Hard nosed Coaches in 1a

[Bledsoebtheboys]

What's up Bledsoe good to see you around. The person who told the story to me was at the time really close to the program but like I said if it's true. I beleive it is.

Yep....Maybe I'll see you in March at the Kingston playday...

[wpasi]

Yep....Maybe I'll see you in March at the Kingston playday...

Not the softball board but what the heck I hope we have it this year we lost our coach and got a new one he's the Head football coach at Oliversprings now. We will miss him

[Bledsoebtheboys]

Not the softball board but what the heck I hope we have it this year we lost our coach and got a new one he's the Head football coach at Oliversprings now. We will miss him

I know it's not the softball board, but oh well....I can't believe you all lost that coach, man what a good coach he was and probably is at Oliver Springs....According to my sources we have already been contacted about being in it...

[wpasi]

I know it's not the softball board, but oh well....I can't believe you all lost that coach, man what a good coach he was and probably is at Oliver Springs....According to my sources we have already been contacted about being in it...

Good!! now back to football

[Bledsoebtheboys]

I'd say Vic Grider from South Pittsburg is pretty hard nosed....

[cuda44069]

Pujo,I think your brother is as hard core of coach you'll find anywhere.But i think he cant coach effectively where he is now because the parents just are'nt going to let him.i think hardcore coaching is what makes a team better,parents just take things too personal if their kid gets yelled at a little especially if the coach is from a different school or community.here is a good example of a hardcore coach who got fired for apparently yelling at a kid during a game.I think its ridiculous if you ask me.Thursday, Oct. 19, 2006 - TriCities TN/VA Search TriCities.com

 

 

Gregory: 'I’d like to have my say but just not right now'

 

Wednesday, Oct 18, 2006 - 02:00 AM

 

BY DEBRA McCOWN

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BRISTOL HERALD COURIER

 

 

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ABINGDON – Former high school football coach Ray Gregory would not comment Tuesday on the loss of his coaching contract and his future plans.

 

The Washington County School Board voted late Monday to fire Gregory as head football coach at Abingdon High School and to transfer him to a teaching position at another school.

 

The vote followed a month of controversy that saw Gregory suspended after parents complained about his treatment of their sons.

 

Reached by telephone Tuesday, Gregory said he would not comment until after a meeting next month with lawyers and the school superintendent.

 

"I’d like to have my say," he said, "but just not right now."

 

The board went into a three-hour executive session late Monday to discuss Gregory. When they emerged, just before 11:30 p.m., they voted 6-0 to terminate the coaching contract.

 

Board member Elizabeth Lowe abstained because her son plays on the Abingdon High School football team.

 

The board also voted 5-0, with Lowe and Buckey Boone abstaining, to transfer Gregory to a teaching position at Wallace Middle School.

 

"I can’t comment on it," said School Board Chairman Curtis Burkett. "I know that people think I’m being evasive, but as an employee of the system, he’s entitled to privacy, and we have to respect that privacy."

 

Superintendent Alan Lee also refused to comment.

 

Gregory, a graduate of Patrick Henry High School, returned to Washington County last year to coach Abingdon after more than two decades coaching college and high school teams around the country. The team is 4-4 this season.

 

His mother, Barbara Gregory, said he’d planned to stay and eventually retire here.

 

The murmurs among Ray Gregory’s relatives and supporters, as they awaited the decision Monday, were the same that have rippled through the community since he was first suspended with pay last month.

 

Player parents and Gregory’s relatives wondered aloud Monday what he did and whether the School Board would explain its decision.

 

Gregory yelled at players who removed their pads before the end of a 53-0 losing game on Sept. 15 against Richlands. Some parents of players have said he cursed at their sons; Ray Gregory’s parents say otherwise.

 

About two dozen of his supporters attended the meeting; no critics spoke.

 

"I don’t think I’ve ever heard him say a curse word," said his father, Danny Gregory, adding he raised his son with discipline – a trait he says is important in football.

 

School officials have kept quiet on the subject, as has Ray Gregory. "If my son had been at Patrick Henry or any other high school, this never would’ve happened," Barbara Gregory said. "It’s because it’s Abingdon."

 

In 21 years of coaching, she said, her son never had a problem.

 

"This is a witch hunt after my son," Barbara Gregory said. "He’s been under the microscope from Day 1."

 

She said that when a group of parents first met with high school Principal Jeff Noe on Sept. 18, she was told her son would never coach another day at Abingdon High School.

 

Frank Kilgore, Ray Gregory’s attorney, said that because high school coaches are at-will employees, they can be fired from coaching at any time, with or without reason. Thus, he said, Gregory has no legal recourse with regard to his coaching position. Kilgore said, however, there have been no formal findings of wrongdoing.

 

"It can happen to any coach across the state of Virginia at any time," Kilgore said. "I think that given his experience in coaching, it won’t be hard at all for him to get another coaching job."

 

Kilgore also said he is communicating with the School Board attorney to lift a restriction preventing Ray Gregory from being present on school property. Gregory’s son, A.J., is a junior and a member of the Abingdon football team.

 

"If my son was fired from this position for yelling, then you’d better fire every coach in the county," said Barbara Gregory, Ray Gregory’s mother. "Everyone’s laughing at Abingdon because of this."

 

But his aunt, Peggy, said the rest of the story will eventually be known.

 

"It’s gonna come out," she said. "Just keep your ears open. It’ll all come out."

 

dmccown@bristolnews.com | (276) 791-0701

Edited October 19, 2006 by cuda44069

[MrSandman]

I can't wait to see what is behind this story at abingdon, the sad thing is this will follow the coach the rest of his life or at least he will have to answer the question what happened.

[pujo]

Gereat coaches know how to get the most out of every kid, they are all different, thus the coaches have to know their kids. Some you can praise and others you have to yell at. Its sort of like raising kids,some you have to punish and others will do anything for a little praise. Coaches and parents wish all kids were the kind that responds to prause, its a shame, but it don't work that way. Their are some kids that nothing works. What parents don't realize is, if they had raised their child from an early age to do their best and always do things with pride, their child would be bringing home A,s and coaches wouldn't be yelling at them on the football field. Nearly all parents want their kids to do great at everything, but they don't spend the time and effort it takes to achive it. Thats why we see so many children dianosed with ADD. Its a cop out,for parents who didn't bust their kids ######. I believe in the good book , spare the rod ,spoil the child, I don't want a rotten child. I want my kids to be teachable and coachable.Its called tough love. The system we live in nowadays takes athority away from the people who are over our kids. That pretty much leaves it up to us the parents. If we don't do our job, no one else has the athority too. In my way of seeing things is , Love is the number one thing and instruction and disapline follows closely behind. I don't want sorry Coaches or Teachers allowing my kids to be lazy and not give thier best. They would be undermining everything I teach my children from day 1.

[volfan68]

Gereat coaches know how to get the most out of every kid, they are all different, thus the coaches have to know their kids. Some you can praise and others you have to yell at. Its sort of like raising kids,some you have to punish and others will do anything for a little praise. Coaches and parents wish all kids were the kind that responds to prause, its a shame, but it don't work that way. Their are some kids that nothing works. What parents don't realize is, if they had raised their child from an early age to do their best and always do things with pride, their child would be bringing home A,s and coaches wouldn't be yelling at them on the football field. Nearly all parents want their kids to do great at everything, but they don't spend the time and effort it takes to achive it. Thats why we see so many children dianosed with ADD. Its a cop out,for parents who didn't bust their kids ######. I believe in the good book , spare the rod ,spoil the child, I don't want a rotten child. I want my kids to be teachable and coachable.Its called tough love. The system we live in nowadays takes athority away from the people who are over our kids. That pretty much leaves it up to us the parents. If we don't do our job, no one else has the athority too. In my way of seeing things is , Love is the number one thing and instruction and disapline follows closely behind. I don't want sorry Coaches or Teachers allowing my kids to be lazy and not give thier best. They would be undermining everything I teach my children from day 1.

 

 

Hey Pujo,

I agree with alot of your comments about football, but back off on the ADD. I have a child with ADD. I have a good kid, just can not pay attention. Disapline was never the problem. If anything if the Dr. had not put prescribed medication to help, I would have went too far with the butt busting. I had to come to grips that it is a medical condition. Time will tell.