Million Dollar Question (Matt Turner)

I have a child who attends Ryle and in the future I will have two more that go through Ryle.

My child participates in Olympic style sports and is not really reliant on generating revenue.

 

With that being said, for those that think some of these Olympic sports are more individual and not team are kidding themselves. For one, I believe you would be hard pressed to find a school that fields the numbers for Olympic style sports that Ryle does. We are talking over 50 girls in cross country for the girls XC team roughly 30 for the boys. Then you have close to 150 for the track teams combined.

That takes a lot of coordinating and coaching. Coach Wiehbrink and Coach Deaton do a tremendous job with those teams.

 

In my dealings, with coaches and observing their interaction with administration, I feel that the administration is very hands off and lets the coaches do their jobs.

 

Now it is not the dog eat dog world of generating revenue like football is but there are a lot of things to consider. Football in Boone County is a different animal. This is just my opinion and I may be totally off base...but I think I have a good eye for what is good coaching and something that is in place for the benefit of kids and an eye for something that is built for something else other than the benefit of kids or putting kids and development first. The Boone County Pee Wee Football League to me is a racket or it once was when I participated there years ago. That is a program that is seemingly built to make a profit and when you are hellbent on making profits you are going to bring in as many people to help and raise those funds. This brings in people to coach that probably aren't the best coaches and then they go forth and think their opinion/voice is of much more value because they are coaching. I may be totally off base on this and may get hammered for this opinion, but it is just that. I have been removed for a while from the BCPWFL, but at that time I was participating as a volunteer there, they were bleeding money and I couldn't see how that was possible.

 

Then they started a middle school league between the schools so I am not real sure how that has impacted BCPWFL or if it has led to many more voices to be heard regarding football in Boone County, and in particular Ryle.

 

From what I understand, Coach Warner was not a teacher and was a para professional. It has to be very hard for one not to be in the hallways everyday interacting with kids and staff and run a organized program top to bottom and not be in a teaching type position at the school you are coaching at...especially one that is high profile like the Ryle job is. I would think this played a bigger part in the parting of ways than many of the conspiracies that people have thrown out there.

 

In then end, administration has to make decisions on what is best for kids. Maybe Ryle was looking for a certain personality. Someone who was energetic and would promote the program and school. I don't know anyone personally associated with the football program at Ryle, but maybe Coach Woolf didn't have the certain qualities in what they were looking for in their next head coach. I am not knocking the decision in any way or saying that Coach Woolf doesn't possess those qualities, but I think too many people are reading into this and trying to make things out to be different than from what they really are.

I can't make a rebuttal on all tour Ryle specific comments, but calling the BCPWFL a "racket" is unfair and over the top. That is a non profit organization that was created in the late 60's (I believe) to serve as an outlet for young men who had no other options for playing football in the county. The men who coach there and women who volunteer are no different in terms of skill set or personality than any other group of youth football coaches and volunteers. I know as I coached there myself for over six years.

Sure there were some knuckleheads- show me an organization full of mostly Dads not getting paid for their time that DOESNT have knuckleheads. Far and away, most everyone there simply wants to do the right thing and help their team and their son.

Now- having said that, it is a big breeding ground for "coaching dads." Heck - I was one.