Sometimes there are pit falls to living in a small town. Let's take for instance tonight when a friend of mine called to see if I had checked my mail. (In Manila we go to the post office to get our mail) I commented I hadn't and she suggested I do so QUICKLY. Thinking that was weird she then went on to tell me to check the community board outside the post office for a petition against my HUSBAND as the girls high school basketball coach. Well I went immediately and low and behold there it was!! An actual petition on the Internet for people to sign if they wanted Ben gone as coach. I knew at once who had done this and why. There was a man who has been after the coaching job since Ben was hired to be the assistant coach 3 years ago. He's always complaining to whoever will listen and bad mouthing Ben and his coaching skills. Last week he went to the school board to ask if Ben could be removed as head coach. The school board said no it wasn't up to them but the athletic director AKA the HS Principal. I was at that board meeting and heard the whole thing first hand. I was assured by the principal that Ben's job was secure and he hadn't heard complaints as the man had alleged at the school board meeting. Then tonight there was an awards ceremony for the winter sports, girls basketball included. This man's wife and daughter (on the team) spent most of the evening pulling parents of other players aside telling them about this petition and that they needed to sign it. I was LIVID, and still am by the way. If anything good has come out of this it's been the out pouring of support by the other parents. I've had many come up to me and tell me they will have nothing to do with the petition and they think Ben is doing a great job. The petition just went up this afternoon but so far the only people who have signed are the wife, husband and daughter. I hope that's as far as it goes but hey it's been interesting to see the lengths some people will go to to cause trouble.
To those out there that support us and have offered encouraging words and love I thank you. It's nice to know that Ben is appreciated and most people think he's doing a good job.
PS - Sorry for the rant but I'm really P*#*ed OFF!!!!!
15 comments:
Holy. Crap.
Sorry, Sarah. I was sad, although not surprised, to hear your story. Hang in there- things always blow over eventually. Maybe you should make a list of the good things about living in Manila.... To be honest, this is why Tim never wanted to coach basketball while we were there... too much emotion involved. Baseball is pretty safe- no expectations there!
Welcome to life in a fishbowl of a small town. I'm sorry hon. I think Ben will weather this storm with the usual calmness that is Ben.
MA
The person that started that petition talk to two people about it the night of red and white night and she was just informing them it was there so that they could make there own choice as to whether or not they would sign it. That is after all what it is there for. She didn't go around to most of the girls on the basketball team trying to bully them into signing like somebody else (I won't mention any names) was trying to bully them into not getting involved in it.
A good coach in my book does not ask the team if they are ready for another losing season, or tell them that they are an embarrassment, or that they are the laughing stock of the league like our oh so great girls basketball coach.
The people that started this petition had parents and community members coming up to them all throughout the season that Ben needed to be replaced so they thought they would have alot of people backing them and now that they have started the process to get him removed very few of those people will back them. Probably because they are afraid of the backlash that is possible through his employment with the state and also as basketball coach. As for them being mad because he didn't get the assistant position give me a break, he would have been happy just to volunteer his time and help the team and the coach out. It was what 3 years ago and if they were going to do anything about how the hiring process was handled they would have done it then. Why would they risk retaliation against there daughter during basketball season if they didn't think what they were doing was right.
I found out something very interesting today, he is probably not suppose to have a second job because of the position he has working for the state.
I noticed that you have to decide whether or my comment gets posted or not I'm positive you don't have the decency or honesty to post it.
Not only am I decent and honest enough to post your comments. I at least have the guts to post and NOT sign it anonymous. Most people are basing their opinion on hear say. Unless you have been in practice everyday you don't have any solid proof of anything. So thank you for your support and helpful comments. As for bullying students thank you. I appreciate your absolute knowledge of what happened. Impressive. I appreciate your words of honesty and support.
Blah blah blah Anonymous. You're a chicken if you choose to post without signing your name.
Any words you say are completely unfounded because you refuse to be upfront about who you are.
The ONLY reason this petition is going on is because this past season and the two seasons before, many people, including me have heard nothing but complaints about Ben's coaching. This season I was part of the team and from the majority of the team there have been complaints about Ben this season whether it was some pointless drills we have done in practice, or how he has handle situations in a game. Me and many other people in the community feel that Ben has not proven to have the ability to coach this basketball team and he has had three year to prove himself, don’t you think it is time to give someone else a try, (And I don't mean the person who everyone thinks wants to coach because he has another job which would not allow him to coach, but he would like to help out when he can.) This is nothing personal we just want what is best for the team, because we only have four years to play and want to do the best we can and enjoy it. So I think that this whole thing would go smoother if we could handle this like ADULTS and not take it out on us kids involved! And one last thing we had better coaching in junior high and had a lot more fun.
"This town needs and enema" comes to mind. Seriously, sounds like some people just want to have some drama so they have something to do with their time. I know Ben is an amazing person and I honestly can say, I could never see him being the type of man "anonymous" has mentioned he is. Sounds to me that the issues are more about what Ben does as his career and the problems people have with doing what is right in the light of the law and absolutely nothing to do with what really happens on the basketball court. Weird!
I thought that you had the decency and honesty to post all comments your but you've left some out haven't you! As for the comments already there its obvious that you do not live here and know what is going on!
Note to Anonymous and "Member of the Team":
Adults have face to face conversations to resolve differences. Adults to not spread rumors, do not anonymously post online and do not rant and rave about things for which they have no evidence. Instead, adults take responsibility for their own actions and work together to find solutions. In fact, the ability to constructively work towards a solution is the mark of a mature, intelligent person, regardless of age.
Instead of behaving in a mature fashion you have indicated that you are a)too ashamed to take responsibility for your decisions and opinions and b) too immature to have a face-to-face, civil and productive conversation about differences of opinion. If you had been willing to do either of these two things, rather than resorting to angry and petty reactions, I am sure it would have saved you (both of you) many hurt feeling and misunderstandings.
You'll have to learn how to appropriately interact with people (even people you don't like) eventually. For your sake, I hope you learn this sooner, rather than later.
As for talking face to face like adults it looks like Sarah was the one who started complaining about this whole thing on the internet.
I would like to say that "don't wanna cause trouble" is absolutly right. I did vent via MY blog. But here's the deal, I had this petition and anti. my husband thing thrown on me. I didn't know it was coming I was totally blind sided. So I used what I consider my scrapbook/journal to vent. But I've learned my lesson which is, internet=public opinion. So this is my fault and I'm sorry. I'll do my best to fix the situation ASAP.
I am sorry Sarah- Isn't it just like Manila to have stupid drama! From all the feedback I have heard, everything has been good! It is ridiculous that one person can drum up so much negative against another, just so they can be recognized! It is hard being a coach in Manila, because you have to work with what you have got- sometimes it isn't much. Other times you have tons of talent. Manila right now is lacking in Motivation and wanting to work for anything. They think that it should just be handed to them- I know what a great guy Ben is and do not believe that he would say those things. Girls are hard- there is so much emotion. They take everything you say totally wrong, then take it home and totally extend the truth to their parents to make it sound worse than it really is... Just hang in there. Keep you chin up! Don't let one person get to you! You are better than that!
One small correction to baaburnett' s comment. It is not only in small communities like Manila. It is all over the U.S. Last year "the Rocket" was ejected from his son's youth baseball game because he disagreed with an Umpire's call and let the ump know of his displeasure.
Welcome to the world of youth sports. It is a shame we have parents who think all their kids are stars and it is always anotherplayers fault, the coaches fault or the officials fault that their kids can't execute on the field or court and win. All any coach can do is teach the kids fundamentals (drills are part of the fundamentals), try to motivate, and officials only try to control the game. How many times do we hear the term (from the Jazz) "a shot around"? What do people think "a shot around" is(they are set drills)? Still, it is up to the players to score the baskets, protect the ball, and play defense.
Reading the box scores in the papers of games played it is obvious to anyone (who knows anything about athletics) that the reason the girls did not win is because they did not score enough points to win and that you can not blame that on coaching. If that was the case Jerry Sloan would have been fired years ago.
I have seen in the girl's box score that there are only 4 to 6 young ladies listed as scoring. Where are the other 5 or 6 ladies that would make a full team? Maybe the 4 to 6 young ladies need some help from other ladies.
Hang in there coach when a team is losing it is always your fault. That is the true attitude of the Professional sport fan's. That is why there is is such a large turn over in Pro and college sports. Of course who cares after all they are making 6 to 7 figures in salaries for multiple years.
Oh!If I remember right wasn't Ben that help get the Utah State women’s club basketball program changed from a club status to a full NCAA woman's basketball team at Utah State.
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