Should Wells Be Fired at the end of the year

[pressman]

You are probably right....therefore we are destined for another 2 or 3 win season next year.

[disgruntledcougar]

I agree, but one win shouldn't save a mans job. I mean I was so stuck Friday. I wanted CC to win, but I knew if they did then Wells would keep his job. Thats sick.

[springsvalley]

In response to the kids saying they won't go to CCHS if they have to play for coach Wells. It's high time parents act like parents and quit allowing their 14 yr old kids to make decisions about where they want to go to school. I wish I had a nickel for every parent I've heard say..."well, Johnny hasn't decided where he wants to go to high school yet..." No wonder kids these days feel so entitled. The adults all stand around ringing their hands wondering why little Johnny isn't happy all the time. Little Johnny grows up to be big Johnny and thinks he's the center of everybody's universe. Enough is enough- it's time for the adults to take charge.

[disgruntledcougar]

The thing is alot of those kids that say they won't play because of Coach Wells go to the high school as well. It isn't just middle schoolers.

[springsvalley]

If what you say is true, then what makes 2010 any different from 1980? Or 1990? or 2000? Low numbers has been a consistent theme from generation to generation. The excuses change along with the coaches but the problem persists. I'd say it's a cultural thing- tough for ANY coach to overcome.

[bulldogcoach]

Numbers have always been a problem. & the truth is there are kids at every school that say they would play if there was a different coach. For the most part they are lying. they dont want to admit that they are too lazy to put in the work, or they quit on the current coach because they were not good enough to start or patient enough to wait their time.

If there is a change to be made it needs to be for the right reasons & Im sure the powers that be will make the best decision possible for CCHS.

[utnotuk]

It looks pretty clear from these posts that the coaches should be fired, the football team has never been any good, the school sets up athletics to fail, the culture is to blame also - so it looks like having a football team is a waste of time. Maybe we can halt the football program and start a soccer team.

If our community had as many people interested in supporting as they do criticizing - what an awesome place this would be.

Can't wait till basketball season starts - then baseball season to see how low down and sorry those coaches are too!

[springsvalley]

utnotuk- you obviously haven't paid close attention to my posts. I've taken a beating on this board DEFENDING Coach Wells. My position has been and continues to be that the problems he is facing are beyond his control. As a community, we have not put our money where our mouth is and supported the coaches at the high school with TANGIBLE mechanisms to produce winning programs year-in and year-out. We want to hold them accountable for things outside their control. Until we pony up and make a genuine commitment to excellence, all of this is just wind and noise. Why not try something truly different by making the kind of policy changes that will help build a championship-level athletic program rather than consuming our own and playing the blame-game when the same-old, tired-out solution of firing the old coach and hiring the latest incarnation of Bear Bryant goes south yet again. If we give these coaches the support they need, then it would be entirely appropriate to hold them accountable for the results. Then and only then. Sometimes I think we expect these coaches to make bricks for the Egyptian Pharaoh without the straw necessary to make them. And then we whip them like slave-drivers when the bricks don't get made. It makes no sense (sorry for the Biblical analogy from the Israelite captivity period in Egypt). The good news is this kind of progress CAN happen with the right kind of forward-thinking, out-of-the-Campbell-County-box leadership that has kept us in the wilderness these many years. These coaches walk around looking back over their shoulders, constantly on the lookout for the next knife to be planted in their backside. They are constantly under siege. Time to support them.

[disgruntledcougar]

I see where you are coming from springvalley and would be interested in knowing what plan you exactly have to fix the problem. I also think we need a change and would like to know that if we did make a change and hired a coach that won a a consistent basis (Not talking about 8-9 wins a year) but 5 or 6 games every year. Would you admit you were wrong and that firing Wells was a good move?

[springsvalley]

I have found that the best plans are SIMPLE plans. First, we need a vision for the athletic program- starting in the 6th grade and culminating in the 12th grade. We have no vision right now- just a hodge-podge approach with schools, coaches, and administrators all working at cross-purposes and then blaming each other when the predictable happens. We need leadership- not committees and/or boards where standard operating procedure results in more paralysis by analysis. We need one voice- someone who HAS a vision and can communicate it effectively to the powers-that-be. Whoever is given this full-time responsibility must have system-wide jurisdiction with broad, discretionary authority to implement the plan. Next, we need policy-makers, community leaders, school administrators, coaches, parents, and players to galvanize behind the agenda and all pull in the same direction. Of course, this will mean that certain policies will HAVE to change and certain personnel MAY have to change. This vision MUST be accompanied by measurable objectives that are used to hold coaches and programs accountable. At the end of the day, if everyone is working together toward a common goal- a goal that has been clearly defined (i.e. championship contenders each year), and the results still aren't there, then, by all means, fire the coach and get a leader in there who will meet those expectations. Coaches must be given reasonable time and tools with which to work. Would any of us expect less in our jobs?

[disgruntledcougar]

I like the idea of the whole thing, but how is that gonna form is the question. I'd be all for it if you have a way of making it happen. I know it wouldn't be an overnight thing, but sounds interesting at least. We definately have to set boundaries. We can't keep losing kids to AC. We need to enforce zones and if you are a teacher or something in the county system then your kids should have to go to CC. If they don't like it then they can find them another job. Thats my opinion. I still think its time to get a new coach. Let him have full control of whatever he wants as far as football and his program. If he wants control of the middle school programs then let him do it. If they hire someone then they need to say you got all the control you want. Thats the only way to do it.

[nobody]

Man springsvalley you sound like a politician. The “system” may be screwed up…they always are. That still doesn’t explain how we can have winning teams at the middle school level and this kind of results at high school. If the “system” was that screwed up you’d think the problem would more wide spread.

You are correct. The Head Coach should be allowed to be a Head Coach and run the system! If the "system" won't let him be head coach he should be screaming. This is his livelihood why wouldn't he be?...how come he's not?

You mention that the parents need to take charge with their kids. Take into consideration the current issues, whether it is coaching or system. What parent of a talented player would want their kid playing at CCCHS? If I had a son that had a shot at a college scholarship I would owe it to him to send him to another school. That would be take charge parenting!

[utnotuk]

I check this message board from time to time and only see movement when someone or some coach is getting slammed. I rarely comment, but couldn't resist posting.

I am not posting in reference to a particular person on this board just the general tone.

Disgruntledcougar is exactly correct in his analogy that the bottom line in CCHS Athletics is the culture and we need a leader who will lead us out of Egypt toward the Promise Land. A leader that will support the coaches, evaluate them on a yearly basis, and help them gain the support of the community to build winning programs. If a coach is doing a good job back him 100 percent, but if he is slacking in an area talk to him in private and make corrections. Evidently what we have tried in the past is failing. Why are we afraid to try something new - are we afraid of having a loosing season?

Good discussion - now we may need to participate in another Biblical activity of prayer to see the Divine Intervention we need.

[springsvalley]

The reason the problems manifest themselves more at CCHS is simply that it is the last stop along the food chain. It's like test scores. When freshmen are tested by the state in math skills- is their score a reflection on the elementary and middle schools or the high school? It should be a reflection on the elementary and middle schools but, in this case, CCHS always gets blamed. Athletes in our middle schools are inundated by adults they trust peddling this AC and C-GAP nonsense. I know certain teachers and administrators who are complicit in this subculture. If even one athlete falls prey to the propaganda, then he/she becomes the recruiter of his/her friends and the dominoes begin to fall. I am not a proponent of building walls or fences- I am a proponent of creating excellence that will attract and sell itself. I call it the Magnet Syndrome. Like it or not, we are in a competition for these kids. For too long, we've taken them for granted by putting a substandard product out there. Then we shrug our shoulders and expect them to come anyway. Well, these folks have choices and they've demonstrated that. Either we wake up and begin competing or we become extinct- which is the way it should be by the way. We need to build toward excellence. That EXCELLENCE will attract future Cougars like a magnet.

A few side notes. The reason Coach Wells and others are not "Screaming" about these issues is because nobody listens. He and others have raised some of these points and administrators, board members, superintendents, community members, etc. give a collective eye roll and shoulder shrug and attribute it to a "another coach complaining about what he doesn't have". After being beaten down time and again, one can understand why these coaches would put their heads down and grind.

I hereby nominate utnotuk to lead the prayer as we seek the DIVINE help we need to transform Campbell County.

[disgruntledcougar]

If their is going to be a change, when would that probably take place or when would we know something? Is their a certain time when they discuss it or what?