John OliverClaim this profile

Women's Cross Country/Track & FieldJohn Oliver

Women's Cross Country/Track & Field Head Coach

Purdue University

1.2

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Would Recommend

Overall

1.0

Caring

1.0

Motivational

2.0

Knowledgeable

1.0

Honest

1.0

JO was one of the worst coaches I ever had. He is the reason why so many of the women’s team was injured constantly. Several of my teammates have had hip replacements and career ending injuries due to him over training us. He also did not foster a healthy competitive environment, resulting in several girls developing eating disorders and having to attend treatment. Although the emphasis on race weight and lighter equals faster, started with the program head coach and extended to field events like pole vaulting, sprints, hurdles, etc., there was a great deal of pressure on the distance athletes specifically. I would not recommend any female athlete ever trained under him again.

Women's Cross Country/Track & FieldJohn Oliver

Women's Cross Country/Track & Field Head Coach

Purdue University

2.2

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Would Recommend

Overall

2.0

Caring

2.0

Motivational

3.0

Knowledgeable

2.0

Honest

2.0

Tags

AccessibleIntenseMotivationalFitness Is ImportantIntensePassionate About Coaching

Coach Oliver lacked experience coaching women’s teams, and his favoritism toward the men’s team was evident. In his second year, under his leadership, the women’s team adopted a self-policing, surveillance-style mindset: ‘If you’re not with us, you’re against us.’ This culture affected everything; summer internships, extracurriculars, academics, even what you ate or who you ate with. When two seniors attended a popular university bar event just before graduation, another athlete saw a photo of them at the bar on social media and sent it to him. Oliver held an early team meeting to admonish us all and then kicked them off the team for supposedly not living up to expectations. They were done with competing and only on the team for another week or so, anyways. The girls were strong assets as team builders. They had always set a great tone and deserved to finish things out. It was a senseless punishment that shattered our sense of autonomy and trust in each other. That’s when the self censoring and in versus out mentality came to a forefront. A year later I personally was harassed off the team after a sexual assault impacted my mental health and, by extension, my perceived ‘dedication.’ Coach Oliver was fully aware of my situation and offered no support. I was treated like a damaged apple to be cut off from the tree. Following this time frame into his third year there was a wave of women leaving the team, including our star athlete, who later spoke out about his verbal abuse. She herself was then harassed into silence by former teammates and an old boys network of other coaches dismissing her experience to protect him. Despite multiple reports from athletes, the university and head coaches did nothing. While he may have impacted others positively, my experience under Coach Oliver permanently damaged my relationship with a sport that once meant everything to me.