Unreal!

[smokeyjoe53]

Guess there'll be at least one open position.

 

[Dogface]

Wonder if they need someone right now?

 

[MamaPanther]

So how does a school like Panther Creek with a long running traditional football program become what it is this season? There was a time that Panther Creek had a strong athletic program and academic program. Now it seems they have neither. Are times changing that much?

It's really funny that you're saying athletics AND academics are on the decline at our school. Football is not the only sport in which our athletes compete. Yes, we LOVE football, and yes, our boys have had a rough year, but I really don't think the bashing is appropriate. It does not reflect positively on our school or our community. As far as academics, maybe you missed where PC ranked in the top 25% in academic progress for schools our size in the state? And perhaps you also missed the distinctions our school earned in BOTH English/Language arts and Math? Such distinctions are not awarded to schools whose academics are on the decline, much less nonexistent. These accountability ratings were released this past August based on results for the prior school year. They are available on the TEA website. I don't understand what you have hoped to accomplish by running our school down. We have a GREAT school based on PRIDE and TRADITION, NOT on negativity! When you talk bad about our school and our athletic & academic programs, YOU'RE talking bad about our kids. Yes, that IS bashing! How can you NOT consider yourself to be bashing them? Or is it just the staff you're aiming your criticisms at (AGAIN???) It's bad enough when others do it, but why would someone who calls herself a PCMom??? If our school is on such a downhill slide, why do YOURS still go there?? And as for football, we may be down this year, but we're not out forever. We'll be back even stronger! THANK YOU to everyone else who have been posting supportive, positive comments. They are greatly appreciated!

 

[MamaPanther]

And by staff, I mean the teachers, not the coach...

 

[Little Doc]

You are right on Dogface2. Anyone that knows anything about small schools, knows that any schedule change or cancellation is made by the superintendent. They will make the final decision. As far as the mad mom supporting a bunch of kids that want to quit, she is setting a bad precedence. Every coach gives constructive criticism. Every employer in the workplace does the same. It's for your benefit to listen in order to get better. Not criticizing the kids, but in this age of giving everybody a trophy for a feel good feeling, doesn't make them mature enough to make a decision to quit. PC is a good school and is going thru some tough times as all small schools do with respect to football. Maybe, Coach Lee saw this coming and it helped him make his decision to retire easier. The new coach is a good man! Just my opinion.

 

[PCMOm]

Agreed---Constructive criticism is a good tool for improving football players as well as the performance of everyone else. However, this was not constructive criticism. It was demeaning, belittling, discouraging, spirit/passion breaking criticism. And no child should have to listen to that from an adult.

 

[PCMOm]

And if it was just constructive criticism as told to the superintendent who knows the children and the coach do you think the superintendent would have apologized to the children and told them it was his job to protect them?

 

[Little Doc]

Maybe what was said was the truth. I wasn't there and neither were you. Yes, administrators are there to protect the kids, as they should. And if you don't think some kids slant things to make the adults out to be the bad guys, you aren't very smart. Of course you could be one of those that says my child has never lied to me. Yeah, welcome to the real world!

 

[CowboyP]

If you have a problem with the coach, schedule a meeting with him an express your concerns. If that doesn't work, go to the Supe. There is no need for bashing the man here.

 

[CoachL2021]

I used to coach at Dell City and enjoyed my time there. When I got there we had around 14 kids and 6 in Jr high. By year 3 we were at 8 or 9 kids and still only 6 in Jr High. We played hard every week and managed to keep a team. I know since then they have continued to try to put a team on the field. Good Luck DC

 

[Old Bearkat]

As the rural area populations continue to shrink, this will become more and more common with the schools. PC is a combination of two rural schools, Mozelle and Talpa-Centennial, each of which in the 60's had quite a few more kids than PC does now. Heck, back in the 30's and 40's, Mozelle, Talpa, and Centennial all used to play 11 man football.

With continuing automation, farmers/ranchers need fewer workers and can handle larger operations by themselves, and most oil patch workers commute from larger nearby towns, so shrinkage is guaranteed.

 

[PCMOm]

Little Doc you are making some generalizations about a person (me) that you don't know. So I'm going to let slide the fact that you just called all of these kids liars. Yes there are parents who believe their children do no wrong. I'm not one of them. I do live in the real world. Remember where there is smoke there is fire.

And Cowboy P, if that route would work at PC we would use it. In fact some of these concerns were brought up to the coach and it all changed as soon as school started. I don't doubt he is a good man with many good qualities. I just have my doubts that coaching in his current style is what he needs to be doing. I also think that this experience for him can go a long way in him becoming a better coach. I really believe that all teachers and coaches become teachers and coaches because on some level they have genuine concern about kids. I don't think they would put in the hours or accept the rate of low pay compared to the hours if they didn't. I do believe that they do it because they want to make a difference in lives. I also know that teachers and coaches are also human and can get caught up in politics and burned out. There is also the lack of support they can get from administration and school boards that factor into their stress levels and how they act.

There are a lot of good coaches and teachers in all schools including Panther Creek. There are a lot of good and talented kids in Panther Creek and all schools. However, just as there are kids who will lie to get adults in trouble there are adults who do not treat children correctly and will blame the child instead of taking responsibility.

 

[SixFan19]

I am not speaking for Coach Wood but, when did it become standard practice that coaches have to coddle their players? I hear about coaches at several schools constantly texting their players and trying to keep them motivated and interested in playing among other things. It just seems to me that too many (in the generation we now have in high school) require a lot of babying to keep them on a team. I think it is most evident in six-man because you don't start out with many players to begin with. Throw in the fact that we now have all of these private/homeschool/internet based options with six-man programs that have coaches who actively recruit public school players. I am not saying that all recruit but I know of two programs they spent A LOT of time attempting to and the way it is set up, they have every right to do so.

Quitting a football team because you don't like the way you are being coached is NOT a valid reason to quit. Of course there are valid reasons for needing to quit, but a coach being hard on you is not one of them. Knowing Coach Wood as well as I do, I HIGHLY doubt that he said anything out of line or asked his players to do anything he wouldn't do himself. It is really a shame to see this happen at PC and at many other schools around the state. I have even heard of this happening on the college level the last couple of years. While this has always happened to some very small degree it just seems like it is getting worse, much worse.

What happened to the days when it was an honor and a privilege to strap on your school's helmet and represent your school and town with pride on Friday nights? With Panther Creek, given their rich tradition, it just seems too easy to want to uphold that tradition. Its easy to blame the coach when things are down and by being a coach you wear a bulls eye on your back at all times but in this case the problem is much deeper.

 

[Little Doc]

One lesson my mother taught me many years ago was that once I started something, I was going to finish it. No matter how bad I thought something was, I wasn't allowed to quit. It's amazing after a while it wasn't as bad as I thought it was. Childish decisions sometimes lead to a lifetime of regrets.

 

[Shad Kline]

However, this was not constructive criticism. It was demeaning, belittling, discouraging, spirit/passion breaking criticism.

Sounds like my high school football coach. And I loved him for it. He was hard, real hard, and I think it made me better. On and off the field.
In the military, the purpose of boot camp is to tear you down as a boy, and build you back up as men. I think football should be handled with about that same attitude. Once a new coach gets their head on right, he can teach them something. Until then, they don't learn.

 

[MamaPanther]

PCMom's statements have been a little misleading. The coach was a very large factor, yes, but our boys are not quitters. I can't think of any instance of any of these boys quitting anything before. These boys, for the most part, have been raised to finish what they start. It's amazing to me how many people have such negative things to say about the boys themselves, as if they know them or have spent even a moment in their shoes. So incredibly critical of a situation of which they have no part or first-hand knowledge. Passing snap judgements based on their own past (irrelevant) experiences and statements made by one person who has taken it upon herself to speak for a whole school and a whole team. As I have previously stated, I DO NOT condone the bashing that has been done to the coach. If someone has an issue, I agree COMPLETELY that it should not be broadcast all over the internet. It makes everyone from PC look bad, and it is completely uncalled for. PCMom needs to hush and leave it alone, and quit speaking for everyone else at our school. And to clarify one more misstatement, PCMom contributed an 18% failure rate to our football team and directly linked that to our school competence, etc. In reality, yes, we did have 3 players fail, and of these, 2 are students new to our school this year, one moved in mid-six weeks. The other player transferred last year, already way behind. I do not see how that can possibly reflect on the academic standards of our school, the coach, the team, or anything/anyone except the individuals themselves. Study hall, tutoring, and homework help is readily available before, during, and after school. As for the ending of our season, if everyone will recall, we are down to 5 players. They had already forfeited all district play, and were scheduled for JV games for the rest of the season. The injured 6th player will not even be considered for release until October 29th, if then. I'm not sure how anyone expected them to finish with only 5. Sometimes you just have to know when enough is enough.

 

[Count Coog]

Enough is Enough...

Fact: People cancel too much. Take your butt whoopins and lets go.

Opinion: Panther Creek is a crappy little town, which a bunch of little Babies in it.

MamaPanther - "PCMom doesn't know what she is talking about. Well she does but I am going to state my opinion on why our boys aren't going to finish the football season....AGAIN!"

PCMom - "Coach sucks, Kids are quitters, it is the teachers fault they failed."

 

[Count Coog]

Jeffn86:

If you believe that he is "giving kids a chance to play" then let me tell you about this place in Arizona...

He has kids playing on his team that have already graduated from High School, the preacher's son as a matter of fact, but they are good christian people. There are kids that are enrolled and are educated in Spurger, Kountze, Woodville, and Warren ISD, playing for the Good Samaritan Hornets. Sorry, I was under the impression that Home School meant Home School. Sorry for calling out Coach Haynes, and their Preacher/Athletic Director Robert Moore for their shady practices, oh wait no I am not.

When our coach busted them and told them that we wouldn't play them, Coach Haynes said "Well you better check your schedule, because we are not the only ones doing it." OH WAIT, HOLD ON!!!! Now that we are adults and an example to children, it is ok to do something just because other people are...

The prayers that people are sending out should be for those players at Good Samaritan, that they find the right path despite faulty leadership and poor role models.

Please keep in mind that I did not bring the Coach's names into it, you did.


Tom Evans
Cove, TX

 

[MamaPanther]

Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed or something today! You're just spreading sunshine everywhere! I guess if nothing else, we all can see it's not just the "town" of Panther Creek you're hating on. Haha

I do hope your day gets better!