The Book CC Track & Field 2007-08

[GetTheFacts1st]

"He could have coached anywhere but he chose here"

You don't think he tried to land a head coaching job in the last 20 years??? You can bet he did, and those people knew something we did not. The athletic department is not the same.,BTW. There's a new AD and associate AD who have taken note on the pitfalls needing to be addressed and they're taking no prisoners.

[GetTheFacts1st]

_ Unless you are going to play one of the BIG THREE Football, Baseball, Basketball then I advise you to go elsewhere. You will be treated as a second rate athlete from the admin. Just like the Best Track Coach in the history of this program was treated. _

The best track coaches in the history of this program are both deceased, unless you believe everything the most recent coach fed you. Where are all of those 561 all-americans? Certainly not burning up the phone lines calling him.

One reasonable question for anyone who thinks he got screwed: WHY?

[snote]

hey, houndoggy1


what did jay's post mean to you?

[uslsp]

"He could have coached anywhere but he chose here"

You don't think he tried to land a head coaching job in the last 20 years??? You can bet he did, and those people knew something we did not.

Houndoggy,

He wanted to coach at UL. He has proven that he can produce champions. Most top tier track athletes attend colleges where the coach has a proven track record of producing champions in their event. A coach must be given the freedom to set standards that the athletes are expected to meet. If they don't perform, pull that scholarship and go out and get somebody that will perform. Simple ain't it. Track has just to a numbers game to div 1 standards and title 9, it happened while I was there. The athletic department stopped caring long ago. You must be willing to help yourself before I will. I give up, I used to donate my time (50+ hrs / wk) and money, no more.

[GetTheFacts1st]

_ Houndoggy,

He wanted to coach at UL. He has proven that he can produce champions. Most top tier track athletes attend colleges where the coach has a proven track record of producing champions in their event. A coach must be given the freedom to set standards that the athletes are expected to meet. If they don't perform, pull that scholarship and go out and get somebody that will perform. Simple ain't it. Track has just to a numbers game to div 1 standards and title 9, it happened while I was there. The athletic department stopped caring long ago. You must be willing to help yourself before I will. I give up, I used to donate my time (50+ hrs / wk) and money, no more. _

This had nothing to do with anyone keeping him from pulling scholarships and nothing to do with an administration that was not supporting him. For a change in track, they were, and so were a number of local businessmen and groups. Go back and carefully read into my long post. That sums up a lot.

[GetTheFacts1st]

_ hey, houndoggy1


what did jay's post mean to you? _

It probaby meant, FOOD FOR THOUGHT that was being digested carefully, perhaps from a different perspective than his first impresson after hearing a supposed great coach was jumping ship because of something the administration was supposedly NOT doing.

If I am screwing up as a draftsman and making my projects look bad, I certainly want a chance to resign rather than the embarrassment of being fired. I do not know which of those occured, but since we have someone here who is packed up and gone, each of us would have to draw our own conclusions as to which one may have occured.

[texasboy40]

this is sad who was the track coach before? we needed this one!

[cajun4life]

The best track coaches in the history of this program are both deceased, unless you believe everything the most recent coach fed you. Where are all of those 561 all-americans? Certainly not burning up the phone lines calling him.

One reasonable question for anyone who thinks he got screwed: WHY?

I was referring to Lancon.

[Just1More]

_ _

Jay, please explain the application of these definitions. If you are referring to Silvey, would that be in the context of Steve Spurrier, Nick Saban, Bobby Knight egocentrism? He may not sport their achievements, but neither did they in the early years. Could it be that he disrupted the serenity of Martin Hall... and maybe should have? I'm just asking.

Did he possess that unfriendly overzealous desire to achieve greatness? I would like to know, because that might tilt this debate on Silvey into a different arena. We won't come to any consensus on this forum, but when has a good topic ever involved consensus?

The murky layer on the subject of coaches is always whether we would accept an a-hole who brings abundant wins, or whether we expect and require to achieve success with a "nice guy/gal" coach who the admin, fans and media maintain a likeability factor with. All would prefer the latter, but is that always reasonable? The thing that bothers me at UL is that we almost always seem to aspire to hire nice guy/gal coaches, often at the expense of wins. It makes it really comfortable for the admin, but is this possible, practical, all of the time? Should we as fans even allow it? Is it possible for an admin to take on the oversight of a egomaniac coach, suffer the tension, and simply enjoy the expected/demanded "or else" success?

Unfortunately, I have had these discussions with others at times of massive alcohol consumption, and although we are quite sure we converged on an ideal solution, post unconscious sober thought interrupted and all meaningful concepts were lost. I have suggested many times that we employ scribes, but this has always gotten dismissed during the collection of funds at the build-up to the beer run.

[cajuntrack]

okay i will set everything straight for everyone who is arguing back and forth about the reason OUR coach is gone? yes, that is right, I am a current athlete on this team.
it is NOT because of any of these things that you people are bickering about. the administration should not have any blame whatsoever. THE ADMINISTRATION DOES CARE about the track program. This guy, yes it a great coach but have you actually spoken with this man and actually spent a day with him?? i guess not because all of you would know what kind of person he is. he has VERBALLY put us down this whole season. having your coach tell you that he doesn't care about you is kind of a big deal. we have been told this a multiple of times. all he care about is HIS status and how many championships that he has won. THAT WAS THEN, THIS IS NOW! i can recall him making a comment on how embarrassed he is of having us as his team. your supposed to be building a team not breaking it down. okay...those 28 national championships that he credited himself for were not 90% under HEAD COACHING STATUS. yes he has disciplined us, made us better, bought us new equipment, improved our facility, signed top performing athletes but has he shown us RESPECT?? NO NO NO! now let me tell you something about funding... the university GAVE him what he wanted and SPENT ALL THE MONEY! yes people, he SPENT ALL THE MONEY! When he doesn't get his way, you can compare him to a 2yr old toddler. WE all have seen it. ALL IN ALL, we as a team are extremely excited of his departure! we want a coach that cares about US and OUR success. NOT A COACH THAT CARES ABOUT HIS OWN! and don't come back in reponse to this about how much of a great coach he is and stuff that he has done for us and yada yada yada... but he is what he is and that is why this WAS his FIRST head coaching job in 20years. so stop blaming the admininstration. He brought this upon himself and the administration wasn't having it. WE ARE BETTER OFF! From news that is travelling throughout the team, a better and respected coach is in the works and we are happy and we are all aware of his accomplishments!