WAG Courtney Kupets new UGA head coach!

[amiandjim]

Very interesting choice!

 

[bookworm]

With Suzanne as the "volunteer" coach.....

 

[tomtnt]

With Suzanne as the "volunteer" coach.....

lol, that will be interesting dynamics... wonder if they were at Nationals starting the recruiting process....

 

[amiandjim]

I also read elsewhere that Chris Waller will be the assistant but that hasn't been confirmed.

 

[gasrgoose]

A fiasco in the making. Kupets has zero coaching experience. Why were no assistant coaches announced? Can they not find any to take the jobs?

 

[bookworm]

A fiasco in the making. Kupets has zero coaching experience. Why were no assistant coaches announced? Can they not find any to take the jobs?

I can't imagine signing on as an assistant there, with Suzanne officially entrenched...what would my duties be? Fetching coffee for the master and her protege? I thought for someone to be able to succeed there, Suzanne would have to commit to backing off...and that didn't happen...not that Kupets can't succeed but with Suzanne at the hip, this will be viewed as Suzanne, part 2.

On the flip side, if the results don't happen like they think they will (" we will win championships" and with so many good teams out there that's a nice lofty goal), I wonder if Suzanne will turn on Kupets like what happened with Jay and Danna. I wish Courtney well and hope she succeeds but boy, does she have her work cut out for at UGA and home ( a 17 mo old and another in a few months!)

 

[txgymfan]

Has she coached at all? I know she was with Cirque and has done commentating.

 

[amiandjim]

She has been coaching at a gym in a Georgia (Oconee Gymnastics and Cheer). I think lower levels though.

 

[3rd_time_around]

A fiasco in the making. Kupets has zero coaching experience. Why were no assistant coaches announced? Can they not find any to take the jobs?

I think she was the UGA volunteer assistant coach for a year.

 

[gasrgoose]

I can't imagine signing on as an assistant there, with Suzanne officially entrenched...what would my duties be? Fetching coffee for the master and her protege? I thought for someone to be able to succeed there, Suzanne would have to commit to backing off...and that didn't happen...not that Kupets can't succeed but with Suzanne at the hip, this will be viewed as Suzanne, part 2.

On the flip side, if the results don't happen like they think they will (" we will win championships" and with so many good teams out there that's a nice lofty goal), I wonder if Suzanne will turn on Kupets like what happened with Jay and Danna. I wish Courtney well and hope she succeeds but boy, does she have her work cut out for at UGA and home ( a 17 mo old and another in a few months!)

I agree. I hope I'm wrong. Kupets seems like a great person and is currently legendary at UGA. But if things don't work out Kupets will be blamed. Yoculan is in full control of the gymnastics program, but not committed enough to be the coach. I still don't understand why she "retired" but never left. It's a very odd and unstable environment.

 

[GymDad9.9]

I agree. I hope I'm wrong. Kupets seems like a great person and is currently legendary at UGA. But if things don't work out Kupets will be blamed. Yoculan is in full control of the gymnastics program, but not committed enough to be the coach. I still don't understand why she "retired" but never left. It's a very odd and unstable environment.

If Youclan is in full control of the program how does Kupets get blamed if things don't work out?

 

[Seeker]

It very likely has nothing to do with Yoculan "not being committed enough"...it probably has to do with the conflict of interest created by her husband being a major donor and on the board of regents (or something like that). That position is new for him since she retired making her formal "re-hiring" rather complex. Not to mention that rehiring her outright wouldn't position them well for the future.

It is a unique situation for sure...will be interesting to see how it all unfolds.

 

[wallinbl]

If Youclan is in full control of the program how does Kupets get blamed if things don't work out?

Official HC vs behind the scenes influencer. Do major football boosters ever take the blame when their influence wrecks a program? No, the football HC gets the boot. Money talks, and if you're supplying it, you get to control the narrative. If you're taking it, you get told what's happening.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

With Suzanne as the "volunteer" coach.....

That was the first thing that jumped out to me.............

 

[Deleted member 18037]

If Youclan is in full control of the program how does Kupets get blamed if things don't work out?

A few words come to mind.

Scapegoat. Sacrificial Lamb.

See it in many areas. Professional sports comes to mind. Owners hire coach, tell coach how to coach and doesn't let coach do job, team stinks, coach gone.
Owner not sure why team stinks and they go through coaches like underwear and eventually can't get quality coaching.

Business, I let a job because manager couldn't deal with someone who knows their stuff, micro managed the crud out of me. I moved on. Was it just me. Well every supervisor under this manager has moved on, including ones hired to replace those leaving, many times over. Folks have been to HR about the person. And there are currently 13 open postitions in one department. So nah, its the manager. Yet she is still there.

 

[gasrgoose]

If Youclan is in full control of the program how does Kupets get blamed if things don't work out?

Most people believe that Kupets was hired to be the head coach. I believe she was hired to be a puppet. Yoculan and her husband (who is reportedly still married to his first wife, nice example) control UGA athletics. The UGA athletics department would release a statement saying whatever they are told by Leeburn. And he's not likely to blame the person he lays next to every night.

I fell bad for Kupets. How could she turn it down? It's her school and she's the GOAT. And her coach is telling her how great she will be at coaching the team. I'm sure they pay is much better than coaching lower level gymnastics.

 

[GymDad9.9]

Most people believe that Kupets was hired to be the head coach. I believe she was hired to be a puppet. Yoculan and her husband (who is reportedly still married to his first wife, nice example) control UGA athletics. The UGA athletics department would release a statement saying whatever they are told by Leeburn. And he's not likely to blame the person he lays next to every night.

I fell bad for Kupets. How could she turn it down? It's her school and she's the GOAT. And her coach is telling her how great she will be at coaching the team. I'm sure they pay is much better than coaching lower level gymnastics.

To me it appears Youclan has come out of the shadows of the UGA program and is clearly back with the program. As Seeker pointed out above, there may be reasons why Youclan cannot simply come back and be Head Coach. With that being the case, her return to the program comes with some accountability, no?

 

[Deleted member 18037]

her return to the program comes with some accountability, no?

In a perfect world. But in the real world, not necessarily.

 

[GymDad9.9]

So kupets has tapped youclan as volunteer assistant coach. No other assistants have been named. That could make things very interesting

Probably more like Youclan tapped Kupets as Head Coach and made herself a Volunteer Assistant. Still interesting....

 

[gymyahoo]

The program is a long ways from catching up with Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, LSU, and Utah. The recruiting classes coming into those schools will be hard to match . Suzanne needs to let go.