Dear President Mason, I am emailing you on behalf of Tracey Griesbaum. I was deeply disappointed and disheartened by the news that the University of Iowa had terminated the contract of our head field hockey coach. I say our because as you well know by now, the Iowa Field Hockey team is a family whether youre a current player or an alumni such as I am and she is our leader. Tracey is an exceptional woman, strong, loyal, fiercely competitive, honest and caring. I could come up with about 100 other flattering adjectives but the one that stands out the most is the fact that she cares. She cares about Iowa, she cares about the traditions that have shaped our program, traditions that started long before her time but she continues to uphold because that is the Iowa way and most importantly she cares about her players. I am truly saddened that throughout this investigation more players were not contacted to speak on her behalf. It is always easy to find an unhappy source, I wish Iowa would have tried a little harder to find those who support our coach. I hope you realize by now that the positive experiences greatly outweigh the small sample of negative ones you took. Because I was not given a voice, because Iowa Athletics didnt feel it was necessary to ask, I would like to share my experience with you now. I was a four year starter for the Iowa field hockey team 2004-2008. I was a part of 3 Championship teams and a team that wasnt even eligible to participate in the NCAAs. I rode the highs of collegiate competition and I experienced the lows. I spent my weekends traveling in black and gold and I was awake lifting before most college kids went to bed. I traveled halfway across the country, left my entire family behind and moved to Iowa, a state I could barely identify on a map my freshman year, to join Tracey Griesbaum and the Iowa Hawkeyes. I was never promised success, I was never promised playing time, I was never promised a Championship. I was promised a family. A family is exactly what I found in the Iowa field hockey program. A second set of parents is what I found in the coaching staff. Tracey was tough but Tracey was fair. Tracey was demanding but she never demanded more than I could give. Tracey would get upset but Tracey was upset for me, not at me. She wanted us to be better people, to be better students, to be better representatives of Iowa. She wanted us to be better for us, not for her and isnt that exactly what you want out of a coach? I was an Academic All-Big Ten selection. Do you know why? Because in order to get out of the learning center Tracey expected a 3.0. My first semester of college I got a 1.85, I was on academic probabation. I spent 10 hours in the learning center my freshman spring, other student athletes at UI probably would have been made to have 6. Tracey always had high expectations but they were never out of reach. I never got below a 3.0 after my freshman year and I never had to go back to the learning center. Since graduating I have had to endure many trials. I left UI in 2008 when the economy was in collapse. I had to work three jobs just to pay rent. Since then I have taken a job in the financial world, an interview I got purely based on my history as an accomplished Division 1 athlete. I have survived the past three years in an unforgiving industry in a position that is based on 100% commission. That means that if I do not work hard, I do not receive any compensation or reward. I attribute my success solely on the lessons I learned in hard work, dedication, perseverance and mental toughness through the Iowa field hockey program and under Tracey Griesbaum. Through her program I received a free college education and the best training an 18-21 year old could receive in how to survive in the real world and be successful. Please consider this letter, one hawkeyes experience, as one of many that have gone unshared in favor of keeping Tracey Griesbaum the leader of Iowa Field Hockey. Best, Kadi Sickel Iowa FH 2004-2008
Posted on: Wed, 06 Aug 2014 17:41:32 +0000
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