68 replies to this topic

[formercoach]

Kitna, the Board is going to have some decisions in the next few months. Will be an interesting time.

Edited by formercoach, 18 January 2014 - 02:48 PM.

[theNOTSODARKknight]

So mike, you saying you would do a better job at Kenton?...your making Coach B. Seem like like the worst coach in the history of high school coaching...you do understand the circumstances he's had to work with while coaching here correct?...I mean everywhere you turn you have an ex "role model" of a football player preaching in a kids ear hey football this football that football is god play football...let's look at his track record of "thugs" how many Kenton soccer players you seen in the news in the last say umm ten years for anything negative whatsoever...also take a look at say upper Sandusky high schools soccer schedule look at their record over the last 10 years they are well above .500 is that a Successful track record for you?...to be exact check their record between 05-08 it's eye popping when you look at it...then check it against Kenton not good we owned them...if we played a schedule like them every single year we wouldn't even be having this discussion but what do I get out a 14-2 record beating all coed teams and losing the first round of the tournament...a league honor maybe?...big whoop in that league who the heck cares...I played under coach B. And I would've never traded it for anything he gave me all the tools I needed to be successful in the game of soccer it was MY job to go out and execute it...look at the record of his sons team... No team around here could come close to them...it all starts with the younger generation players...let's be honest here mike YMCA ball here is terrible...there were talks about you moving your team away from Kenton...why?...and didn't you bash coach B. for doing same thing?....why don't you ask all the WBL coaches how the state of Kenton soccer is...get their opinion people that see him every single year...no your outside opinion....you say soccer needs change soccer needs change but you say oh no I don't wanna coach varsity sports...like saying your not capable or bringing about that change...if your not capable of bringing about that change then maybe your not capable of realizing how much in GREAT no good shape Kenton soccer is in with Jamie at the helm....take a poll from your past players and bartletts past players and see where you can stack up against him...I'm guessing not very good.

[caldwell]

Wow!!! Did he give you your writing skills also?

[theNOTSODARKknight]

Nope he taught math but nice try

[formercoach]

I missed Knight's brilliant comments, but after reading it five times, I think that I will start....with an interpreter.

I never took my team from the Y program. I never will. I believe that we can build something locally rather than running away to another place. We have very good teams at the u12 and u10 levels and those kids WILL be ready to play at a high school level. I cannot speak for the younger ages as I do not see them as much.

Let me see, you would like me to poll MY past players against Jamie's? I will CERTAINLY do that, and put my head-to-head record, league titles, and quality of players up. That point is neither here nor there, but since you mentioned it....

Statistically speaking, 160 losses might very well be the worst amount of losses in OHSAA boys soccer history. I have tried to find another that comes close, no one does.

Please stop bringing up the "Junior High Team". If THAT much effort was put into ALL of the past and present soccer classes, the program would be much different. So, we should say "HOORAY!" for that team, but FORGET how he has disregarded the other age groups? That is not how one builds a program.

Lastly, can I answer this ONE LAST TIME...... "Why dont you coach Varsity?" I stepped down to watch MY kids play, and to get my Masters Degree. I have nothing left to prove at the Varsity level and I value my relationship with MY kids more than I do with someone else's. My time is taken up with their sports and the other community activities that I have. My legacy goes beyond soccer. God first, family second, the rest falls after.

If my own children decide not to play soccer in high school, I am fine with that. I would just like to see the quality of soccer in Kenton at the same levels as other areas. Is that too much to ask?

If you continue to tell me how a program with 160 losses in 14 years is "successful and valued", please stop arguing. By accepting mediocrity as "status quo", you do nothing but lower the bar for everyone. Other communities would NOT accept that nor would they allow it to continue, so why do we?

Edited by formercoach, 11 March 2014 - 12:29 PM.

[formercoach]

When logical people who have "no dog in the fight" have heard the board meeting statements, or have looked at the facts, they have ALL been in agreement that a change is needed. Of course there will be people who never want change because the current coach is all that they have ever known. Would WBL coaches speak well of him, sure, especially those who are beating him year after year. I wouldn't speak poorly of any coaches that I faced, though i didnt always agree with their methods. (Except two specific teams) If I saw their practices and games continuously, I might do otherwise.

The current coach now has the longest tenure in HC and with minimal results. There is no interaction with the local soccer program and a high school "Program" by definition has not been built in 14 years.

Is it too much to ask that we try something different?

For those who are reading this and are on the "outside".... You tell me. Plenty have read the facts and comments, let me know if this would be tolerable to you or would you like to see a change made?

Clearly, Knight knows who I am, but I dont hide that fact. The internet is great for cowards to voice their opinions. So, good Knight, feel free to have your own opinions behind the keyboard while being anonymous. If you choose to make false statements though (like why I am not coaching), please do me the courtesy of putting your opinion where your face is rather than a keyboard....and try using paragraphs.

Edited by formercoach, 14 February 2014 - 03:00 PM.

[Ward]

So formercoach, just out of curiosity, what didn't you like about the one Ottoville and Ontario teams and when was this?

Kinda seems like you contradicted yourself there, you wouldn't speak poorly of another coach but then you say you didn't always agree with their methods and then actually specifying those teams. I don't know just seems like that would speaking unkindly about them. Which is fine I am just more curious what those 2 teams did that you didn't like.

Edited by Ward, 14 February 2014 - 01:20 PM.

[Ward]

Personally in my opinion I look at it this way. I don't believe in firing coaches because their team has been struggling. In High School you are coaching kids that are there. It's not like college or the pros where you have the opportunity of trying to get the best players possible. So it's very possible that sometimes you don't always get to coach the most talent group of kids. But you as a coach do your best to get the most out of them. Now if the coach has been causing problems or the school wants to go a different direction I understand that. I also don't believe in firing of coaches because of maybe a person or group of people disagrees with them. Too many different sides of the story when it comes to things like that. I know past/present players may not like a thing or two about the coach or want change but there are things they just don't understand.

Former I know you dislike the whole football excuse, but it's actually a very relevant one though. Some times the more athletic/talented kids will play football over soccer. I mean these kids are young enough that they don't reach their full potential in my opinion until after high school. So it can be difficult to coach high school kids and expect what you would like.

[formercoach]

Point being, that they WERE the exceptions, not contradicting. Just stating the two times that I would speak poorly. One showed up reeking of alcohol and the other was egging his players on towards violence on the field. I won't give years our which was which.

[formercoach]

Ward, but is there a POINT where you might want to try something different. If it isn't working over 14 years....when might it?

As for the soccer/football discussion....when do we stop making excuses and issuing blame. I never used that excuse. It was my job to:

A. Build a program that kids want to play for.
B. Influence younger players to stick with the game.
C. Recruit and KEEP players

I never cared what the fball coaches did. If I did MY job, all things would work out...and they did.

If you cannot build a program after 14 years, it might be time to do something else. Give me ONE coach from anywhere that this type of instance was allowed for. (Other than present discussions)

[Ward]

formercoach, on 14 February 2014 - 02:45 PM, said:

Point being, that they WERE the exceptions, not contradicting. Just stating the two times that I would speak poorly. One showed up reeking of alcohol and the other was egging his players on towards violence on the field. I won't give years our which was which.

Well personally it would be helpful to say the years because you are already half way there when you gave the name of the school you might as well specify. I'm just curious because there is no way you could be referring to the ones now. Had to be coaches that are no longer there.

[formercoach]

Ward, I removed the two team names, didn't need to include them in my statement. Again, these were two coaches that I would and did speak poorly about. It wasnt about wins and losses or programs, but specific behavior at one specific event.

[formercoach]

Nope, not current ones. Ive been out of the game for a while. Really like what Oville has done since that time. Solid squad.

[Ward]

formercoach, on 14 February 2014 - 02:51 PM, said:

If you cannot build a program after 14 years, it might be time to do something else. Give me ONE coach from anywhere that this type of instance was allowed for. (Other than present discussions)

In soccer? I don't really know that for sure. But I do agree with you on that. Eventhough sometimes I don't necessarily think it's the coach's fault but sometimes it may be just best for a change.

I agree with your A-C. Although C can sometimes be more difficult than you think but that is part of understanding the concepts of coaching and trying to understand the kids. Of course you don't worry about what the football coach is doing, that is not the problem. It's wondering what the kids are doing is what you should worry about. You can't teach speed or athleticism and sometimes you might lose that to football. So as a coach in soccer you are just trying to do what you can with what you have. I understand you don't like that excuse but sometimes I can understand where coaches are coming from when they use it.

[Ward]

formercoach, on 14 February 2014 - 03:04 PM, said:

Nope, not current ones. Ive been out of the game for a while. Really like what Oville has done since that time. Solid squad.

formercoach, on 14 February 2014 - 03:03 PM, said:

Ward, I removed the two team names, didn't need to include them in my statement. Again, these were two coaches that I would and did speak poorly about. It wasnt about wins and losses or programs, but specific behavior at one specific event.

That's ok, I understand what you are saying. I might even know who exactly you are talking about lol. But ya I don't speak poorly of other coaches either but like you said there are exceptions.

[formercoach]

Ward, thank you for being sensical about this, because of that I can appreciate your opinion even if I may disagree.

I'm not saying that coaches cannot use excuses or have bad records without reason. I have a friend who coached for seven years at a very small school with a coed team. They played as hard as they could and I always gave him props for what he could get done. But, if it is your excuse every single year....that's my issue. At some point you need to look at yourself and your methods and ask yourself, "Am I getting it done or not?"

I was always my worst critic. I blamed myself for every loss and wanted to correct every mistake. At the end of every season, I did a self critique. No excuses, no outside factors....just me. How did I do? The only regrets that I ever had were the tournament losses. They still irk me today....

Bottom line, is the job getting done? Is the program advancing? In a 14 year period, where would a REASONABLE person expect it to be?

[Ward]

No problem formercoach, people may not always agree on things but being an objective person will give you credibility and I think both you and I have shown that.

formercoach, on 14 February 2014 - 03:51 PM, said:

I'm not saying that coaches cannot use excuses or have bad records without reason. I have a friend who coached for seven years at a very small school with a coed team. They played as hard as they could and I always gave him props for what he could get done. But, if it is your excuse every single year....that's my issue. At some point you need to look at yourself and your methods and ask yourself, "Am I getting it done or not?"

This right here is well said and couldn't agree more. I'm ok with the football excuse if you use it and make it known once or here and there. But if it's something that you use every time you lose then not so much. I mean people get it. I'm not from the Kenton area, but as an outsider I know their school is more footbal oriented than soccer. So you may not always get the best talent. But ya as a coach you need to do what you can with what you have. To complain about it or use that as an excuse over and over becomes irrelevant at some point because you as a coach knew you would be competing with football for players. 14 year period is plenty of time to establish some sort of system or progress. You don't have to win games for progress to show, getting the most out of your players and having some sort of good program tradition established, is getting somewhere.

[Gview]

So how is Kenton soccer? I see they tied Triad, is this a good result for them?

[formercoach]

Gview, have beaten Ada 4-2, lost to Upper 6-0 and Riverdale 5-0.

[Gview]

formercoach, on 25 August 2014 - 08:56 PM, said:

Gview, have beaten Ada 4-2, lost to Upper 6-0 and Riverdale 5-0.

OK, nevermind. That answers my question.