Organizers of website designed to connect prospective student-athletes to their future schools hope to put CSUSM coaches and their teams in the spotlight.  

Locker Room Talk (www.LockerRoomTalk.com), which was founded in November 2015 by Nick Petrella and two colleagues who recently graduated from Skidmore College in New York, lists schools and their teams, ranks the programs and encourages student athletes to comment on their experiences at school.

In an interview last month, Petrella said the idea of this website came from conversations “about their athletic experiences and some were very different, some were very good and very bad.”

They said they hope a website like Locker Room Talk can be a useful tool for students to gain insight when choosing schools.

Petrella, who played college baseball, said Locker Room Talk is “… similar to Rate My Professor, but [about] college coaches where athletes can go on and express their opinions about their coach and fill out a quick review of them.”

They said their goal is to help freshmen and transfer students have “better experiences across the board” and clear insights about what is in store for them and who they will be led by, Petrella said.

When asked, several CSUSM transfers students acknowledged the value in the concept.

“That’s a unique idea,” said senior basketball player Akachi Okugo. “I think that it [can] be a good or bad thing in a sense. Every player has their different relationship with a coach, so each person’s opinion will be different. On the other hand, a lot of players go on visits and meet their coaches before hand so they can make their own opinion on that.”  

Senior golfer Dale Smith looked up the site and said he “thought it was a super cool idea.” He said “… I think the idea behind it is great because it gives you an inside look at the coach you plan on playing for in whatever sport it may be.”

Senior track athlete Danielle Tildahl, who transferred from Bakersfield College, said the website might be useful, but it won’t solve all the transfer risks.

“When you’re a transfer student, you’re older and transfer all by yourself. It’s a little rougher to adapt and make those crucial bonds with people,” the middle distance runner said.

Locker Room Talk also offers a platform where student athletes can subscribe and receive newsletters of the latest events and updates from the site.

“In the future, when we get more content on the site, we are planning on using a signup feature for high school athletes or anyone looking to use this as a recruiting tool” with more personalized options, Petrella said.

As CSUSM sports develop, a resource like Locker Room Talk may prove useful.

“I think it would help us grow in the NCAA because people would get more insight of how great of a program we have here at CSUSM,” said Okugo.