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Why Coach Towe’s firing is important
By Joboo | March 17, 2008
Discussion on the Randy Towe firing continues to burn hot. This MoSports discussion thread shows a pretty accurate picture of the general thoughts out there. Most people very upset that it happened and/or upset at the treatment of him. Very few folks speaking in favor of it. And they’re not making very convincing arguments when they do. I listened to the Wood Man, who is a Nixa resident and has children in the school, discuss it on Saturday Sports Talk. He actually attended the school board meeting Thursday night to get first hand knowledge of the proceedings. He called the school board members ‘cowards’ and said they showed ‘no guts’ in not presenting any reason for the firing. I couldn’t agree with him more on that point. If you’re going to choose to do such a thing, you should be willing to stand up and say why.
I found a nice little post on the subject on a blog called A Stone’s Throw. Not a sports blog at all, but the gentleman is friends with Randy Towe apparently, and wasn’t afraid to take a look at the bigger problem that resulted in this. That bigger issue being who we, as individuals in our society, are becoming. School boards wouldn’t fire coaches who turn out quality people for not winning if there weren’t parents who wanted that very thing. Some people complain about violence and sexuality in music, in movies, and on TV. But it wouldn’t be there if people wouldn’t watch. The world is a reflection of the people who compose it. In essense, what we get is what the most people want.
Again, I don’t know the whole story here. I can only see what it appears to be. The underlying tone of this whole proceeding smacks of a few vocal, influential parents that have the ear of the AD and school board getting him ousted. That has been done before. Sadly, it’s all part of the politics of high school athletics. Again, I will not condone or condemn the firing of Coach Towe without knowing the ultimate reasons. But he shouldn’t have been treated in such a manner. Those things we’ve already covered. No, the reason I’m now typing my third blog entry on this is to hopefully make people think. Because when people think, they change.
Let me get personal for a minute to better illustrate my purpose. I live in Cassville where we have an excellent high school football coach by the name of David Large. All you have to do to know how good of a coach he is, is look at his record over his time at Cassville. (Is he perfect? Of course not. Do I agree with every decision he & his staff make. No again. But they’re the coaches. It’s what they do. I wouldn’t want them popping into my office yelling at me what to do when they’ve never had any training or experience in my field.) But as good of a coach as he is, I know him to be an even better person. I’ve seen what a fine family he has and how he cares for his wife & children. He’s a teacher that truly cares about the education of his students including his players. I’ve seen how his teams conduct themselves on the field, and more importantly, how they conduct themselves off of it. The young people he has taught, and the young men who have played for him, are better people for it. That is more important that any won/loss record. Our children need all the positive influences they can get these days. And I hope that in the future my son has the opportunity to be taught, coached, and influenced by Coach Large. I can’t think of any higher praise to give a coach. The same could be said for a number of coaches across the Ozarks .
In small towns athletic talent comes and goes. No matter what, when you’re dealing with a set number of people, it just happens. If some time down the road a couple of classes in Cassville have a real shortage of athletic talent, it’s possible that despite his best efforts, Coach Large would only be able to manage a .500 season or worse out of the team. His coaching could be as good as ever, maybe even better. But the players just might not be there. If that were to happen, I can say for a fact that he would not deserve to be treated the way Coach Towe is right now. That his positive influence on our children would be looked at first before the record. That we would value our children first and foremost as people and not athletes.
I’m not some anti-sports nut. Someone who thinks we should just teach our kids the thres Rs and nothing else matters. The very fact that I have this blog illustrates my love of sports. But I know it has it’s proper place. One of the chief things that must come before sports, is the development and the good of our children. Athletics can be a great part of that development, but only when given the right priority. If given the choice between winning games & seeing the students involved go on to become outstanding, upright members of society, I’ll choose the kids every time. In most situations you can have at least a measure of athletic success while achieving the good of the students. But if I had to choose, I’d choose the future of our children. I think if most people would stop and think, they’d choose the same.
At least I believe they would.
Topics: Basketball |