<P>Coach change sends bad message

Coach change sends bad message

I am a former Fayette County

student (from Brooks to Whitewater to Fayette High) who graduated in 1998.

I was reading The Citizen this morning (2/11/04) via the web and came

across an article about Coach Jill Collins being fired from her coaching

position. I played basketball and softball at Fayette High and basketball

at WMS. I have also known Coach Collins since the second grade (she was

the P.E. teacher at Brooks for many years).

Jill Collins is a wonderful

person and one of the best coaches Fayette County has ever had. I played

under many coaches in Fayette County and there was not one who had the

heart and desire to make kids better on and off the court. I owe most

of my athletic ability and knowledge to Coach Collins. She believed in

me since day one, given my commitments to her standards.

We need that type of leadership

in today's society. Children are being raised to believe their parents

can solve all their problems. Not only is that naive but it's absolutely

untrue.

I am so sorry the little girl

didn't make the team. But, she must realize that life has no guarantees

and she needs to work harder to succeed. Working harder to get ahead "will

not kill you." In fact, it'll make you a better person in the

future. If you don't have to work for anything, how can you appreciate

anything or anybody?! You'll expect it to be handed over without

a fuss.

There was one main problem

with girl sports in Fayette when I was playing ball. The coaches played

their favorites instead of more talented players due to outside pressure.

This, in turn, hurt the other players who really wanted to contribute.

It's a tragedy that kids

are being sent off into the world with false hopes instead of pure reality

(granted this is middle school). Still, ponder the thought.

Will parents threaten college

professors to give A's if children sleep through all their lectures?

Will parents threaten employers if their child doesn't get the sought-after

job? If so, will it work? What will happen if the threats fail and the

"sheltered child" has no idea how to survive?

Parents do not live forever

and they don't control everything (especially outside of Fayette).

Please, think about it. It starts young when you are building character

and self-respect. If you go out in the world without, you're two

strikes down already.

I know nothing about this little

girl or her family. But, I do know in my heart that if she was good enough

to play middle school basketball under Coach Collins she would have been

on the team.

It hurts me to ponder coming