ballcurmudgeon

I have read all the blame-game stuff on Coach T. I thought about this long and hard for several days before I replied, but I cannot sit still in the face of this ignorance forever. The Rhea County Football Team is playing as hard and well as it can. The new coaches are doing as well as they can. The former coaching staff is NOT TO BLAME for the instability that has infected Rhea County High School athletics for several years. The problem is at the top.The Rhea County High School Principal, and the Director of Rhea County Schools, are killing athletics at Rhea County in the name of politics and family. The pitiful Athletic Director is not part of the power structure, but he apparently is a polical pawn in their hands and does not seem to notice what is actually happening. Rhea County has run off a number of good coaches in several sports in the past couple of years - either directly or indirectly. Just off the top of my head I can list a few - football, baseball, and softball to name a few Rhea County will continue to have a weak athletic program until we get a new administration that thinks beyond the next vote they will pick up on the Rhea County School Board. Now, before you all start piling on, I am not a coach, have never coached, and do not work for the Rhea County Department of Education. I am only a fan, but I do have a brain and can see that the problem does not lie with the kids or the coaches. Rhea County needs a professional Director of Schools and a high school principal who is not pandering to one small element on the School Board or his family to direct the athletic program at Rhea County High School. Do not blame the kids. Do not blame the current football coaching staff. Do not blame the former football coaching staff. Blame the administration. Wake up, Eagles fans, your problem lies at the top. You have a school system that pays less than any school system around for coaches. Many coaches will accept the lower pay to be in Rhea County, but if the administration makes their lives miserable, why hang around? Forget admonishing the kids to "man up." Forget complaining about former coaching staffs who have suffered long enough. And please forget about second guessing the new coaching staff. It is all about the top. Get real.

Not sure where the Rhea Sat AM Quarterbacks are but congratulations to former Rhea Coach, Jerry Cook, for a good win against Polk County. A friend of mine was at the game and said Cook's defense looked sharp.

I will be cheering for the Rhea County Eagles on Friday nights. Our young men are working hard. I applaud our new coaches. They are also working hard. I do want to remind fans on Coach T that, in our excitement about a new season, we should not forget something that is important to Rhea County athletics for the future. This is no reflection on the players or the coaching staff, but Rhea County has a systemic problem with athletics that shows no signs of going away. The current Rhea County administration punishes loyal coaches who have also worked hard by denying them the support and resources they need to succeed. When the abused coaches quit or get run off, the administration is then forced to provide those denied resources to new hires to get somebody to take those jobs. This has resulted in instability in several sports - football, baseball, and softball are examples. So, while we cheer for our boys on Friday nights, let's now forget that our system is flawed due to an administration that is political and inept. I want to set the record straight. I do not, and never have, worked for Rhea County Schools, so this is not some mad coach, frustrated parent, blah, blah. I am a fan who has watched the coaching mess this politicized administration has created and I don't think it's good for Rhea County in the long run. Folks need to cheer our athetes, support our coaches, and donate money to booster clubs - but somebody needs to watch this administrative bunch closely.

Tim Hammontree has taken an assistant's job at Anderson County. I guess Messemer and Levengood have already been up there to kiss his ring, or anything else he would like kissed. They are the leaders of Hammontree's Groupies, which means they probably are too busy gushing over their idol to worry about Rhea County.

This administration cannot even come up with a price tag for the new school so the construction can move forward. Expecting them to be concerned with the football program is a biggggg stretch. If they had any interest in Rhea County athletics they would have supported long term coaches who demonstrated loyalty to the county by running programs at low cost instead of making life hard for them and rewarding their replacements who will not stick around with more perks and more expense. As for the folks who like this system, enjoy.

You can't read articles online at the Herald. You have to buy a paper.

Be sure to check out the current Rhea County Herald with Coach Fitzgerald's interview. I hope people will read it and understand the problems that many coaches face with Rhea County High School's administration. Most coaches will tell you this privately but most will not speak out. The new coach, Doug Greene, was quoted as saying he expects to work with the administration to get the things done that they refused to do for Coach Fitz. He is right. Messemer and Levengood always provide for new hires what they refuse to provide for established, loyal coaches. For a while. If Greene is smart, he will stick around for a short time and move on.

Smart. Hire..

My personal favorite quote was man of character.

Well now, considering how many people are dying to coach softball under the current Rhea County administration I'll just bet you that Messemer will have to bring in an accountant to tabulate all the applications. LOL.

It is ironic that Levengood scared all the Rhea County coaches with warnings about how bad their lives would be with an outsider as Director of Schools. He did that to get them to support him for Director. It turned out to be a lie. The coaches would probably have fared a lot better under a more professional Director of Schools than one who will sell anybody out for a school board members vote. Now, all of a sudden, he wants to talk about qualifications.And, or course, his puppet, Messemer, falls right into line. If Levengood and Messemer really believe qualifications matter they should do the Rhea County School System a favor and resign.

Well, if Jerry Cook should become head coach under this administration, here is what he should think about first.This administration backed Hammontree and glossed over a lot of stuff when he left. Did everything but lie down in front of the man and say "Please walk all over me and Rhea County." Then the same administration not only did not support Coach Fitzerald but disrespected him.This administration has a history of lying,backstabbing,and making poor choices when it comes to athletics. What I hope for Jerry Cook is that he can return to Rhea County in a few years but under a different administration.

The politics in Rhea County is not coming from the coaches. It comes from the administration. Good luck to Coach Adams. Good luck to Rhea County Eagles. As for Jerry Cook, he dodged the bullet in my opinion.

One last post before bedtime: Fitzgerald - Guts, Loyalty, Hard Work Cameron - Guts, Loyality, Hard Work Hampton - Guts, Loyality, Hard Work Moo- Guts, Loyality, Hard Work "Rhea County"- Loyality, Hard Work Levengood - No Guts, No Loyality, No Hard Work Messemer - No Guts, No Loyality, No Hard Work Rheuling - No Guts, No Loyality, No Hard Work Here is a scoreboard that everybody can understand. Feel free to argue and debate at will, so long as you are not kin to any of them. The kinship thing is getting creepy.

Well, I've heard that Messemer and Levengood send out Ruehling-the-Puppet when they don't have the guts to talk to somebody themselves face to face. The Dynamic Duo (Messemer & Levengood) need to talk to "Rhea County" face to face. A gut check would be character building for both of them.

Jerry Cook is a nice person, a devoted person to Rhea County, and will work hard if chosen. For these reasons I hope he does NOT take the job. This administration will eat him alive.

Did school board members got involved with coaching decisions before Levengood? I have never seen a school system where they let the school board get into coaching that did not have problems. It is a very slippery slope. Is it even legal?

Good example. Previous coach took care of the field by himself and got NO help with grounds around the area. Previous coach bought maintenance equipment out of his own pocket. Admin now PAYS for upkeep of grounds around the area and I recently heard even the field itself.

Don't really want to get in the middle of this argument but I do think the kind of pride you refer to starts at the top. Coach Fitz had a terminally ill child for the past several years. It might have been nice if the school administration could have arranged for weed eating and restroom cleaning to help out a veteran coach.

There are a number of people underqualified in this deal including school board members, school director, and high school principal. Their qualifications has not been an issue so why should anybody worry about the qualifications for a football coach. It's the Rhea County way.

You are exactly right. When you talk about throwing somebody like Moo away that says a lot about the Rhea County Admin. I wish somebody would tally up how many coaches have left Rhea County while the Dynamic Duo were principals. So why are we surprised when the Dynamic Duo throw another faithful under the bus. If "Rhea County" was not supposed to talk online then the inept Admin person who fed him the info should have kept his mouth shut. If Jerry Cook is smart he will avoid this mess.

Well said.

Have you considered taking a course in reading for comprehension?

There have been so many embarrassing things happen with this deal that it's amazing to learn that there is even room for one more embarassment. That said, let's hope we get a good football coach.

Never coached any sport. Have played a few. Might even know more about football than you do. But never coached any sport. Just played them. How about you? Done any coaching? Played any football? Kin to any Rhea Countians?