COLUMN: Carothers should have seen it coming

Miles Cohen, Commentary According to Associate Director of Athletics D. Elton Cochran-Fikes, at the end of the 1997 season both parties made a "mutual agreement not to renew her contract." And while this sounds like a very nice way to put it, realistically Carothers did just about all she could to speed up her already eminent departure, with the exception of personally handing in her resignation. Hired in 1976 to help inaugurate the Penn softball program, it only took Carothers five seasons to build an Ivy League champion. In 1981, the Quakers posted 18 wins while losing just four times (including going undefeated in the Ivy League, 5-0). But since that momentous spring, Penn has only managed to climb above the .500 mark twice, while eight times the team has failed to amass 10 wins. What has aggravated the situation even more is that the Quakers have remained a mediocre club for so long. If it is possible to believe, Penn softball has not won more than three Ivy League games in one year dating back to 1982. No one on the softball team is proud of this mark, least of all Carothers. Two years ago, I had the dubious task of covering Penn softball. In the spring of 1996 the Quakers managed to squeak out eight wins (their worst mark in the '90s). I can still remember sitting in the dugout with Carothers after two bad losses to Cornell late in the season. The dismayed coach sat in her Penn softball warm-ups, staring blankly onto the field occasionally looking up to see her girls running laps because of the numerous mental errors made on defense. She then looked at me and said, "I don't know what to tell you Miles, we are rebuilding, but the process is going slower than I would like. "I wish I knew a way to speed the process. But these are young kids, and you and I and the rest of the team are going to have to be patient. It is only a matter of time before we start winning consecutive games," Carothers concluded. It looks as if time ran out on her. During that miserable season, you could tell by looking in Carothers' eyes, she wanted more than anything else to restore the glory days of the early '80s to her softball teams of the mid-'90s. But somewhere among the inspirational pre-game chats, long hours of practice and the actual games themselves, Carothers failed to relay this message. In the end, her poor communication skills with her players were another reason for the coach's dismissal. Just days after the 1995 season concluded, Carothers inability to relate to college athletes of this decade caused two of her top players, Melanie Bolt and Sam Smithson, to quit prematurely. Both citing differences with Carothers. Recently, outfielder Arlyn Katzen spoke with the DP and commented on how the decision to let Carothers go was "a long-time coming." But one has to wonder with last season's squad, Carothers appeared to finally have the most talent laden-team she has had in years. The 14 wins marked a team high for Penn this decade. If newly hired Carol Kashow does not improve Quakers softball within a few years, Penn officials will have to question whether they made the right decision in letting the coach who brought softball to West Philadelphia walk. Presently the answer would be a definite yes. The way Carothers' teams had performed since 1990, she should have seen the writing on the wall quite clearly. The message: Linda Carothers' time here at Penn is over.