Cheatham Co. Schools Shut Down Athletics

[CoachDG]

I had the priviledge of coaching football with Coach Tharp at Sycamore High last year, and I can say that I have never seen a group of kids who played harder. When those young men stepped on the field, they expected to win. I hate what is happening to those yound men. There are some outstanding young men in that senior class who have tremendous futures ahead of them on and off the field. Young men like Garza, Vaughn, Kregor, McCain, Johnson, Dubler (sp), and Booker deserve better than this.

[muffin]

Anyone?

[El Rey]

From what I understand the coach's budgets make up around 5% of the budget shortfall. The dig into the reserve fund alone will take out around 30%. Changing the bus route... again... MIGHT save them around 8%. Are they hoping to win the lotery to get the rest?!?

 

Congrads dictator... I mean director.

 

 

Cheatham County BOA, give em a jingle.

615-792-5664

[EZBeingGreen]

“We’re not trying to hold the school board for ransom,” Halstead said. “But we know if they do this, we’ll never get (the supplements) back. We have to make a stand. If you cut athletics, I guarantee a large number of kids will withdraw and go to another county.”

 

 

Heard this on the news this morning again. This is terrible for the kids. Sports are such a big issue in school. Surely they can find some other way. That's 50 kids/50 parents that would have to deal with getting the kids to another county, if the other counties can take them in. Then there is dealing with whether a newcomer would play when a school that already has it's regular starters in place.

Tearing these players away from their friends and what they've known all through high school is totally unfair, especially for Seniors. Hopefully they will put the kids first and get this all worked out Monday night.

Edited September 10, 2004 by EZBeingGreen

[RonMexico07]

NOTE from CoachT:

 

DO NOT post articles on here from newspapers. That is copyrighted material. Please provide ONLY a link to the article.

 

Link to Tennessean article

Edited September 10, 2004 by coacht

[beethoven]

Does this shed any new light on Tharpe's decision to leave the area?

[JKar]

This is a sad situation my prayers are going to be with these guys and may god's will be done there.

[aj1133]

Don't know that even the wizard Tommy Tharp could have guessed this would happen, but I definitely think he could see that athletics in Cheatham County are not a priority. The top dogs in Cheatham County have been trying to eliminate high school sports for several years and they may just be using this as an opportunity to do so. I hope that they catch a ton of heck for it and decide that they should not allow this to happen in spite of some of their other big mistakes (2 bus runs). What's 30,000 as opposed to 400,000? Taking $30,000 of coaching supplements would barley touch the 1.3 million dollar budget problem, that $400,000 dollar waste of two bus trips would make a difference.

[El Rey]

I hope Sycamore can keep their playoff streak alive. For such a young school we have developed a winning reputation in all sports. It would be a shame if they cut the sports programs in the northern part of the county after we have just started to establish ourselves.

 

I was way off on the bus figure, they are going to save about 300k. about 26% (?) of their shortfall.

 

**Tonight might be Sycamore's last game!!!

 

Let's pull a democrat and protest.

[aj1133]

There are coaches within that county whose parents are on the school board and are essentially deciding that their children should not be paid at all for the hour and hours of work that they put in. It averages out to be about $0.28/hour (that's cents) for an assistant basketball coach, I have kept my hours and crunched the numbers. To me it's worth because I loved the interaction with the student athletes and the sport that I was coaching but to ask someone to spend that amount of time as a volunteer coach is crazy. I feel sorry for those assistants, but also the head coaches who depend on their assistants to help them watch and guide these young people. I also feel sorry for the coach whose dad has decided that what he is doing is not worth being paid for. I just don't get it. If anyone should know how an assistant coach in that county feels, it seems it would be a parent of the coach.

 

I respect the stand that the head football coaches are making in this regard in Cheatham Co.!

Edited September 10, 2004 by ELA

[ELA]

Coaching and teaching are professions! We would not dare ask teachers to work for free why should we ask coaches to do so! As coaches, we limit and degrade our profession when we are asked and agree to work for free. Coaches should stand together and refuse to work for school systems that do not respect our profession. Let them hire "youth football coaches" who will work for free but not professionals! I am tired of school boards using athletics as pawns for their budget woes!

[Francis]

Politics as usual in good ole Cheatham County. Boy, wouldn't it be nice to have that power company revenue that was gonna come your way a few years back but the glorious commission turned down because of a few people whining. Just think, somebody...somewhere.... is getting all that money right now.