Rating #62401 Details

I’ve heard a lot of people speak very highly of Jeff Dugdale, and I believe there was a time when that reputation was well earned. In my experience, though, his coaching has declined noticeably over the past few years. He’s a great guy, but that doesn’t always translate into being a great coach. His attention tends to go to a handful of athletes, while the rest of the team gets very little of it. He regularly arrives the minute practice starts or late, writes the workout on the board, and then often leaves the deck or gets distracted. His passion for the sport seems lackluster, and if you aren’t producing the times he’s looking for, his interest in you drops off quickly. On top of that, it’s difficult to trust what he says. He often makes promises, and sometimes warnings, that he never follows through on, and they aren’t small ones. Commitments about things as significant as scholarships and team suspensions have fallen through, which makes it hard to plan around anything he tells you. It’s also hard to shake the impression that he has one foot out the door, waiting for a higher-paying job elsewhere or a promotion within the school. Where he does excel is recruiting. He’s a strong salesman and has landed some impressive athletes, although this may boil down to them being international recruits who may not be familiar with the differences between Power 4 and mid-major Division I programs. If you’re succeeding, you’ll probably have a good experience with him. But if you plateau or struggle, don’t expect much support. Some athletes may only have four or five real conversations with him over their entire four-year career.