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9.11.2007
Blistered
Just saw tomorrow's issue of the Messenger and couldn't help but notice that sports writer Robert Morgan gets roasted in the Letters to the Editor section for this article last week. It has something to do with the alleged disorganization of the pee wee football program in Decatur. I've heard some complaints as well.
Edit: The Letters to the Editor have now been posted here.
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74 comments:
I commend him for writing it, but you knew that the poeple of Decatur would band together.
Five year olds playing football is ludicrous - period.
9:50 you're so right.
My daughter played for Robert Morgan. She no longer plays basketball, but he will always be her favorite Basketball coach. He gave her and every other girl on his team the gift of self-confidence and determination. Oh, he ran one heck of a tough practice. But at the end of the day you knew you were better and he cared about all of them. Hats off Robert for having the guts to expose the Uncle Rico's that coach Little League Football.
If you get most middle and high school coaches "off the record", most would admit that they would rather kids play "little league" soccer or basketball up to the point of beginning athletics in 7th grade. Active participation in those two sports help make'em "lean, mean" and coordinated. Coaches value kids with many pre-7th grade years of developing aerobic conditioning and hand-and-eye coordination. If I was an Athletic Director in any ISD, I would really encourage parents to get their kids involved in activities and sports that condition them, and do not involve such "collisions" (remember Vince Lombardi said that basketball is a contact sport, whereas football is a collision sport). THEN, when you get kids entering 7th grade already in great condition, you got some really great future athletes!
45 year oldgetting paid in excess of $60K/year of taxpayers money to COACH football is what's ludicrous!
based on some of the colums he has written before, he likes to stir the pot and i bet the more letters he generates the more he is laughing.
IMHO, 5-year-olds playing football is stupid to begin with and this league, which is the only one in decatur that allows such young boys to play, is dumb for having it.
9:50 you hit the nail on the head. a couple years ago when our boys played there were a few people i would had liked to give a piece of my mind for the way that joke was opperated. but it is decatur and if you complain about someone to the wrong person, they all gang up on ya and talk about you and your family. we moved our boys to alvord and we have never been happier.
Couldn't find the letters to the editor about this story online. Is there a link or do I have to get a paper?
kudos, my friend, kudos
This is just something else for Wise Countians to get their panties in a wad about. Heaven forbid the man have an opinion different from that of the masses...
Wow at 5?
I liked the article it was good and very true. It is not only Decatur though. He did say that it was that way for both teams. I think that every youth sport has the same thing going on as well. I know Boyd has the same problem with at least one of their coaches.
I have 2 boys playing soccer this season and 1 of them had their fist practice and the asst coach was there on time with all the paper work but knew nothing about what to have the kids do or any info other than the kids names. So we all stood around and watched the kids kick the ball in the tall grass (mow city of Bridgeport!) while we waited 20 mins for the coach to show up. And we still have not heard from my other childs coach. My opinion of coaches I have seen goes from wonder and conciderate to I am pulling my child from the team because I dont treat my child that way and neither is anyone else. It is just luck of the draw.
Five year olds playing football?
Sick.
I agree with 9:50 completely! In fact, no child should be expected to "perform" until at least 6th grade. Parents put their child's health at risk when they put them on a field, court at too early an age. Midget, PeeWee should be outlawed!
Funny how Morgan has BACKED the coaching staffs in local high schools, calling those who complained "trouble makers." I guess he is now joining the "trouble maker" ranks! I guess you see now, Mr. Morgan, that there ARE two sides to every story.
What did he expect would happen when parents coach their own kids? Why put your kid through that?
just win baby, just win!
I suppose it's easy for some of you hear to jump on Robert Morgan's bandwagon and bash Decatur and it's programs. They sure aren't perfect but it's just another situation where very few people step up to help but plenty, as evidenced here, can sit back and complain.
True, there are bad coaches but where is Morgan's article on the coaches who have volunteered hours upon hours to help the kids of this area for no personal gain?
thanks for the heads up barry! i just got my WCM and nearly laughed at the letters. let me get this right - those parents wasted space in our local paper to complain about someone for writing his opinion in the newspaper, but they turn around and did the same thing? that is hilarious!
practice what you preach, crybabies!
Go BHS Bulls!
I once heard an orthopedic specialist admit "off the record" that even HIGH SCHOOL is too young to play football (medically and bone-development wise)! Of course, THAT would never sell, but to think that peewee football even exists, is idiocy.
7:52
i think you need to pick up a paper or go to their web site - i think the only bandwagon people are jumping on is the guy that runs the pee wee league. or, perhaps those are parents who are sucking up so they can continue to get placed on certain teams in the future.
Children much under the age of 10 playing a team sport is much like herding cats. You would think the ADULTS responsible for keeping them organized would act better than the children they were responsible for herding. Coordination, and endurance can be instilled in children under 13 by having them play golf, swim, ride bikes, jog or learn gymnastics.
My husband coached soccer for several years in Bridgeport. Initially, he had parents who would gritch at him for his being more interested in having ALL the kids participate than he was in winning. After a couple of years there were always more parents who wanted their children on his team than there were spots on the team.
What made him give up coaching soccer was the bad behaviour of the parents, usually of the opposing teams because he was not opposed to sending home a parent who misbehavied, and the increasing disorganization of the soccer league.
mzcheif, well said.
been there, done that. that is why we left the local pee wee football league and went soccer.
TYPO REPAIR KIT
misbehavied = misbehaved
Play Golf!!
Yea good idea, go to soccer; then maybe they join the band and have lots of fun when theyy get in high school. Soccer is your feel good sport, so every wussy parent can feel good about their child playing!
They are so desperate for coaches that they will hire anyone and when they do get a good coach the parents (or the board members who do not know which way is up (Bport)) ruin it for them so they never return.
Honestly it has nothing to do with quality or they would hold themselves and coaches more accountable, its all about $^QUANTITY^$ how many kids they can get signed up because thats more money they can waste.
I HONESTLY believe that if it was ALL about the kids then they,the board members, would seek for better coaches and actually TRAIN them. Theres no training involved and you will only get a rule book if they dont run out first-I know this b/c I didnt get one.
Do you know that Bport never collects back the supplies issued to the coaches-thats why it cost so much for the kids to play!! They just WASTE OUR money!!
11:16, I would be interested in what coaches you have talked to off the record that approve of 5 year old kids being in organized sports. I coached at the high school level for over 20 years and I don't remember any of the coaches on my staff being big supporters of organized sports below the middle school level. I didn't even allow my own son to play PeeWee Football at the 5th & 6th grade level, because children at that age are not developed enough to be engaged in contact sports, aren't emotionally equipped to deal with overly gung ho coaches who think winning is everything, and because many of those who did participate were taught incorrect techniques that took time to try to correct once they got to middle school. A child starting at the 7th grade level has plenty of time to develop into a great athelete as their body develops. I can't even begin to count the number of kids who were supposedly great in 5th through even 8th grade who never panned out by the time they reached their Junior year due to other kids catching up and passing them in their own physical development or from just being burned out from too many years of having people yell at them over a game that in the overall realm of things, is so insignificant.
I bet if they let the kids run the program all of the problems would go away. Overzealous, dogmatic over-achieving parents are a coach's, and kid's,worst nightmare. Let the children be children and play and have fun---no other agenda is needed.
9:36
i beleive the purpose of youth sports is for every child to play, why should it be any other way? i bet you coach in the wise county youth football league. if not, pleasea apply because you ar a perfect candidate.
9:38am
Why aren't you on the board then? This is what Morgan's entire article is about. Yes he is complainng but he also will be the first to jump in and help out.
9:38am I am not saying you don't help because it sounds like you are a coach but why don't you join the board. It's always open meetings and NO parents ever show up. I have heard so many complain but so few who are willing to get on board and try to make a change. I am on that board and dedicate many hours to it, oh by the way my kids don't even play. I am trying to make a better place for your kids..
Unfortunatley there will always be bad apples in an organization but its the job of the head of that organization to take care of it. We have done that with the BYA, but we would be more then happy for new blood to join!
Suck it up, people. This is what it's like when you live in a town that actually has a variance of opinion. It's a foreign concept for a lot of you, isn't it?
complete agreement about how crazy it is for 5 year olds to play football... i have a hard time with the 3rd and 4th graders playing midget football. but im sure if i ever have a boy old enough my views will change..
For those of you who grew up in Decatur in the 80's I got two words for you that would fix everything in pee wee football.
Harold McFerrin
Not necessarily, 10:36AM - if you ever have a child, remember, you and your spouse are the ones in charge - not the kiddo.
NO is a simple little two letter word that is easy to pronounce. To add emphasis, you can say "Not only NO, but HELL NO!"
We used to make our son incredibly mad - we'd let go with an old Rolling Stones song......."You can't always get what you want...you can't always get what you want...but if you try some times, you just might find, you'll get what you need. Oh yeahhhhh!" Good grief did that piss off the little man. Ha Ha!
He ended up being a pretty nice human.
10:53 LOL!!! You got that RIGHT!!! Ole "Hateful Harold", now he could kick some butt and his players could too!!
9:43 AM, this is 11:16 PM. Actually, I guess I am in agreement with you more than it seems. I wasn't really talking about UNDER 5 year olds, but what you said about ANY organized sports up to the middle school level was interesting. What I had heard was the coaches liking kids being generally physically fit, and have never heard any real objections to youth soccer and basketball, if everybody gets a lot of playing time running around and having fun, especially since those sports have "contact" and not "collision". But you can get too "serious" about them, too. Your reservations about ANY little league sports are interesting, and food for thought. What's ironic, though, is this--if you ask peewee football organizers and coaches, you'll probably find out that they think they are doing school coaches a "favor" in "training" kids early to be "good" at football (quotes indicating skepticism)! Why don't our communities listen to our school coaches on this matter?
9:36 AM--you need to realize that it is these "feel good" sports that REALLY make kids into fit athletes as they enter school athletics. I'll stack up any kid who has constantly played little league soccer and basketball up to middle school, against a kid who has only played peewee football. The former will be in such better overall condition than the latter it won't even be funny. And notice, that's comparing them "athletic-wise"!
I am from Bridgeport and my 6 year old plays in the Decatur Flag Football League. He has a blast and loves it. He would much rather be playing flag football than soccer. There is no harm in teaching 5 and 6 year olds the different postions and what each does on the field. It is harmless and educational for the kids.
Could this be God's plan in action?
Good gosh - nothing gets posts on here like football, cheerleading and religion.
Some of these so called "coaches" (I've known a few), did it for the competition with other "so called" coaches.
Some of these folks just oughta go on to college, get the credentials and do it for real. Pays more too.
And I am NOT bashing volunteers who give their time to kids.
Anything that keeps the redneck, gun-totin', beer-swillin', wife-beatin' bully population in check is ok by me, 12:28PM.
I just read Mr. Morgan's article and I thought he dwelled too much on his negative feelings toward the coach & head honcho. But he did mention early on the need for the county to have a Parks & Recreation Dept. I agree with him, and think if his article would have focused more on a solution than the problem itself, there wouldn't be this much of a blowup.
Bridgeport, Paradise, and Boyd all have Youth Associations whereas in Decatur each league has their own board and works that league only. As a former board member, it is difficult to work with the other sports. Many of them overlap and most kids have to choose one or the other when they may want to be in several. Scheduling practices is a nightmare, because when you get to your field, there's another sport that's having practice there. And then there's problems with the concession stand at Renshaw between soccer and softball when both are playing at the same time. Both leagues want to run the stand so that their association can earn the money.
I know that a Parks & Rec dept will not solve all the problems in Decatur youth sports, but having one paid person to oversee all sports, be accessible, and be held accountable is a step in the right direction.
OMG, OMG, OMG!
I just read in the trusty ol' Messenger that we have a pee wee football coach that played at southlake in the 1990s! Why did i not hear of this before? He has got to be the best thing to ever happen to Wise County. I hope Kyle Story feels threatened about losing his job, because we have a pee wee coach from Southlake.
Where can we sign up? I demand to play for a high school player from Southlake who played on a 3A team. I question his intelligence because he chose to live here, but he played football at Southlake so I bet he is a football genious.
My daughter also played for Mr. Morgan and she would had never got a college basketball scholarship had it not been for him. A man who spends his weekday evenings practicing, getting up every Saturday and Sunday before the sun comes up and contacts college coaches for kids that are not his is a man I would trust with my kid. And all this for nothing.
Thank you Robert!
Parent of #14
man, did you see that britney spears performance? just aweful!
The only reason they coach at this level is to get your Kid the best spot on the team. I could handel the kids but not the moms and dads
Bport coaching is a joke and story is running out of talent!!
8:40, I did in fact read the paper and the web site to see all the articles. The bandwagon started here, not in the paper.
The problem with youth sports really isn't the coaches or the kids most of the time. It's the parents sitting on their duffs and running their mouths.
Oh if only everyone could be like Robert Morgan...the perfect coach, the perfect sports writer and the perfect pompous do gooder. And Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh if only everyone had a venue to voice their OPINION like he does.
hey 4:12, just to let you know, mr. morgan has the same "venue" to voice his opinion as you do - so why don't you use it like a few friends of the pee wee football martyr did and express your feeling. i bet they would do it free, too. i write in about school bond elections and have never had a problem using the "venue".
exercise your right, buddy
My son plays on one of the other pee wee teams and we have noticed that twice there have been pictures on the paper of the team Robert Morgan's son plays for and none of the pictures I beleive even had his son in the pictures. I have to beleive he has been fair to that team and coach. Heck, it was probably a coach's kid running the ball.
My advise to RM, write a letter to the editor next time and maybe people won't get so worked up over your "venue" because it belonged on an editoral page, not sports.
1:53 you are so right.
Morgan, like any one of us, should work toward a solution, and not dwell on the problem.
I don't have a son who plays football, but I know the head honcho, and he's a good, kind, Christian role model who gives his time to this cause - Morgan does not, obviously.
My daughter has played several seasons of little dribblers, and we have had excellent coaches, who, in ALL the years, have focused on playing all players as equally as possible. For this, and these coaches, we owe a huge debt of gratitude: Dwayne Hicks, Chris Lowery, Scott Leonard, Jeff Jones and so many more. We didn't always win, but getting court time can do more for a child's self-esteem than winning and but never getting to play.
A wise teacher once told me, "If you're not part of the solution, then you're part of the problem."
I also know that with the power of the press, also comes responsibility, and Morgan, as any journalist should, needs to exercise responsibility. We are fortunate that the Messenger prints our letters, and for that we should be thankful. The fact that Morgan abuses his power, well, he shouldn't.
If Decatur (or Morgan) wants a Rec League, then go to the City Council meetings and get that ball rolling. If you're not willing to do that, and you're not willing to volunteer to coach your son's team, and instead want to spend time coaching a girl's team, then sit down and take it.
You're a sports editor for gosh sakes. I find it hard to believe that you can access any coach in the county, when you bother to interview them, yet you can't find a way to contact your own son's pee-wee coach. Seriously, could you not have called the parent of another player on the team?
Quit whining and volunteer the next time.
Yes, it was in fact, his OPINION. Everyone is entitled to have one. I find it incredibly amusing that anytime anyone dare breathe a word to the contrary of how the vast majority of this town feels, they're "burned at the stake" by all who took offense. So Robert Morgan dared to disagree with precious Dectatur goings-on. Who cares? I'd much rather voice my opinion than keep it bottled up and pretend that I agree with everyone else who thinks alike.
I agree totally. My son has played on the same team for two years (5th and 6th grade level). Their are 5 coaches and all the kids coaches play the whole game, defense and offense.
It is very concerning as we all paid the $100 for our children to play and learn the game.
The only peewee sport we did not allow our son to play was football. THat turned out to be the sport he loved most in middle school & high school. He lost interest in the sports he played in peewee. Kids (or at least my kid) can burn out when they start so young in organized sports.
I think it's crazy for kids to play football before 7th grade.
I agree with the general sentiment here on why a 5 year old would be allowed to play football. It also goes for the little 5 & 6 year old girls that dress up in their little cheerleader uniforms at school on Fridays and the "Suburban" moms who pick them up early to attend the pep rallies. Why can't they wait until they get old enough to go? Why are these parents grooming their children to be football players and cheerleaders. There is a heck of a lot more to life than this. Wonder if this has anything to do with the eventual steroid use among the boys and the eating disorders among the wanna be cheerleaders in their later years at high school. Just a thought.
TO 4:12...
Jealous, MUCH?
If you did something to make a POSITIVE difference rather than attempt to knock down people who actual IMPROVE society perhaps you would look less like a bitter loser.
HAROLD ROCKS!!!!!
Maybe he should spend more time with his 5 year old and less time with other people's kids.
5:38, my daughter plays for mr. morgan and i can promise you he volunteers more time in one month than most volunteer coaches do in a year. i don't recall mr. morgan ever saying the head honcha was not a christian or any of those other absurd things you mention. i think it said he refused to give him his little boy's coach's phone number - so it sounds to me he did try to get the coaches number as you suggested he do like he does for high school coaches.
like another poster, i think it was a write up that should had been on an opinion page or a letter to the editor, but i do not see how he adused any power - use used the same power that four other people did in the WCM today, they wrote their opinion of him. So, it makes no one involved better than the other since they all used a newspaper to belittle the other. try a phone next time, parents (mr. morgan) and coaches (those who ignored him).
Maybe we should leave our f-ing kids alone and let them...I don't know...be kids...who's really gives a flying F, what you wussy parents and grandparents say.
Whats wrong with wearing a Cheerleading uniform to school to support the EAGLES. My daughter loves the cheerleaders and most we know are very nice, motivated leaders. I do pick my daughter up and take her to the pep rallies -whew - a whole 10 minutes early-and really dont care if you have a problem with that. She loves to see what its like to be part of something big and makes her look forward to High School and just enjoying being young. Cheerleading is not just about popularity anymore. The girls have to have gymnastic and dance skills to make the team. It is very athletic and they do a great job.
There are issues with some of the organization of the youth league and there has been for years. There is a shortage of coaches for football and cheerleading. I am sure some new blood could help perk things up. I do agree that it is the luck of the draw when it comes to team assignments. Some have great coaches and some do not. Come join the meetings and help out. There is a job for anyone who has the time. It takes a village!
Well I know the Hafers and the Shrivers wrote two of the letters and they are related to each other and go to church with Darrin Partridge. Courtney Partridge wrote one of the letters and that is the "Head Honchos" daughter.
I do not think Darrin can be blamed for the coaches lack of communication with his parents. Darrin runs a pretty good ship, for a volunteer organization.
wow, 61 comments on pee wee football? we sure got our priorities wrong. go kiss your child and tell them you love the rather than post about people you dont know all day.
i know darren, i know robert ... both of them are great men, have strong values and care about the kids. everything else is elementary.
thats comment #62 for ya. next?
If Mr. Lap-Band was so concerned about the coaching situation, why didn't he step up and volunteer after seeing how sub-par the league was to his personal standards? Why he could have whipped that league into shape overnight with his mad coaching skillz.
He's whining and using his position to rub others noses in it.
How hard is it to climb you rear out of the car, walk over to the Coach and ask "What's your phone number?"
Nobody in their right mind should give out a private phone number without proper permission to a stranger over the phone.
Why didn't he get the details (phone, schedule, ect.) when he signed his kid up? Oops, sorry. Too busy trying to win another award for the Mess!
Has anybody ever heard of a Decatur soccer coach named Chris Hodges? Now he was one of the best coaches ever. He coached for maybe 10 years in Decatur and various other soccer associations. The parents loved and respected him just like their kids did. We all could of used a coach like Chris!
It looks like he has found how to be a successful journalist. Let me assure you, Nichols and his disciples love it!
i agree with 11:37 - the more letters they recieve and they more blog time it gets, the better it is for their paper. the more people that talk about the paper, the more they sit back, laugh and smile at their morning meetings.
i found the story amusing and the letters just as funny.
for the Mess, it was mission accomplished. I bet we see at least one more letter this weekend. How funny to see these adults write letters because they are too scored to make a phone call.
is there any real news going on? motorcycle crash or something?
Phone calls have been made. Mr. Morgan informed us if we wanted to complain about it to write a letter to the editor.....se we did! He would not dicuss the matter on the phone and Mr. Nichols hides in the back of the office.
haha, he told the winers to write letters? that proves that the story was to get people talking about the paper and it worked. looks like four people fell for that already.
i was told either nichols or morgan called the "head honcho" and he never called back again. i will know tonight when we see him, but based on apparent past experiences, i have to beleive yet another call was ignored.
People like 1:29 are way we have kept our son out of youth sports until he is in middle school. We had one season that was ruined by one of your coaches and we have not been back.
SKIP HIDE IN AN OFFICE? that is news to me. that little fireplug is one of the biggest pain in the arses in the county. He knows everything that goes on and he is everywhere (too many places if you ask me). I think 1:29 is a lying coach's wife because Skippy would be the last one to hide from a good fight! Rool your sleeves up and go get ya some. I work for the WCSO and I wouldn't do battle with him.
That's why we love America, we all have the freedom of speech and press. All this time used for complaining, go volunteer somewhere and make a difference in the lives of our youth. Don't be part of the problem, be part of the solution. You can change the world one life at a time. I admire the coaches that step up and volunteer their time and sometimes money to help these kids belong to something good. Good coaches are hard to find. Sometimes it isn't all about winning, it is about getting out there and doing your best. A kind word of encouragement goes a long way. Some of us can learn from the children about good sportsmanship.
I'll have you know that Nichols does not hide in his office, but a reliable source told me he spends alot of time tapping his foot in the men's room... :D
DC
i think my IQ is dropping since reading through all of this. So here is what I got. Mr. Morgan is right and is perfect, a head honcho of a league he wrote about is right and is perfect. Ok, now we know that everyone is perfect and never does wrong or even has a flaw, let's move on to some sexy pictures of Mandy Moore.
he said, she said, they said, we said ..... UGH, stop the insanity.
this sounds like a job for the wonderful joe duty. sir, could you please attend the next practice and game of this bunch. with bitchy parents (the morgans), playing-to-win coaches (all five of them on the same team) and the crybabies (family and friends of partridge and mantooth) who complained about a man's opinion but did the same thing themselves, this could be like Meet the Fockers part 3.
My son plays on a 5 & 6 grade Boyd peewee team and our experience has been great. Our son has never played football, we just moved here (new in a small town), he is in 5th grade (not older/bigger), he is small for his age and my husband does not coach! But what I can tell you is he has heart...and his coaches are always looking for heart! He starts on offense and he often goes in on defense toward the end. Yes,the coach's son plays quarterback and his is good...no excellent! Thank you to the Partin Brothers you are great coaches!
I don't expect to see my son playing in college....but what I do expect is that he comes away from youth sports with a better understanding of what life. And I think we can all agree life is not always fair!
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