

0

Women's Softball

Brian Campbell

Women's Softball Head Coach

Youngstown State University

No Knowledge, No Development, No Transparency

Date: January 21, 2026

By Athlete

1.6

Overall

Caring

Motivational

Knowledgeable

Honest

1.0

4.0

1.0

Tags

Poor Communication

"Does not care about intangibles, does not enforce a standard, different players get different versions of him. "

0

Women's Lacrosse

Rob Harris

Head Women's Lacrosse Coach

Youngstown State University

NCAA DI • Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference | NACC

He Balled In Front Of 3 Sophomores Begging Them To Like Him.

Date: January 20, 2026

By Athlete

1.0

Overall

Caring

Motivational

Knowledgeable

Honest

1.0

Tags

Poor Communication Intense Disorganized Old School Mentality Direct

"I was a sophomore in college when Rob brought my teammates (3 other sophomores) and I in for a secret meeting where he balled his eyes out in front of us asking if we liked him. As a 19 year old seeing a middle aged man cry about the way he was viewed was uncomfortable, confusing, and wildly inappropriate. Aside from the crying, during this meeting he begged us to lie to the AD, and tell them that the accusations about him (made by our teammates and friends) were not true. Following this meeting with the 3 of us he called our entire team in the locker room to apologize for his behavior using his traumatic childhood and mental health medications as an excuse. Following the team locker room meeting we practiced where he proceeded to be what I believe to have been the most violent version of himself. Getting into players faces, singling out certain players, cursing and calling us various names. This is just a few days that highlight the true hell that playing for Rob Harris is. "

0

Women's Lacrosse

Rob Harris

Former Women's Lacrosse Head Coach

Davenport University

NCAA DII • Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association | MIAA

Erratic, Manipulative, And Actively Damaging To The Program

Date: January 20, 2026

By Verified Athlete

1.2

Overall

Caring

Motivational

Knowledgeable

Honest

1.0

2.0

1.0

Tags

Poor Communication Intense Disorganized Old School Mentality Direct

"Rob Harris’s leadership was defined by instability, poor communication, and a complete lack of accountability. He was a master manipulator who used mixed messages, emotional pressure, and mind games to control players rather than lead them. He regularly berated players in front of the team, creating a culture of embarrassment and fear instead of development. His behavior was often manic and erratic, and he hated it when players challenged him or showed any form of pushback or independent leadership. He also made the team listen to how difficult his life was as a white male in this profession, which was completely inappropriate and unprofessional. Instead of taking responsibility for his actions, he blamed his medication for emotional outbursts and gave the team the silent treatment when things did not go his way. Communication around roles, expectations, and logistics was chaotic, and after losses, he sought validation from players rather than providing leadership. The environment under his leadership was toxic, demoralizing, and exhausting, and he created a culture that actively drove people away from the program. Thank goodness he was fired."

0

Women's Lacrosse

Rob Harris

Former Women's Lacrosse Head Coach

Davenport University

NCAA DII • Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association | MIAA

Abuse All Around. Great Job Du

Date: November 28, 2025

By Athlete

1.0

Overall

Caring

Motivational

Knowledgeable

Honest

1.0

Tags

Poor Communication Intense Disorganized Old School Mentality Direct

"A coach with an ANGER problem. Myself and many teammates reported his abusive behavior to the AD and admin and THEY DID NOTHING. THEY did not care at all. An absolute monster that was constantly mentally and emotionally abusive to us. Degrading in every way. Destroying the love of the game of most. Why did no one care? Why did no one listen? Why were we forced to be abused and forced to put up with it? Why were silenced? Was it because this was a male coach? Did no one care about our sport? Did we not do enough for this school? I don’t get why we weren’t treated like people. Why did we have to go through actual abuse without anyone caring? Why wasn’t there an investigation? Why wasn’t this looked into? Many athletes at this school do flat out lie about their coaches and experiences. Because of playing time, liking drama, being lazy, their parents, etc. BUT It’s sad that lies overshadow actual TRUTH and a coach who ACTUALLY abused us was treated like a KING. I graduated from DU but let me tell you I’m NOT a proud alum. I hate everything this school stands for. Abusive men are catered to, money is thrown around to shut people up. Being a good person puts you in last place. I’m also convinced this school shouldn’t even be allowed to give out degrees with how illiterate you can be and still get a passing grade. If I had a chance to do it all again…. I wouldn’t have stayed. A place like this drains and kills your soul . I should have never put up with the abuse by this coach. The daily screaming in my face was not worth it. I would give zero stars if I could. "

0

Women's Swimming & Diving

Brad Smith

Women's Swimming & Diving Head Coach

Youngstown State University

His Ego Is Too Big To See That He Is Taking Down An Entire Team.

Date: November 10, 2025

By Athlete

1.0

Overall

Caring

Motivational

Knowledgeable

Honest

1.0

Tags

Accessible Intense Direct Cool Disorganized

"He creates the worst team environment. In his eyes you are an athlete-student. If you want to get any degrees that has any kind of difficulty he will not understand why you have responsibilities outside of swimming. To him you are just an item that scores him points at meets and don’t have a real life outside of when he sees you. He doesn’t know your name and doesn’t want to you are better off with no coach at all than him. "

0

Women's Lacrosse

Rob Harris

Former Women's Lacrosse Head Coach

Davenport University

NCAA DII • Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association | MIAA

Biggest Regret Of My Life Is Davenport. Don’t Duit

Date: October 24, 2025

By Athlete

1.0

Overall

Caring

Motivational

Knowledgeable

Honest

1.0

Tags

Poor Communication Intense Disorganized Old School Mentality Direct

"The Associate Director of Athletics put Rob on a pedestal. Meanwhile he was abusing our entire team at Davenport. It’s sad this university stands up for manipulative abusers. You would think Rob was the gold standard of coaching. Associate Director of Athletics let him get away with EVERYTHING and silenced anyone that was trying to tell the truth. If you’re a truth teller. A good person. Believe in hard work. Davenport University will eat you apart. Literally, I’ve watched this school turn some of my closest teammates into absolute monsters. Entitlement and laziness is the gold standard. But hey atleast we all looked good in all of our gear! "

1

Women's Lacrosse

Rob Harris

Former Women's Lacrosse Head Coach

Davenport University

NCAA DII • Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association | MIAA

Tried To Tell You All The Truth

Date: August 6, 2025

By Athlete

1.0

Overall

Caring

Motivational

Knowledgeable

Honest

1.0

Tags

Poor Communication Intense Disorganized Old School Mentality Direct

"I told Ronda of Rob’s absue of us girls and she did nothing about it. In fact she praised this man every chance she got. She’s a terrible administrator that allowed this coach to abuse us. Kinda weird she is so protective of male coaches. "

1

Women's Lacrosse

Rob Harris

Former Women's Lacrosse Head Coach

Davenport University

NCAA DII • Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association | MIAA

“What Were Your Parents Thinking When They Had You” Rob Harris

Date: August 6, 2025

By Athlete

1.0

Overall

Caring

Motivational

Knowledgeable

Honest

1.0

Tags

Poor Communication Intense Disorganized Old School Mentality Direct

"I was one of the girls unfortunate enough to be a player Rob chose to be the outlet for his anger issues. No matter how many hours I practice I was consistently verbally berated and made fun of in front of teammates. He normalized the abusive culture he created and often bragged about countless failed attempts previous players made to address his behavior and get him fired. He decimated the confidence and love for lacrosse of many other girls. l For years I believed I was deserving of the way he treated me. That I was somehow bad enough at lacrosse to warrant the belittlement and jokes he made at my expense. It wasn’t until I watched one of my teammates, another one of his targets, excel following Rob’s departure from Davenport that I realized we were never the problem. When I heard he was coaching at YSU I had hoped he changed for the better. As many reviews prior to mine have stated, this was unfortunately not the case. I am writing this review not to slight Rob, but to warn others of his long standing pattern of abuse. I hope he moves away from coaching women’s lacrosse in the future and gets the help he needs."

2

Women's Lacrosse

Rob Harris

Former Women's Lacrosse Head Coach

Davenport University

NCAA DII • Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association | MIAA

Praying For His Children

Date: August 6, 2025

By Athlete

1.0

Overall

Caring

Motivational

Knowledgeable

Honest

1.0

Tags

Poor Communication Intense Disorganized Old School Mentality Direct

"This man child is a monster. He treated players horribly just to satisfy his own ego. I was a goalie that played for his club and college team. On my club team he made a girl leave for tying her shoes (sorry sally you deserved better). I got concussed and he pressured me to come back to playing early by telling me over and over "those sheets should be all zeros by now". I couldn't take the pressure and lied to my athletic train telling her I was ready to come back. I got concussed again a week later and he treated me like I was making everything up because he spent an entire month in Africa on his honeymoon. he left everything to his assistant coach for an entire year basically. his wife is also something else. I decided to leave a month before the end of season and he was to focused on the remotes for the TV in the room to understand this wasn't a fun little get together. When I told him I was done and just didn't even want to play anymore he told me if I left I'd become a drug addict. I honestly just could not continue to watch him treat the people I cared most about horribly ever single day. he averages losing at least one goalie a year. note for the man himself; 0-16. hope you cant afford your coffee anymore."

2

Women's Lacrosse

Rob Harris

Head Women's Lacrosse Coach

Youngstown State University

NCAA DI • Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference | NACC

Do Not Play If Rob Harris Is The Coach

Date: June 19, 2025

By Parent

1.0

Overall

Caring

Motivational

Knowledgeable

Honest

1.0

Tags

Poor Communication Intense Disorganized Old School Mentality Direct

"Rob was horrible to the players. My daughter was so excited to start her college career and ended up wanted to quit because of him. He was verbally and mentally abusive. He would continuously swear and berate the players in front of parents, teammates and anyone else who was in ear shot. His coaching staff was afraid of him and would not advocate for the team. Horrible. DO NOT PLAY ANYWHERE HE IS A COACH. He is not a leader and promotes a culture that causes animosity between his players and staff."

1

Women's Lacrosse

Rob Harris

Former Women's Lacrosse Head Coach

Davenport University

NCAA DII • Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association | MIAA

Worst Experience For Our Girls

Date: June 6, 2025

By Parent

1.0

Overall

Caring

Motivational

Knowledgeable

Honest

1.0

Tags

Poor Communication Intense Disorganized Old School Mentality Direct

"He was the worst. He made my daughter doubt herself and brought her self esteem down to a very low place. It was crazy how the staff backed his every move. Glad to see he is gone but too late for us. "

1

Women's Lacrosse

Rob Harris

Head Women's Lacrosse Coach

Youngstown State University

NCAA DI • Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference | NACC

Thank God He Was Fired From Coaching At Ysu!!!

Date: May 9, 2025

By Parent

1.0

Overall

Caring

Motivational

Knowledgeable

Honest

1.0

Tags

Poor Communication Intense Disorganized Old School Mentality Direct

"Horrible person. Toxic. Dishonest. Turns teammates against each other. Meddles in players personal lives outside of lacrosse. Karma caught up to him!"

1

Coed Lacrosse

Elizabeth Mettler

Coed Lacrosse Assistant Coach

Notre Dame College

NCAA DII • United East Conference | UEC

If Ignorance Was A Coach

Date: December 17, 2024

By Other

1.0

Overall

Caring

Motivational

Knowledgeable

Honest

1.0

Tags

Direct Disorganized Poor Communication Intense Understanding

"If I could rate coach Mettler nothing, I would. But, the experience I had with this coach ruined my career forever. She is by far, the worst coach and human I have ever met. Her ignorance blinders her. She is guided through emotion, and anger. The title of “Coach” shouldn’t even been her title. Her arrogance ruined many athletes love and drive for a sport. She speaks unkindly to her players and says awful things about the players family. She is greedy and not worth any athletes time. At a certain point, a person must let go of their past, and move on. I’m afraid she will be forever hung on her past as a player. Sad. "

0

Coed Lacrosse

Elizabeth Mettler

Coed Lacrosse Assistant Coach

Notre Dame College

NCAA DII • United East Conference | UEC

Honestly She’s Just Not A Good Person At Heart Which Tore The Entire Team Down.

Date: December 17, 2024

By Other

1.2

Overall

Caring

Motivational

Knowledgeable

Honest

1.0

2.0

1.0

Tags

Direct Disorganized Poor Communication Intense Understanding

"Was my coach for three years and created drama every season. Seems to be emotionally unstable, would tell us it’s okay to make mistakes as long as we learned but two seconds later would be screaming at us for making mistakes. When she became head coach practices were so unorganized and she would barely give feedback until she got pissed. Would talk bad about players on the side lines and refused to change after being confronted about it. We ended up quitting and instead of being honest and reflecting on what happened, she lied and ruined multiple opportunities for players to play at other schools. Overall she fostered a negative environment and seems to be very selfish. Always putting her emotions over her players. Did not seem to care about our well being just wanted to win. Most people don’t understand why we quit because she lies about it but the real reason is we refused to put up with being treated like that any longer. Especially with our school already closing we wanted to cherish the time we had together and create memories but instead she beat us down every chance she got. "

0

Coed Lacrosse

Elizabeth Mettler

Coed Lacrosse Assistant Coach

Notre Dame College

NCAA DII • United East Conference | UEC

The Worst Coach Of All Time Mettler

Date: December 17, 2024

By Other

1.0

Overall

Caring

Motivational

Knowledgeable

Honest

1.0

Tags

Direct Disorganized Poor Communication Intense Understanding

"Coach Mettler is an embarrassment of a coach. Genuinely, the worst coach I have ever had and witnessed. She is the reason why I quit this sport after playing for 16 years. Her lack of sympathy and basic respect is what led to her entire team walking out on her and their last season together, and whatever fake story she is spreading about that situation is blasphemous. She knows the truth. "

0

Women's Swimming & Diving

Brad Smith

Women's Swimming & Diving Head Coach

Youngstown State University

Poor Leadership And Coaching

Date: July 27, 2024

By Other

1.0

Overall

Caring

Motivational

Knowledgeable

Honest

1.0

Tags

Accessible Intense Direct Cool Disorganized

"Claiming he was fostering a competitive environment, but only created an uncomfortable, anxiety filled, and damaging environment, ruining many swimmers love for the sport, including mine. I was consistently put down by him and the team he created. He does not treat his men and woman’s teams equally, favoring the men’s heavily, practices catered towards the men’s team only. He has a very large ego which causes his to be blind to the mistakes me has made and refuses to fix them. Smith claims to support athletes with mental heath issues, but only has punished them by removing them from travel meets and from practices. He does not support individual athletes, unless favored by him, at all. His coaching style was average at best, little knowledge on new techniques. Only looked to increase physical strength rather than improve technique in order to improve times. Often blames the athlete for not improving instead of looking at what he could change for practices to cater to their needs."

0

Women's Lacrosse

Rob Harris

Head Women's Lacrosse Coach

Youngstown State University

NCAA DI • Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference | NACC

Would Give Him Zero Stars If Possible.

Date: July 4, 2024

By Other

1.0

Overall

Caring

Motivational

Knowledgeable

Honest

1.0

Tags

Poor Communication Intense Disorganized Old School Mentality Direct

"It is almost impossible for this man to be positive and uplifting. There’s a difference between tough love and verbally abusive. He takes complete advantage of everything, including his position, as he has bragged about not losing his job. He has even been rude to other coaches and staff members. He said the team can go winless and he still won’t get fired, because this is a “buffer year” for him. Well guess what, they did go winless. He even publicly swears at them and it’s overheard by many. Always negative. Plain and simple, he is a narcissist. I would never recommend anyone to come to YSU and play for him. "

1

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