After retiring from my main job and from covering high school sports (both in print and broadcasting) for 2.5 decades, and even though I have seen similar things before, the resignations of Jerry Bomholt and Basil Mawbey bother me enough to speak out.
I am also old enough to dislike participation trophies, playing without keeping score, and class basketball.
I admit I don't know many of the details, in both cases it was rumored that player revolts and or parental involvement were the reasons for the resignation.
If this proves to be the case, the players, parents, and the administrations of the schools involved should be deeply ashamed.
This seems to be a case of the inmates running the asylum.
I know that both coaches have particular styles of play that annoy players, parents, and fans. But, both have produced positive results where they have coached.
Both coaches have coached long enough that the people who hire them should know what type of teams these two coaches want to have. It should not come as any surprise.
Then again, I have seen enough to know, that like the Democratic debates, there are many people, who may not be entirely rational.
In the course of my career I have seen the following: the most successful girls' coach in my county fired because "some of the girls cried after ballgames." Another very successful coach (several years) was put on probation and later fired after several parents expressed their dislike for him because their kids weren't getting enough playing time. One local school board, three years after hiring this coach, saying they "cut out a cancer," after firing him. A coach at another school board, after assuring the coach that his contract would be renewed, fired him at their meeting. He heard about it on the radio the next morning. (He also got a ticket for running a stop sign the next morning. The cop that gave him the ticket was a relative of a player he had cut.) Another coach at the same school, told me that his goal during his last year at the school was to not to talk to a parent the entire season. I talked with one jailer within a few days of the local high school winning a state football championship, and he called the coach of the winning team, a real dumb**s for his style of play.
I also know several coaches, who may not have the best records, but do a fantastic job in building character in the players they coach.
I would hope that the coaches that take over for these two, and the coaches that will later be hired to replace these two, will take a long and hard look at these two schools before they agree to coach at either place.
These situations remind me of a conversation I had with a friend following the hiring of Lloy Ball by the Angola schools to coach their volleyball team. Now Lloy Ball has been around volleyball since he was born. His father is Arnie Ball, a very successful college volleyball coach. Lloy, who was an outstanding high school basketball player, played college volleyball, and also participated in several Olympics. He has started a volleyball academy at Angola.You probably couldn't find a better volleyball mind in the state of Indiana. My friend's question was this-"How would you like to be a parent and go to complain to Lloy Ball about playing time or the position your kid was playing?'
I am also old enough to dislike participation trophies, playing without keeping score, and class basketball.
I admit I don't know many of the details, in both cases it was rumored that player revolts and or parental involvement were the reasons for the resignation.
If this proves to be the case, the players, parents, and the administrations of the schools involved should be deeply ashamed.
This seems to be a case of the inmates running the asylum.
I know that both coaches have particular styles of play that annoy players, parents, and fans. But, both have produced positive results where they have coached.
Both coaches have coached long enough that the people who hire them should know what type of teams these two coaches want to have. It should not come as any surprise.
Then again, I have seen enough to know, that like the Democratic debates, there are many people, who may not be entirely rational.
In the course of my career I have seen the following: the most successful girls' coach in my county fired because "some of the girls cried after ballgames." Another very successful coach (several years) was put on probation and later fired after several parents expressed their dislike for him because their kids weren't getting enough playing time. One local school board, three years after hiring this coach, saying they "cut out a cancer," after firing him. A coach at another school board, after assuring the coach that his contract would be renewed, fired him at their meeting. He heard about it on the radio the next morning. (He also got a ticket for running a stop sign the next morning. The cop that gave him the ticket was a relative of a player he had cut.) Another coach at the same school, told me that his goal during his last year at the school was to not to talk to a parent the entire season. I talked with one jailer within a few days of the local high school winning a state football championship, and he called the coach of the winning team, a real dumb**s for his style of play.
I also know several coaches, who may not have the best records, but do a fantastic job in building character in the players they coach.
I would hope that the coaches that take over for these two, and the coaches that will later be hired to replace these two, will take a long and hard look at these two schools before they agree to coach at either place.
These situations remind me of a conversation I had with a friend following the hiring of Lloy Ball by the Angola schools to coach their volleyball team. Now Lloy Ball has been around volleyball since he was born. His father is Arnie Ball, a very successful college volleyball coach. Lloy, who was an outstanding high school basketball player, played college volleyball, and also participated in several Olympics. He has started a volleyball academy at Angola.You probably couldn't find a better volleyball mind in the state of Indiana. My friend's question was this-"How would you like to be a parent and go to complain to Lloy Ball about playing time or the position your kid was playing?'
