University of Rhode Island
NCAA DI • A-10
Date: September 1, 2024
Would Recommend
Tags
My daughter just informed me that coach Whitney resigned from URI. As I searched for the article I came across this site. I just have to say, I am blown away at some of the comments and posts. But I’m also happy to see that several comments captured who Coach Whitney is as a person and as a coach pretty accurately. It’s very clear that some people have no business playing D1 softball. Coach is arguable one or the best players to ever play in the Atlantic 10, and her coaching history speaks for itself. What she did in one year as an interim at Amherst College was very impressive. Followed by a great career at WPI. I see several comments referencing the “hazing” incident. What they all failed to mention is the university found absolutely no wrongdoing on coach Whitney’s behalf, as well as her family. Her and her family have been know to open up their homes to the teams, to create a family-like environment. And trust me, I looked into this incident EXTENSIVELY before sending my daughter to play for coach Whitney. If you actually took the time to read about the case, apparently the team was enjoying a fun day at Whitney’s family’s home when one of the girls slipped and fell into the pool and was injured. She claimed that an upperclassman pushed her, which I’m not sure of the details there, but I can assure you I’ve seen this happen a ton of times at team parties over the years, and my instinct as a parent would never be to blame the coach, or classify it as “hazing.” I agree with previous comments that coach Whitney lives and breathes softball. Based on our experiences, this is very true. She is very organized, disciplined, and expects the same from her players. After hearing about many of the ins and outs as a parent of a player, pretty clear who’s writing these messages and it’s also clear how much is exaggerated and a lot of what I’ve read is just blatant lies. Ironically, the ones complaining are the ones who didn’t get the playing time they wanted. If you Google Coach Whitney’s name, you’ll also read articles about the multiple programs she’s turned around as a head coach. Every program she’s coached improved significantly during her tenure. It’s really sad to see players and parents who could hack it get on a public forum and try to portray something that is so far from the truth. And I feel compelled to say something about the “abuse” allegations. As a coach, using the term “square between the eyes with accountability” is NOT threatening to hit a player in the face. I agree with other comments that the claims are comical. Did my daughter get all the playing time she wanted? No! Did she have difficult times throughout college? Yes! So does pretty much every college student. My daughter saw first hand how players would just jump on the bandwagon even when claims were not true. And she found this to be very concerning and spoke to me about what her teammates were doing, all out of spite. I didn’t believe a lot of it until I actually really read this page. I am not saying Coach Whitney is perfect, no coach is, but she was an incredible leader, role model, and support for my daughter. I know how much it meant to her that coach Whitney and her family opened up their home to the team and to see their kindness and generosity thrown back in their face is so sad to see, especially as a parent. Based on what my daughter has shared, it was very clear that there were some players that had no business playing D1 softball, but Whitney inherited the team and did everything she could to have them “buy in”. She was big on that. And unfortunately some players lacked respect, discipline, and in some cases the skill needed to play at that level. What we witnessed was pure retaliation from players who weren’t happy and weren’t getting the playing time they wanted. I’m so sad to see it come to this. Our family really hopes to see coach Whitney coach again somewhere where she is appreciated and valued.