Recently some of my quotes in the local newspapers caused a stir in the area. I have been texted, emailed, spoken to, patted on the back by many, many people, and I understand that a certain community is not real happy with me for the exact same comments.First, my intention when being interviewed was putting out there how special I think it is to coach at a public school. We were defeated by a much better charter school, and I wanted to make it clear how much I appreciated Henryville. It had little to do with the school we played and more about the team I had. We struggled this year to be competitive for many different reasons and we did it all with kids who either live in our district or have gone here since jr. high.
Some of the comments were "I really enjoy coaching at Henryille because I have known some of these kids since the were born. We have watched them grow up in first grade, second grade and on. We get to watch them grow as people as well as basketball players" Those words were said because in a struggling season, there are more positives than many people know or understand, you bond with the players who you have known for a long time. Did it have something to do with competing against a charter school, probably, but it was about my team, my guys, and my community.
Later, I was asked how good that team was, how far could they go. My response: "I said it last week and I will say it again, they have assembled a very good team, I would love to have some of their players, but my guys live in Henryville". Let's break the quote down..."they have assembled a very good team" True statement. Many of their players did not go to that school in elementary and/or jr. high. They have had to put together a team with players who can flat out play for many different reasons. "I would love to have some of their players"...no doubt, very good players. "but my guys live in Henryville" for the most part they do. One or two shuttle between parents, but for the bulk of their times during the school year they are here. How is that a slam on anyone? I can see where you might get that idea, but again, it was about my team, my school, my players.
With all that being said, I understand why some from the school we competed against might be upset by the comments. When comparing the grass roots, hometown team vs. the charter school, there will be insinuations that will occur. Were my comments completely innocent? No. Were they said out of frustration? Maybe. Am I jealous of the unequal situation? Probably. Did I upset some by making public my statements on my team which allowed for obvious insinuations? Yes.
What is my problem with charter or private schools? Really, the only thing that I have problems with are two fold. If those schools violate IHSAA rules, and really if a public school does it, I can't stand it. I can't stand trying to do things correctly and being defeated by a corrupt opponent. I am not pointing fingers at any school, but to be honest, it happens in private/charters and in public schools in which the rules are bent to benefit your team.
Second, the rules are inherently different for private schools. They have to recruit students to keep their doors open. And charter schools, well, people are drawn to them because of the inexpensive education that you can get there by just showing up. If a student chooses to go to a private school, usually for religious reasons, they are eligible immediately. If a student chooses a charter school for educational reasons, they are eligible almost immediately. If a student chooses to attend a public school from either of those or go to another public school, they must LIVE in the district of the school they want to attend and sit out athletically. I realize there are exceptions to this, but there are exceptions to every "rule".
I have no problem with a charter/private who has a majority of its players playing for them since elementary or junior high. Some private schools have had just that, in fact, one recently won a sectional with those "homegrown" kids in their private school.
You are going to say that with the new laws from Indianapolis it is not true, you can live anywhere and attend any school. In theory, yes, but I can tell you with test scores being a priority and cuts in spending, if a student cannot pass the GQE/ISTEP test, they will probably not be allowed into our school, no matter how good they are at a sport. At privates the same things occur and at charters there is a waiting list, they have to take in a student if there is room.
Onto the next item...criticism of coaches on anonymous message boards. These guys are busting their tails doing what they think is right and usually have won more varsity games and coached in more varsity games than those critisizing. I had a recent coach tell me that anonymous message boards are "for cowards and chicken shits". I am still waiting for the message boards where you can critisize other jobs usually of people who would go insane if they could read negative comments about themselves. But "it's all in fun"...yea lots of fun. You won't see me writing on a message board unless I have my name by it. Same thing with jerks yelling at coaches during games. I understand that it is "part of the job", but that doesn't mean that I won't address it if it goes on too long or crosses a line.
No offense, but...we have won two conference championships and been in two sectional championships with the offense we run. We have changed things here and there, but usually if the ball goes in the bucket, the offense looks better. Some have critisized some of the things we do on offense (some things I have gotten from coaches I have worked for that have won a combined 800 basketball games) but we really struggled scoring this year, period. Before some of the adversity set in, we were not lighting it up by no strech of the imagination, but we doing a pretty good job of scoring.
It doesn't matter what offense you run, but here is my basic ideas for offense: get the ball into your better players hands and let them shoot. Everyone else should put some pressure on their defensive player by not just standing around and watching the better players shoot.
Finally, I love this time of year because of the Indiana State Tournament and everyone moans about how things have changed so much. My biggest fear is not getting into gyms because even though it isn't 1950, 60, or 70 anymore, it is really hard to get a ticket for some of these games I want to attend.
