Springfield College
ACHA M3 • NECHA Colonial South
Date: December 7, 2025
Would Recommend
Tags
I was never an athlete under Coach Steinman, but I had been interested in running for SC and was able to observe her coaching style and recruiting approach based on the few times I spoke to her. During our conversations, I asked for a very simple and reasonable accommodation. One that every other coach I spoke with during my transfer process was willing to make no problem, and I spoke to a lot of coaches. I explained that I could not do certain activities and would need to skip one track season to avoid injury, as I’ve had multiple injuries in the past from that specific activity. I also shared how those injuries had negatively affected my running career and love for the sport. I also explained how hard I worked to get back and the amount of heartbreak I experienced being injured from that track season that I should have skipped. Instead of acknowledging these concerns, Coach Steinman focused almost entirely on how my request might “damage” the team concept because I should be training and racing with them all three seasons. That was the main point she repeated throughout the call over and over “the team” this, “the team” that. While teamwork is important in sports, it is not the sole definition of running at a collegiate level. Prioritizing my physical health should not be viewed as harming the team, if anything, a healthy athlete is far more beneficial to team performance. I’m sure my potential teammates would prefer I stay healthy so I can contribute my best. During our second conversation, she seemed slightly more flexible, saying, “I’ll have to think about it, nobody has ever asked me this before,” despite the fact that many runners take seasons off to stay healthy. She suggested I cross-train sometimes and still race the season I wanted to skip, which dismissed the health concerns I clearly communicated. That should be a no-brainer. An athlete’s well-being comes first! Her responses came across as dry and dismissive to me, and made me cross SC right of my list of potential schools. In my opinion, someone who is dismissive in this way is not demonstrating the qualities of a good coach. At the Division III level, coaches should be flexible, supportive, and understanding of athlete’s needs. I’m sure Coach Steinman is a great coach for runners who are at cross country and track just to make connections. She seems to care a lot about the team concept and for a lot of runners, that is definitely the selling point.