I have to say I've learned so much through newbie mixes that the good outweighs the bad any day.
- Learnt tonnes of things from Pie_hero, who IMO gets coach of the year, hope he comes back to coach some time.
- Also gained a lot of insight from coaches like Zbryan, b4nny, and even PYOUR. (Note for other newbies, just because you're not playing doesn't mean you can't mute yourself in their mumble and spec the game)
I'm sure your friend got unlucky with the draw or simply joined newbie pugs which have no coaching and are meant for the more experienced members.