Sugarman

I won't argue that, but again, a direct reflection of the leadership. If you run a discipline program you will have players that respect the coaching staff. I have seen coaches with a four win season walk out of a locker room surrounded by their players with their heads held high. And I don't mean to mistake discipline for abuse. Good players will thrive with discipline and accountability.

There is so much more to running a successful high school program than just the wins and losses. It doesn't matter if a team goes undefeated and wins a state championship if you destroy the program to do it. Yes, they had 20 wins, but they also only had 4 players left in the locker room after their last game. That is a direct reflection of the leadership of the program.

So, nothing too terrible was going on? Maybe just a little bit terrible and that is acceptable?

I can confirm that the players were informed on Friday that the coaches had resigned. Nothing further. I am assuming the administration will take their time to find the right fit.

Teaching a child is fine. Verbally attacking one is not. I have heard firsthand that there were several younger players who were verbally attacked after the regional game at Highlands. These were players who did not participate in the game, and from what I hear it is not isolated. That may be why the upper classmen decided to skip the post-game talk. No idea.

With all due respect, parents absolutely have say on what type of character will be influencing their children. As stated previously, this was not a game management, playing time, or outcome issue. From what I have heard, this has nothing to do with Cooper underperforming. I am sure the administration is doing their due diligence and speaking with all of the players and likely the coaches before any action is taken.

I don't think the outcome was surprising to anyone close to the program other than maybe the coaching staff. The writing has been on the wall for some time. The wheels were held on with duct tape and they just fell off. Disappointing is the adjective most would use because this Cooper team on paper should have been cutting down the nets at NKU. From what I am hearing, this goes way beyond a little old school coaching.

Coach Richey did an amazing job. I love watching teams come in with a well-defined game plan and watching their players execute it. The Highlands players never felt like underdogs. It was fun to watch.

Cooper boys' program will be just fine and back to year after year success very soon. Coach Holthaus is a great coach. He is one of the best. The girl's program is a total mess. They should have a been a plug and play district champ with the bar set at a state championship level. As one poster noted, there were times when they seemed fine after big wins. I know there were most if not all players and parents biting their tongues all season for the sake of the team's success. While I do not condone some of the players skipping the post-game talk, it doesn't surprise me at all, and I understand why they did it. X's and O's and wins and losses are not the issue there. There is an extremely large mental mess remaining in their program and unfortunately it may get uglier as more comes out.