Coaches - Not My Favorite Aspect of Education
Justin Bathon on Sunday, March 29, 2009 at 11:23AM Well, I guess now is as good a time as any to make my dislike for school-employed coaches public. If you have had me in class, you are already aware of my feelings in this regard.
My university just fired our basketball coach, Billy Gillespie, perhaps you've heard. So, I went to a few games this year and I watch them on TV when I can and I understand that our basketball team is probably all the general public knows about the University of Kentucky. But, we spend a lot of money on it. They make a lot of money, but we also just throw money around somewhat recklessly. For instance, we are going to pay our coach six million just to fire him (although the university is going to spend a lot of legal dollars trying to pay less). The point is that sports are overshadowing academics at the University of Kentucky - and since I am on the academic side, I am not particularly fond of that.
Now, the counter argument is that the benefits of physical activity far outweigh the potential risk of injury or death. The problem is that coaches don't coach to make kids healthy ... they coach to win - frequently at all costs. When kids play they will get hurt, but the risk of getting injured or killed when they are exhausted or pushed to their limits increase substantially. Why is it that schools have to take on that risk? Why not cities? Why not private companies, like in professional sports?
From a legal perspective, employing coaches is just not a great idea. I understand that tradition dictates we do it and there are community benefits by rooting for the home team, but school administrators need to be very, very careful with their coaches and not get too enthralled with winning. Let's not take our eye off the ball, to use a sports analogy, by putting winning before our student's health.
Reader Comments (7)
Looks like someone is pissed they didn't make the varsity basketball team their senior year. For every negative high school sports story, I could give you 100 positive stories about athletics.
Everything should be a balance with students. Academics, arts, and athletics. You stereotype coaches as individuals who do not care about the well being of their athletes.
I understand that sports sometimes eclipse athletics at schools but there are also many life lessons that are learned on the athletic fields. It is important that schools put more effort into the type of people they hire to be coaches because these people usually have even more of an impact on young people than their classroom teachers. Good coaches make a tremendous impact on the people they serve. There are those who need to be removed and we would all do well to remember why school's exist in the first place but athletics serve a valuable role.
My high school football coach had a profound impact on my life. Not because of how many yards I gained or marks in the W column but more importantly because of the type of person he was. Everyone on my team is a better human being for having spent four years with him. I can only hope for the same for my children.
Your comments on cities taking the risk is intriguing. I remember speaking to some of our foreign exchange students about sports in Europe and I believe that is the usual set up over seas.
First and foremost, let me say I only graduated High School because I played sports. I loved to play and I had coaches that cared about me, not just for my ability on the field... they pushed me to do better academically as well. I went to college on a partial scholarship. This was good because my parents could not afford it at all. I graduated college and went on to become a teacher and, oh by the way, a coach of several sports. Being a coach allowed me to get to know my students outside of the classroom and help them stay motivated to perform on and off the field just like my coaches did for me.
Yes people get hurt playing sports, but don't kids get hurt in gym... on icy sidewalks... hit by buses and cars on the way to and from school... and so on? If you have not played, coached, or had children that played sports... forgive me for saying you don't understand.
Do coaches at higher levels make lots of money? Yes! but so do celebrities, and executives... deal with it.
That is a good point Charlie. That is more of the European model and I wouldn't mind trying it out over here. At least in soccer their youth leagues are dominant which are independent of schools, and perhaps the U.S.' soccer youth leagues might start us down that path.
For the record, I did play high school football. No, I didn't learn all that much. My junior year I quit to work a real job on a farm and was better for it. I was responsible for breaking a kid's leg in football, though, and I have never been especially happy about that. Any other psychoanalytical questions?
I get that it helps some people Edward, but it is high risk, high reward. From a legal perspective, I don't like the high risk. From an education perspective, you may like the high reward - but how many kids get hurt achieving that and is that something that we could achieve somewhere outside of school? The problem is that the high risk is in the hands of people not really trained or qualified to manage it. And, on top of that, they bring in parents and assistant coaches that really have no idea whatsoever. The fact that schools have to employ trainers just to try to limit the damage, should tell about all you need to know on that front.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_RZP3D_jrk&feature=channel_page
Watch this video from Coach Bill Fennelly at Iowa State. This is after their huge win Saturday night. It's more than just about the W's to him. He talks at about the 2:45 mark.
"The ESPN people love ya, love ya, and that's what this is tournament is all about." -- that part?
The fight to the bitter end stuff and "its not about winning" was great and all and there are certainly TONS of life lessons in sports, but I think that sentence above is more than just a slip.
Are colleges playing sports for the kids, or for the ESPN dollars? As UK looks seriously at hiring John Calapari from Memphis, a proven cheater, I think there are serious questions around that statement.
Obviously the tourney makes money but ESPN also helps highlight women's basketball, which most networks don't!!
It's easy to pick out one bad line out of a great speech from a coach and twist it into your own meaning. I interpreted it as the tournament is all about excitement, passion, and recognizing the game of women's basketball.
You used the youth soccer leagues as an example of private organizations running athletics in K-12. Do you know how much money parents have to invest in the those groups for them to be successful? These are not non-profit groups. Take AAU basketball which has exploded the past few years around the country. To be on an AAU team most individuals/families have to pay 750-2000 dollars to participate. Do you think students living in poverty will have the opportunity to participate? Or at least be able to compete on a level with other students who can afford those enrichment opportunities?