Texas Christian University
ACHA M2 • TCHC
Date: October 29, 2026
Would Recommend
Tags
Ryan is a coach who leads his program through fear rather than respect. He recruits talented, confident, and motivated young women, only to create an environment that can leave them feeling like shells of the players they once were. Players come to TCU excited to compete at the highest level, improve their game, and be part of something bigger than themselves. Unfortunately, that excitement quickly turns into anxiety, self-doubt, and a loss of confidence. Going to practice and being around your teammates should be something you look forward to. You should be excited to play the sport you love, challenge yourself, and compete alongside other talented athletes. At TCU, practice becomes something you dread. Instead of looking forward to getting better, you find yourself hoping you won't have to touch the ball for the entire two hours because you're terrified of making a mistake. The fear of being yelled at, embarrassed, or personally attacked outweighs the excitement of playing soccer. There is a difference between a coach who holds players to high standards and a coach who uses fear to control them. Great coaches challenge their athletes, push them outside their comfort zones, and demand excellence while still building confidence and trust. Ryan does the opposite, his criticism often feels personal rather than constructive. Instead of teaching players how to improve, he makes them question whether they are even good enough to be there. Over time, that constant fear changes the way you play. You stop taking risks, stop trusting your instincts, and start playing simply to avoid making mistakes. The creativity, confidence, and love for the game that got you recruited in the first place slowly disappear. One of the hardest parts is watching talented players lose belief in themselves. These are athletes who have spent their entire lives working toward the opportunity to play Division I soccer. They arrive confident in their abilities, passionate about the game, and eager to improve. But when mistakes are consistently met with humiliation rather than instruction, that confidence begins to disappear. Eventually, players who once loved competing can become afraid to even ask questions or try something new. No athlete should leave a college soccer program feeling less confident, less capable, or less passionate about the sport than when they arrived. I also believe prospective recruits should pay close attention to the number of players who leave the program. In my experience, conversations with other players have revealed similar feelings of disappointment, frustration, and regret about not understanding the coaching environment before committing. The program's turnover is something I strongly encourage recruits and their families to investigate. When a program regularly loses players to the transfer portal, it is worth asking why. Not every transfer happens for the same reason, but recruits deserve to understand what the day-to-day experience is actually like before making such an important decision. What is especially disappointing is that so many of these players genuinely want to succeed. They aren't asking for practices to be easy, for coaches to stop demanding excellence, or for playing time to be handed to them. They want to be challenged, coached, developed, and treated with respect. There is nothing wrong with being a demanding coach. Division I athletes expect to be pushed. But there is a significant difference between pushing athletes to become better and making them afraid to fail.College soccer should be one of the most rewarding experiences of an athlete's life. It should be an opportunity to grow not only as a player but also as a person. Coaches have an incredible amount of influence over young athletes, especially during such an important period of their lives. That influence should be used to build strong, confident women, not make them question their worth every time they step onto the field.