Turning the Knife.



 

Dedicated to MIKE- Stuck in a Hanger in Kyrgyzstan 

After this posting, you probably will not hear much more from me about WHY we are not coaching...because I am going to beat the subject to death.  I am going to try and explain why this whole deal is so painful for all of us, and hopefully people will at least TRY to understand why we are so pissed off.  I am going to focus on things I have done personally, but all my brothers-in-coaching have their own stories just as noble as mine.  My stories are nothing special....but they are examples of how a good coach (and I am a GOOD coach) will go the extra mile for his kids....and YES, I am talking about the players.  The kids are our babies, and it is our job to take care of them, nurture them, teach them, and most importantly, LOVE them.  www.coach-george.blogspot.com 

 

Both my own children (Kristin & Mike) realize I have over 1500 kids.  They often had to share their Daddy with his players, especially if I had a child in need.  They were used to me bringing players home to eat with my family, or perhaps going to a sporting goods store to purchase cleats for a player who could not afford new ones.  They have watched me give my last dollar or two to a player who wanted a cold drink from a concession stand after a game.  My kids never complained though, because to them, this was a normal way of life.  Their Daddy was just being Coach Dad....and I was taking care of my kids.  I have NEVER turned my back on a player....ever. 

 

Like I said earlier, EVERY coach has his / her own stories about going the extra mile for his kids.  This is exactly what makes the accusations against my coaching brothers so disturbing.  Our staff was together for so long that it almost became automatic for us.  " Hey guys, so and so needs groceries for the house"  We all reach into our pocket and give what we can give...no questions asked.  "Hey guys, so and so needs his electric bill paid.  They are cut-off"  We all dig deeper into our pocket and pay the bill for his family.  "Hey guys, so and so house just burned down...his family is homeless"  Again, a collection is taken.   We never asked for anything in return.  Just knowing you did the right thing was payment enough. 

 

"Turning your back on the program" 

 

Man, I gave my LIFE for SRHS program.  Everything I did in the community revolved me being with the football staff.  My retail business revolved around the football program.  My PERSONAL life revolved around SRHS football.  Here are some things I bet you did not know. 

 

* We PERSONALLY built the Barber Street Football Complex.  Chuck Scala, Mike Rizzo, Myself, and Charlie Webster hand dug the footers for the building.  We personally laid every block, and placed every roof truss on the building.  We BUILT the building, placed the score board, BUILT the goal post, and created the playing field.  Wayne Tozzolo donated so much time, and donated so many contractors to the cause as well.  We built the entire complex for $50K and deeded the facility to the city.  All the labor was free to the city.  Now they have a facility worth at least 300K or better.  All this was done so SRHS would have a good feeder program. 

 

*  I got married on SRHS Football field.  On the 50 yard line.  The preacher wore referee stripes.  Chairs were set-up on the field.  One of my best men was Dan Smith...a coaching colleague.  Bethel sat in the stands and threw me the ring taped to a football.  Cheerleader cheered, and members of the band played.  The ushers were former players who wore football jerseys and their former number.  WHY?  Because being a SRHS coach is who I am. 

 

Granddaughter Kelsey Holding "Ring" Ball 



 

 

*  I worked HARD to make sure the program was saving money.  I brought home BAGS of laundry and asked Marty to sew them up for Coach Wilson.  She spent HOURS sewing jerseys and pants, girdles, etc.. because we did not have the funds to replace them.  I watched Coach Wilson recycle old uniforms into practice gear because we did not have the money to purchase new stuff. 

* We had a "Little Person" on our team.  All this kid wanted was to look like everyone else on the team.  Marty spent HOURS sewing and adjusting the team clothing to make sure his uniform looked like everyone elses.  Again....Needed to save money. 

* Did you ever notice the HUGE clothing being worn by the big people on the team?  Know where it came from?  Thats right.  Marty actually cut-down old jerseys and sewed them together to make one large jerseys.   Again, we wanted to save the program some money. 

 

*  I wish I had a dollar for every helmet I took home and replaced face mask, or added shields that the player's wanted to add.  I used to sit here in my office, or on the living room couch and work on them while watching television. 

 

*  Water machines or water cows?  We did not have the money for new ones, so I used to BUILD these machines so the kids would have something to drink during games or practices.  These things are VERY EXPENSIVE, and replacing them was never in the budget.  So, I built them.  Look on the field today, and you may still see one. 

 

*  Video Recorders?  LOL, we never had one for practices.  The coaches used to bring their own equipment from home to use.  We could not copy DVD's for video exchange, so BETHEL purchased one (Out of his own pocket) so we could make some copies.  Luckily, Mr. Wouldridge used to film our games.  But camera equipment and recording equipment was not in the budget.  Especially the costs of HUDL. 

 

* We always had issues with electricity.  When they tore out the portables, they took our nearest source of electricity with them.  It was impossible to make anything electrical to work on the practice fields.....so I got some long HEAVY 10 gauge (3 wire cord) and made the huge electrical cords to run from the football building to the practice field.  We asked for a simple electrical outlet and never got it.  Not in the budget. 

 

*  Coaches always used their own vehicles to transport equipment....all over the area.  Then we got a large trailer, and we pulled that all over the area.....free of charge.  We did not even ask for gas money, because it probably was not in the budget.  Maybe, just maybe, we could use that money for new wrist bands, or maybe new footballs. 

 

* See the big trash cans being used now on the practice fields?  Well, most of them were donated by my brother's company.  Tony Perry used to love them for practice purposes.  Again, making do with what we had to work with. 

 

*  Last year we did not have practice balls.  The ones we did have were old and slick, and the QB's could not throw them.  I gave them all to the kickers, and personally purchased 6 Wilson "P" Balls to use for practice.  We had some game balls, but practice balls were hard to come by.  Not in the Budget.   

 

*  The JV team has not always been fed like they are now before games.  In the early days, the JV team simply did not eat while on the road.  Dan Smith and I used to purchase Peanut Butter and Jelly to feed the kids before the game started.  In the later years, Marty and Tammy Harp used to actually take off work to cook and feed the kids a hot meal before football games.  The actual food costs was always covered, but it was a minor cost in the grand scheme of things. 

 

" Turned our backs on the kids" 

 

Are you serious?  Really?  I could go on and on with these same stories, and every former coach on the staff has stories of his own. We do this for the love of the kids, and all of us have certainly paid our dues.  We do not owe anything to anyone.  

 

Yes, our staff is very tight.  We are all dedicated to each other.  We have celebrated the birth of children.  We have morned the death of a family member.  We have raised each other's kids.  We have watched each other's kids go off to college.  We have watched as Grand Children were introduced into our coaching family.  YES, we have fought each other...what family does not fight?  We make fun of one another, and laugh and tease each other.  But you know what?  No one else is allowed to do it.  We have proven that we will unite and stay together when one of us is wronged.  

 

Finally, I will state this again. We did not return to coaching because of the way things were handled.  The dismissal of Randy Bethel (after winning a District Championship) was WRONG.  It should have at least got him another couple of years.  We did not want this....The administration wanted this.  Now, the school has to pay the price. 

 

I'm done with this subject right now.  Don't bother asking me again. 

 

GZ

 

PS.  To all the SRHS Players.  I still love all you guys, and you know that.