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Women's Cross Country/Track & FieldRocky Capello

Women's Cross Country Assistant Coach

University of Louisiana (Lafayette)

5.0

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Would Recommend

Overall

5.0

Caring

5.0

Motivational

5.0

Knowledgeable

5.0

Honest

5.0

Tags

HonestBelieves In YouDedicated To PlayersPlayers CoachUnderstanding

I’ve never seen an athlete truly buy into the program and have a bad experience with Coach Rocky. The few negative experiences people point to were tied to drug or alcohol issues, not the program itself. I wouldn’t be surprised if those writing the negative comments were intoxicated like were their entire careers at UL. Rocky expects a lot from his athletes, and the ones who fully commit are the ones who grow and perform the best. He’s produced incredible results given the level of athletes he has to work with, which says a lot about his coaching ability. The team culture is strong, and the athletes genuinely love and respect him. He is always available—by phone or in person—no matter the time. Coaching at the University of Louisiana isn’t just a job for him, it’s his entire life. He is fully committed to his athletes and has said more than once that he would give everything, even his life, for us.

Women's Cross Country/Track & FieldRocky Capello

Women's Cross Country Assistant Coach

University of Louisiana (Lafayette)

5.0

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Would Recommend

Overall

5.0

Caring

5.0

Motivational

5.0

Knowledgeable

5.0

Honest

5.0

Really good Coach and team was fun. When I was on the team I met a guy named johndub and he was kinda a lil goofy. But short story long he was a chill guy

Women's Cross Country/Track & FieldRocky Capello

Women's Track & Field Assistant Coach

University of Louisiana (Lafayette)

2.6

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Would Recommend

Overall

2.0

Caring

2.0

Motivational

3.0

Knowledgeable

3.0

Honest

3.0

Tags

Easy To Get Along WithIntensePassionate About Coaching

Nice guy when you get to talking about politics- John walker McDonald

Women's Cross Country/Track & FieldRocky Capello

Women's Cross Country Assistant Coach

University of Louisiana (Lafayette)

5.0

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Would Recommend

Overall

5.0

Caring

5.0

Motivational

5.0

Knowledgeable

5.0

Honest

5.0

Tags

HonestKnowledgeableMotivationalCreates A Great Team CultureOld School Mentality

I had a great experience with Rocky. His training was structured to support each individual athlete, allowing everyone to work at their own level while still training together. The consistency of the workouts helped build strong fitness and mental toughness. He emphasized fundamentals, effort, and accountability, which made expectations clear and measurable. Rocky challenged athletes to take ownership of their training and push past limits, which helped me grow both as a runner and as a person. Overall, his coaching built discipline, confidence, and resilience. I’m grateful for the experience and what I gained from it.

Women's Cross Country/Track & FieldRocky Capello

Women's Cross Country Assistant Coach

University of Louisiana (Lafayette)

1.4

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Would Recommend

Overall

1.0

Caring

1.0

Motivational

1.0

Knowledgeable

1.0

Honest

3.0

I forgot to mention that multiple talented athletes who ran for him either transferred or quit the team due to his sub par coaching and his lack of care. One girl became a manager because he couldn’t develop her. His ultimate deciding factor if you race or not is based on how far you make it in a prefontaine. He will constantly mention and compare you to his former team he coached. One of his athletes on his former team was a doper. His race strategies are terrible. You're better off taking race advice from a brick. Last but certainly not least he will gaslight you constantly. You can be so sub par athlete and have a once in a lifetime workout or race and he will say you’re better than the world champion or world record holder. So my biggest piece of advice go somewhere with a coach who cares, knows how to develop athletes, and who’s knowledgeable when it comes to running because if you come here you will only regress, quit, transfer, become a manager or hate running

Women's Cross Country/Track & FieldRocky Capello

Women's Cross Country Assistant Coach

University of Louisiana (Lafayette)

1.8

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Would Recommend

Overall

2.0

Caring

2.0

Motivational

1.0

Knowledgeable

1.0

Honest

3.0

My overall experience with Rocky was a 4 out of 10. He wasn’t the best coach, but he wasn’t the worst either. He made us do the same workout twice a week and hill strides, which didn’t help. He never changed his workouts or created separate groups. Every workout was structured around one person, and everyone had to do it at the same pace. He lived by Prefontaine’s believing that it was the best workout of all time. If you couldn’t complete a certain number of miles in a Prefontaine, you were considered a failure and not in shape. He also didn’t understand the concept of a threshold. He constantly made nonsensical conversions. If you asked him about the purpose of certain exercises, or routines he would always say it was basic science and never provide any evidence. He often missed practice because he was too busy golfing or on vacation. His recruiting philosophy was that “the athletes reach out to me, I don’t reach out to you.” This was a foolish philosophy, especially considering our team’s poor performance. When it came to motivating athletes, he was the worst. He only made you feel worse about your performance. Nothing was ever enough for him. You could win an Olympic gold medal, and it still wouldn’t be enough. He wouldn’t check on you if you were injured. You had to reach out to him and let him know how you were doing. He also loved constantly comparing athletes. He would fat-shame you and talk about how much money he made. The only positive aspect of him was that he could be somewhat funny at times.