ucfpunter9

I am glad to hear that is the case, but we have never (or very rarely) been out-"athletisized". We have had plenty of power, speed, and agility. It is team and personal discipline that has killed us in the past (okay...and some bad breaks). Until the team recognizes that the rest of their life decisions impact their onfield performance and future opportunities we will continue to see ANY coach struggle. It would be helpful if the coach would insist upon it without major repurcussions.

Well...I prefer to be optimistic and hope that we all (including me) learn from our mistakes as we go along. At least that is what I sincerely hope for at SH.

If you wanted a winning program...we had that...but were we the "best we could be"? The reason the goal is to beat DB is they are the perennial (sp) champion of the conference. If you are beating them it is likely you are beating everyone else as well. Anyone that doesn't respect that program is not being rational or objective. Coach Clark has done more with less than any high school coach I have seen in my many years of watching and playing football. I believe that is what most of the people who say that beating DB is a priority really mean. I agree with your post in most aspects. I do believe that parents play a large role in the discipline issue that I bring up time and time again. With some of the things that have gone on in the past and this year...if it had been my kid, the least of their worries would have been what the coaches were going to do to them. Also, whether you believe the kid should be playing at that position or not...support the kids! Even if you feel that your kid should be in their place...support the kid.

Yeh...that year was the one that many of us looked forward to, but it was simply not to be. That one could not be laid on the coaching or the players. It was just part of the game. As for your last statement...those guys need to step up as athletes and young men and play the game as a team with no showboating, trash talking, or off-field escapades. Plenty of talent...but it has to be blended with discipline. If Coach Smith is ready to insist on that (and I have NOT seen evidence of it yet...but it can still happen) this team could be quite good.

This is a nice, concise, and accurate depiction of the problems at Science Hill. The prior coach struggled with the same thing. Some of these athletes come with baggage...that doesn't mean you let them lug it onto the field. The beginning of your tenure is when you let it be known that the trash will NOT be tolerated. Instead we get seperate standards for kids based upon their talent (and even that evaluation is tenuous). Great X's and O's will not win championships and is not even the most important attribute of a high school coach. Developing young men is. The things that have been allowed to happen (without repurcussions) since I have been here are astounding to me...and my kids were not little Johnnies that got chewed out...I'm talking about serious stuff that are life issues. Someone needs to come in here (and it's not too late for Coach Smith) and tell these kids that they can be great, but they will have to do it the right way...not just during the season, but all of the time. Beating DB (or any other good program) doesn't start in the fall...it starts now!

I have to agree with DBWATCHDOG in a way. I am a SH supporter and yet a big fan of Coach Clark, but sometimes you have to show respect for those coaches in the conference that have really turned things around at their school. Coach Clark has always been a "class act" and he does seem to develop the athletes on his team in a well rounded fashion. He and his staff treat the opponent's players, including my sons, with the respect and dignity befitting true competitors. This does not mean that he should get "Coach of the Year" every year, and with what little I know of him, he'd probably agree.

Having had the pleasure of meeting Aaron and seeing him in situations off of the football field (my guys played some basketball with him last year) I can say he seems to be a fine young man with a great future in front of him that is not dependent upon "football" success. It should be the goal of every parent and every coach in High School to have that said about every football player. That will not be accomplished by taking the easy way out of decisions such as the incident with the player in which the head coach circumvented his assistant coach's disciplinary move. Some of the coaches truly do want to establish fundamental discipline that will serve these kids far better than a 200 yard game would in their future. Press clippings turn yellow over time while character does not. I'll support any coach that views the role of developing kids as citizens more important than that of getting them a college scholarship or even a state championship. I don't even care if he dresses like Gilligan and does an onside kick with the lead! Right now the jury in my head (multiple personalities I guess) is undecided, but some of the word I've heard disturbs me. Best of all to Aaron...and I pray that God leads him in a direction that will make him most useful to His kingdom.

The spread offense is a great offense if you have the personnel to run it AND they are disciplined enough to make the right decisions. Do they have the right personnel? Questionable. Do they have the discipline...in every sense of the word...NO. I am with another poster online here in that I believe the offensive line is not the issue. Disciplined decision making is. I still see an unruly bunch of players mouthing off on every play and getting called for unsportsmanlike conduct, mental errors, and even some physical errors that could be remedied by harder work and focus. The discipline has been an issue at SH since I have been watching the program, and it is exemplified on and off the field. To truly be successful it will have to be addressed and what better time to do that than after a coaching change? I hope that Coach Smith is doing the right things to turn it around. I am no longer connected enough to the program to know.

Pretty amazing for a kid that couldn't even make All-Conference! Actually, he is quite deserving and seems to be a fine young man.

One name that is curiously not resurfacing is Coach Overbay. For once I wouldn't mind seeing the "interim" removed from Interim Head Coach. A good guy....

I believe Keith will put forth his best effort to get the right fit. It will be a tough challenge given the sometimes contradictory pressures of what needs to happen and what some want to happen. I do, however, have faith in his motivation.

I'm with you on that one....my kid NEVER thought they couldn't win.

Truthfully it is an NE Tennessee issue. We assume that by playing well against area teams we are capable of competing anywhere. That is simply not the truth. The commitment level of the athletes is nowhere near what it is elsewhere in this state, much less in states such as FL and TX. To win big games against those teams you can't start preparation the week, or even two weeks before. You need to start as soon as the prior season ends. From my seat I did not see a motivated team. Is some of that coaching....maybe...but no one can motivate each player...they can create an environment in which they can be motivated, but the motivation has to come from the players. Coaching is a tough job and the decisions on personnel are difficult and emotional ones. They are not as "clear-cut" as we would think. It will take a small nucleus of determined players, that can motivate their peers to seek excellence, that will create a lasting success. They will exhibit that desire by their discipline on and off the field. As good as many of the players were this year, few could say that they did that. It has to be for more than one year. It has to be a way of life.

I would contend that it represents a fundamental issue of what we are in school for....is it to make a "great football team" or prepare us to move on in life, or college (if that is the direction your dreams take you). If it is good academically, lets do it for everyone regardless of athleticism. That would negate the "advantage" that the coach is trying to attain. That is the problem with the minimum standards set by the NCAA. A kid that scores 750 on the SAT probably shouldn't be in college in the first place. If he has the talent to play football, let the NFL fund the "farm league" that brings it out. Don't make a joke of the academic institution by putting him/her into classes as if they are qualified to be there. Okay...off of my "soap box".

Coach Bowles is a good guy. Quite frankly he has had to coach with a very negative public opinion of him since I arrived in this city 5 years ago. At that time they were already hollering for his head. It was amplified last year and he had to be in "circle the wagons" mode this year. Not an easy way to coach! I take firings quite seriously. We are dealing with people's life. I definitely wanted to see changes made, but I do not know that the present head coach could not have made them. I was planning to talk with him over the next few weeks to give him my opinions and I will never know how he would have taken them. I do like giving people the benefit of the doubt. FYI, Coach Overbay is a fine man and will do a solid job as interim. If he is selected as the final choice I will likely try to meet with him as well. Most parents want to see just & EQUITABLE treatment of their kids. I have always viewed all of the kids as "mine". That being said, I believe that justice sometimes requires a harder hand than some might find acceptable. Some of the discipline issues that arose were ignored due to the pressure that the coach was under. Given support from the community I believe he would have behaved differently. Look at how discipline is handled at UTK for example! It is a lot like businesses today. We tell them to take a long-term perspective in their decisions, however, let next quarter's results come in below Wall Street expectations (regardless of whether the cost was taken on to ensure future success) and they holler for the CEO's job. I liked, and still like Coach Bowles, though I have been quite disappointed at times. I wish him success. By the way, Coach Clark actually got a lot more out of the athletes he had this year than any normal coach could have.