The Advanatge Noone Has Talked About

[Chakra20]

I know i almost sound like a public school supporter, which i am according to my taxes, but there is one advantage that everyone has touched on, but i think is the main reason you see private schools exceliing now.

 

In the state of todays urban public schools is terrible and im using the word TERRIBLE here to talk about a school. I have said in some of my posts that it is very sad that our schools in this state are so far behind, but thats more an argument to be made to our representatives than to high school football fans.

 

The advanatage i am talking about is coaching. The private schools have great coaches in urban cities. For example, Ezells football team was terrible all through the mid to late 90's. I mean 2-8 were the norm and we lost to everyone. We were an equal oppurtunity loser losing to anyone and everyone home or away it didnt make a difference. Then when coach Smith arrived and installed his work ethic, which is amazing, the kids started to have fun and win. The guy is amazing i watched him closley last year as he lost 20-25 lbs during the coarse of the season and i knew this guy could win championships, and it doesnt matter on what level. The year before he came Ezell was 2-8 and witht he same players he goes 9-3 and is in the playoffs. Im sure there are many stories like this but it is much the same of all the private schools that i know.

 

DCA has tradition and a great coach, FRA has tradition and a great coach, CPA has a recent tradition bigger than any of them and a great coach. They could goto a public school and win, but why put up with the headaches. If your a good coach you want to learn from these guys. And thats what they have. They have Young coaches some of which are volunteers that understand they can learn alot from these guys and ad value to coaching process. I compare it to the classroom, where are you gonna learn more in a class of 60 or class of 20 people. Well 20 of coarse, more individual attention and more understanding at what theri players are good at and weak at.

 

Everyone always brings up the athletes that private schools get, but it is much more than that. Coaching, dedication, players willing to take instruction, and a school that backs them up all lead to a better team on the field. But it all goes back to coaching, because we have always had good athletes at ezell just not the coaching to back them up. When i was in school we has one of the best classes that never won a thing. We had lineman runninbacks we had good solid players at every postions in our class but couldnt win a thing.

 

I beleive Coaching is where alot of the progress has been made in private schools over them recruiting every player in Nashville. Everyone wants to play for a winner thats the best recruiting you could ever do.

[TheEgoHasLanded]

You know what Chak...I agree with you 100%, but that isn't a basis to split or in my words segregate public and private is it?

 

I'm not going to sit here and slap public school coaches in the face, cus they are good coaches as well...but they don't want to hear that, they think its just about athletes, thats fine let them think that.

 

But those athletes are paying an arm and a leg to go there, and until you have been through that, then you won't really understand (I know you do Chak).

It's kinda like having a full scholarship to one college, but instead choosing to pay full tution at another, and then people get mad at you for it...I just don't understand that.

 

Harding Academy in the 90's was blessed with guys like Daniel Angus...6'8 over 230 who signed with Colorado and was considered the best tigh end in the country, they were still average to say the least and never made it to the playoffs when he was there, but the last two years Harding has gone further and made school history, yet do not have the kind of athletes like that...They got a new coaching staff, who does a great job, and pushes the kids in the weightroom, enlarged the weightroom, got a new locker room, new equipment, new weights, made the game field better, got new practice stuff, and bought other new supplies, the coaches were like father figures, they would drive players home, and even offered to have them stay at their house so they could attend lifts or stay out of trouble, they provided guidance and were all great men...I'm not saying public school coaches dont do that, but I am saying that kids seem to put in, what coaches put in...I never wanted to let my coach down when he was trying his hardest to do his best, what we did reflected him, and vice versa.

[Edited by TheEgoHasLanded on 7/18/02 11:08A]

[Chakra20]

It wasnt intended as a slap in the face and im not saying there arent good coached in public schools. What I was intending to get across was that it is very attractive for coaches to coach there. So when you can pick your coach from more applicants its makes for getting a better coach. Thanks for pointing that out BTW.

 

Also if it came down to coaching in a METRO public school or a private school id think the coach would choose the later unless he had certain feelings or ties for publics.

[Edited by Chakra20 on 7/18/02 11:23A]

[just1np]

This is one arguement with which I have never agreed.

What is it that is attractive about private schools, as you say?

It isn't pay. Generally public schools' base salary is higher than private schools. Coaches get an additional supplement or bonus, but probably not enough to make private schools, in general, more appealing.

As you said, Chakra, EH was impotent for several years, with a couple of different coaches. Did they hire bad coaches when they were losing? Did they not have any "quality" coaches apply?

In order for me to accept this arguement you would have to document that more coaches apply for private vacancies than public vacancies. If that can't be done then it is a vain arguement.

The reality is everybody tries to take advantage of opportunities when they arise. If a coach wants a chance to be a head coach, or just get his first assistant coaching job, he/she is going to apply for as many job postings as he/she can.

If anything, I think one could argue that metropolitan public schools are NOT appealing to most coaches. But, as I said, people are going to look for opportunities, even small ones

[pujo]

I don't know where these good private school coaches were at before taking these jobs.If they were at public schools ,I doubt if their sucess rate was nearly as good .Its nothing more than the advantages that we have all discussed a million times.Coach Smiths offence was great last year but very few 1a teams have the kind of talent it takes to run or defend.The scheme was dandy, but the talent was what made it work.I'm sure he would tell you the same thing.

[TheEgoHasLanded]

Please, reread what he said...he didn't say private school coaches were BETTER, he said private school coaches are good in urban areas, that is not belittling the coaches at Cloudland, Collinwood, or South Pitt..he is saying the urban private school coaches are good...I don't think one is better then the other, but if all things are equal, then as he said...the one who can instill hard work, discipline, and dedication into their players will win.

[scout]

To expand on Chakra's point, I think good coaches in urban public schools don't want to put up with the garbage that goes with the job. I keep referring to the Coach in Metro Nashville that got in trouble for taking some of his players to Church. Guys, a Clint Satterfield could not survive in a Metro Nashville school. Pujo, the way you describe your brother, he could not survive here. THE METRO NASHVILLE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM NO LONGER TOLERATES STRONG MASCULINE FIGURES THAT TEACH HARD WORK, SACRIFICE, AND DISCIPLINE!

 

Would you coach in a situation like that? I bet you would choose to coach where you could implement your program and teach what you know works (ie. a private school or rural public school), even if it meant earning less money.

[just1np]

Could you go into more detail, scout?

I'm interested in hearing what all goes on in Metro schools.

Hunters Lane had a great coach in Pigue, and Pearl-Cohn has a great coach in Fitzgerald. Are these guys failing to teach discipline and hard work? I think they would disagree, but I don't know.

Once again, I'm interested in you knowledge of the situation.

[just1np]

He did not use the word "better", but he did use the word "advantage".

Webster's Dictionary-1999 edition:

advantage-1:superiority of position or condition.

Forgive me.

[VolunteerGeneral]

Scout..How did the coach get in trouble for taking kids to church?? Who complained about it and who reprimanded him for it?

[TheEgoHasLanded]

just1np, you are correct on that, but he still didn't say private school coaches were better, which is, at first what I was guilty of thinking.

 

Chakra...I need a straight statement on why you think private schools have an advantage in regards to coaching...I'm sorry but reading your post, I don't really see where the actual advantage is, but that I'm not blaming that on you.

[scout]

No question that Coach Fitzgerald is a real keeper. He could go anywhere and do well. But Metro Nashville is strictly PC in its culture. A Coach had better be careful in what he says. There is a constant concern that strong coaches are "pushing the kids too hard" or are "verbally abusive". It is my understanding that the coach taking players to church was chastized by the principal because of some perceived violation of church and state.

 

A good example of the attitude that exist in some urban school districts is that some will not allow the reciting of the Pledge of Alligence.