The Coach Whisperer
My Dad told me last week about a strange development near home. One of the high schools we used to play, Abingdon, has suspended its coach for -- get this -- yelling at his players. I'm sure the team's 53-0 loss in the game had nothing to do with it. The school board said it was more than yelling. According to the board, the coach occasionally cusses, too, and is "verbally and emotionally abusive." One shudders to think what they would have made of Woody Hayes.
The coach responds that "There's a band there, and there's a lot of noise. You're not going to get anyone's attention by being a whisperer." (Just ask Chuck Amato.) Check out the picture in that article -- it looks like the coach has been suspended from shaving, too.
Dad -- who coached high school football and baseball for fifteen years -- said he ran into one of his cronies in the post office, and the guy said, "I hear there's a coaching vacancy if you want the job." Scoffed Dad, "Hell, if they don't want somebody who yells at the kids, they don't want me." Maybe I'll have to start posting more of my Dad's stories. Right off, I remember the one about how he paddled every kid in his high school phys. ed. class because they wouldn't help him line the field before a football game. Maybe I've exaggerated that one in my memory, but the point is, my Dad is old school. Not Junction Boys old school, but he did his share of yelling and facemask-grabbing.
My favorite part of this whole story is a quote from another area coach that uses one of my all-time favorite words: "I don't condone cursing at all, but I'm not going to mollycoddle anybody." Yeah, school board: Quit yer mollycoddling! There's no mollycoddling in football!
The coach responds that "There's a band there, and there's a lot of noise. You're not going to get anyone's attention by being a whisperer." (Just ask Chuck Amato.) Check out the picture in that article -- it looks like the coach has been suspended from shaving, too.
Dad -- who coached high school football and baseball for fifteen years -- said he ran into one of his cronies in the post office, and the guy said, "I hear there's a coaching vacancy if you want the job." Scoffed Dad, "Hell, if they don't want somebody who yells at the kids, they don't want me." Maybe I'll have to start posting more of my Dad's stories. Right off, I remember the one about how he paddled every kid in his high school phys. ed. class because they wouldn't help him line the field before a football game. Maybe I've exaggerated that one in my memory, but the point is, my Dad is old school. Not Junction Boys old school, but he did his share of yelling and facemask-grabbing.
My favorite part of this whole story is a quote from another area coach that uses one of my all-time favorite words: "I don't condone cursing at all, but I'm not going to mollycoddle anybody." Yeah, school board: Quit yer mollycoddling! There's no mollycoddling in football!
The Bear: Not a mollycoddler.
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