So This Happened:
“Jack W. is no longer the Okemos football coach. There’s a difference of opinion about whether he resigned or was terminated. “I want to be very clear we didn’t fire Jack W.,” Okemos athletic director Ira C. said. “This morning (Thursday), we were notified that a text was sent to student-athletes by Coach W. basically wishing them well, and saying it was a pleasure to coach them. Based upon that, we are moving forward. We decided this morning that Mike K. will be the interim coach of the Okemos football program. “We didn’t make any change. We wouldn’t fire any coach midseason unless there was gross negligence or harm to a student-athlete, and Jack definitely didn’t do either one of those.” W. says he was pressured to resign during an hour-long meeting with C. and Okemos High School principal Christine S. that started at 6 p.m. on Wednesday. “During the meeting I suggested that maybe I should resign, but I told them I wanted to wait until the morning, talk with my wife, and wait and see what I wanted to do,” he said.”
And Then This Happened:
“He was back running sprints with his team, encouraging an offensive lineman as he finished up. Jack Wallace was reinstated as Okemos’ varsity head football coach during practice on Monday after meeting with Superintendent Catherine A., Principal Christine S. and Athletic Director Ira C.. “We just had a lot of emotion today. It’s good to be back,” was all Wallace would say after practice.”
And This Columnist Said This:
“I heard from a number of parents of Okemos players in the aftermath of the W. change. And I am convinced that the hefty $377 pay-to- play fee Okemos parents have to ante up is part of the issue. Parents charged such a tab figure in return their son deserves playing time and when it doesn’t come — especially on a winless team — frustration mounts. When there were no pay-to-play fees coaches didn’t have the same pressures on playing time. Coaches everywhere now probably have to consider roster sizes when they have to make a final determination on students who don’t have much chance for meaningful playing time.”
And This Columnist Said This:
“So far nobody has explained the vast chasm between W.’s perception of events and C.’s. C. has acknowledged only “the process was flawed.” Now there’s a man with a gift for understatement. I happened to catch a live interview with C. on Jack E.’s radio show Tuesday afternoon. C. did himself no favors. I understand that discussing personnel matters in a public forum is tricky business for a school administrator, but C. came across as a man way over his head.”
I Say This:
I understand parents will complain. The administration was stupid to do more than listen and dismiss.
Since Fric (and Frac) are on the fringes of the program, I’m familiar with most of the players in this drama. Cpher, in particular, remembers Coach Wallace congratulating him after a particularly nice swim-move to get by an OL to sack the quarterback in a drill earlier this year. The interim head coach, and defensive coordinator for the varsity, is one of Cpher’s coaches.
The whole sequence has been ugly, with 90% of parents just outraged at what has happened. I understand the booster club has had a lot of resignations this week. Not sure if they will un-resign at this point.
But I will weigh in on pay-to-play. You don’t get special status for it and it doesn’t guarantee anything. But it sucks; the money doesn’t go towards athletics, it goes into the general fund. It is a tax, it is a way for the district to get extra revenue. 90% of the general fund is teacher and administrator salaries and benefits. Buildings and site funds come out of a different kettle of money. So the lie that the $$ goes to athletics is just that, a lie. I know what 90% of it is going for.
Suzanne and I will pay over $1k in extra ‘fees’ for school-related sports and activities this year (that doesn’t even include ‘school’ things that are outside of school; two football fees, two lacrosse fees. Checks made out to some portion of the school district include a whopping $560 bill for Kevin and Cpher Athletics (Cpher can play MS Basketball this year). Other charges include bass rental (kind of hard to take that instrument back and forth to school), quiz bowl, drama club, etc and so on.
To be clear, I am not bitching. Except for this bitch….to call the fee anything more than a tax is disingenuous.
