The hard language reality of high school football

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Doug Rogers recently said something which bears repeating: "If any of you have ever been on the sidelines of a high skewl fooball game like I have, I assure you that you would be absolutely appalled at the language and attitude of ANY given coaching staff. This whole Academic Magnet thing is a joke to me personally. I was in the military for 11 years and have never heard some of the language I had to listen to on the sidelines. We really need to look at the bigger picture. Just my two cents."

Like Doug, I have spent a lot of time on the sidelines of high school football games and I will spend time on the sidelines tonight. I have heard coaches curl the grass with their language. I have watched, from a distance as they said things which even the worst lip reader on the planet could interpret.

The comments section on FB are full of replies of people complaining about these coaches. Hang on to that thought a moment; I have to shift gears.

I reminded of what my late grandmother said about former UGA football coach Ray Goff. "He's not mean enough," she said when Vince Dooly announced Goff was being replaced after less than spectacular performances at UGA. Other said Goff was certainly not suitable as a head coach for the same reasons. One person said Goff was best as a recruiter, because he could make parents feel good about their children attending UGA.

Someone, perhaps MA, is going to remind me of an NFL coach who was never abusive toward his players, racked up an impressive win record and is routinely listed as the "Coach I'd most like to play for" by NFL players. I don't really wonder why more NFL players didn't join his team in that case. They didn't because of NFL rules and money, mostly money.

That coach is an aberration.

 Let's shift back to the people complaining about high school football coaches.

Lemme ask you this: Which do you want, a winning football team OR a coach who doesn't swear on the sidelines? Pick one because you cannot have both. Sure, sure, there are aberrations like that NFL coach. But of 1,000 high school coaches with winning records, 999 will be the kind who explode with language that makes some people cringe.

So, which do you want?

I already know.

You want a winning football team. Yes, you do. Attendance in the stands proves it. A winning team packs the stadium. A losing team has only the most die-hard fans most, not all, of whom are parents of children on the team.

The kids want a winning team. When the coach delivers victories, turnout for the team rises. When the coach can't put together a winning season, kids migrate to other activities.

The Board of Education wants a winning team. Losing coaches have a hard time getting their contracts renewed. Winning coaches are courted by other schools.

Winning is what matters. If it takes a coach who can knock the bark off a pine tree at 20 paces, then we'll just have to replant the trees.

Parents of players, you are the worst of the lot. As MH said, "I find it hard to equate any reality into a game where professionals are so over paid that parents would rather their kids get permanent injuries to get on a team."

Complain and disagree all you like. Actions speak louder than words and reality proves you don't really care what kind of language a coach uses so long as he delivers the win.