Lawyers or Good Ol’ Boys?
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Updated: October 29, 2015
This is not the way to build a strong program
Coppell - Parents of players on the Coppell High School football team are up in arms about what they are calling "favortism" and "nepotism" by the coaching staff.
They have filed official grievances with Coppell ISD alleging misconduct among the coaching staff. Parents have even picketed outside ISD headquarters with signs and now, lawyers have been hired to fight their case.
To me, this is much ado about nothing and not a case of "insider football" so much as our overly litigious society.
I get that the parents are frustrated. Their team has lost some very tough games to some of the top teams in the state (Cedar Hill, Southlake Carroll, Euless Trinity.) They have come out on the losing end of overtime battles and are looking for someone to blame.
Yes, coaches hire relatives and friends. I have been employing people for 30 years in my companies and my best "hire" was convincing my best friend, Michael Wright, to join me on Lone Star Gridiron. I have known him and trusted him since we were in junior high school. You can call it the "good ol' boy" network or you can call it hiring someone you know and can count on. We are not talking about naming your derelict uncle to be the president of a Fortune 500 company.
I talked with LSG Contributor, Fox Sports Southwest analyst, former Allen Head Football Coach and longtime Denton ISD Athletic Director Ken Purcell and he reminded me, "The United States Supreme Court ruled in 1983 that public school athletics is a privilege and not a right! You can't sue for playing time!"
Just because you pay your taxes, you are not entitled to even play on an athletic team - much less have a starting role. Those positions are earned and yes, they are at the discretion of the coaching staff. You are entitled to and have a right to the three R's - reading, 'riting and 'rithmetic - nothing more.
That is the deal you sign up for when you choose to go out for a sport. Those are the rules. Just like when a coach catches you doing something he doesn't agree with, he will have you run wind sprints or drop and give him 20. It is his world.
This isn't a world of "everybody plays, everybody wins." It is however, a world where you learn valuable life lessons while playing a very fun sport. It was my great privilege to be able to play Texas high school football.
The threat the parents started with was leaving the school and the football program. Uh... okay... buh-bye. That should be the end of it. Yes, they can complain to the school board and try to get him removed but their time could be much better spent.
Bringing lawyers into the issue is not only ridiculous, it does more to damage the program than any possible slight (real or imagined) this accusation has caused. It also send the absolutely wrong message to the athletes... if you are not happy with how things are going - grab a lawyer.
I don't know if the Coppell coaching staff and administration is guilty of favoritism, but assume they are. And you know what? I don't care!
Playing a coach's son has a long tradition of paying HUGE dividends in Texas high school football. Because of that father/son relationship, a player has access to a coach 24/7 and that is proven to develop him into a better player. In addition as the athlete develops, it is the equivalent of having a coach on the field at all times.
If a parent wants to give their student-athlete an equal opportunity, quit your job, become a coach. Rather than spending your evenings and weekends with lawyers and protesting, spend that time working on football skills with your son. Or again.. move to where you will get a better situation.
by Chris Doelle
@ChrisDoelle
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