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Post by rebelyell on Dec 23, 2006 22:45:52 GMT -6
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Post by bucksweepdotcom on Dec 24, 2006 7:00:18 GMT -6
I follwed this situation for the past week or so... TOugh stuff over in Tulsa. The T Union folks seem pretty fired up up about some of the things coach Wright did or is said to have done.
I think it most be really hard to come to a big time HS from another state and try and win people over.
HS is football is a different animal from college in trying to come in from the outside.
Bryan
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Post by coachjaz on Dec 24, 2006 9:44:25 GMT -6
All they have to do is look at his success however. I mean honestly how can you doubt the guy?
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Post by coachjaz on Dec 24, 2006 9:48:11 GMT -6
It will be interesting to see where he ends up. It sounds like there were alot of people against his before he even got there.
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Post by groundchuck on Dec 24, 2006 12:28:54 GMT -6
Wright is one of the few "Big time" coaches I have ever had the chance to deal one on one with. Everything I know about him is that he is a class individual who is also one heckuva football coach. If he was going into the school and many community members did not want him, instead wanting the inside assistant coach, it would be a tough row to hoe. On top of that following Blankenship just adds to the pressure.
The good news for him is that he won't have any trouble finding a job.
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Post by aznando on Dec 25, 2006 1:14:24 GMT -6
Wow, just by reading that article, you could tell that HS Football there is a different animal then what i'm used to. What exacly were all the issues, and why did a bunch of his coaches resign?
Aznando
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Post by bucksweepdotcom on Dec 25, 2006 7:39:28 GMT -6
Makes the scene in the barber shop in "Radio" look like a love fest. This is my favorite...
"We were here one week and my wife was in a bookstore. Two ladies come up to her and say, 'How does it feel to know that people don't want you and your husband here?' "
Bryan
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Post by gmccown on Dec 25, 2006 7:50:46 GMT -6
One of the local news stations (channel 9 in okc I believe) reported initially that the players voted and the coach was out. Basiclly that he resigned after the school allowed the players to vote. They havent' said anything about it since....but it it's correct that's one messed up situation.
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Post by coachbilderback on Dec 25, 2006 10:00:30 GMT -6
Where did blakenship go after he resigned?
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Post by bucksweepdotcom on Dec 25, 2006 10:10:04 GMT -6
I read the Juniors gave him a vote of confidence I believe he still teaches in the district.
Bryan
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Post by groundchuck on Dec 25, 2006 10:24:47 GMT -6
One of the local news stations (channel 9 in okc I believe) reported initially that the players voted and the coach was out. Basiclly that he resigned after the school allowed the players to vote. They havent' said anything about it since....but it it's correct that's one messed up situation. Letting the inmates run the asylum. |
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Post by rathernot on Dec 25, 2006 13:32:11 GMT -6
Where did blakenship go after he resigned? I read somewhere a quote from a radio station that Blankenship left because there were too mnay people with their hands in the cookie jar. Between parents, alumni, administration, and the school board there were just too many people who wanted a say in the football program and nobody to stop it. |
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Post by tigercoach on Dec 25, 2006 14:40:03 GMT -6
Basically, everything that has been said in the above posts are correct... I am in Tulsa and have followed this closely since the day Coach Blankenship resigned. The bottom line is that there were mistakes made on everyones behalf but that being said Groundchuck is exactly right, the inmates are running the asylum and no one is fulfilling their role from the supt all the way down. What started the whole thing off on the wrong foot was that allegedly a board member made life rough on the Blankenship regime and when he resigned said board member would not allow a Blankenship staff member (Spavital) or anyone loyal to him to get the job. Yes, there was a board members son who was on the team so you can figure it out... That instantly divided the camps and then the news breaks that Coach Wright has accepted the job out of no where. At this point our illustrious media (newspaper, TV and radio report that Coach Wright is spread option oriented and has a history of only throwing the ball minimally. Well that caused the separation to widen further and tensions grew before the first practice.
The following is an account by former Union staff members who have chronicled Coach Wright stay at Union: (This has been posted on multiple boards around Oklahoma)
February 28th - Coach Wright tells the committee that if given the job, that he will not change the offense or make any staff changes. He also calls seniors to be and tells them the same thing. He then proceeds to change the offense three times, including a big change when two a days starts, not allowing players the opportunity to change schools!
Late March - The first Wed. morning workout is introduced to the team. Coaches are advised to have Trash cans ready because a lot of players will be throwing up. For the record, only two freshmen throw up and coach wright comments on how the team is in better shape then he had anticipated, even though he had never seen them work-out before.
Early April - 2 coaches are removed from the staff (Farrow & Witcher). The only explanation given for their removal was that they were not on board.
Mid-May - coach wright comments to his staff that Hoover will be the only real test for them in 2006 because he has seen the rest of 6A in Oklahoma and he is not very impressed. His dad also goes to Jenks and watches them work out and reports that they are not very good and they look really weak.
Late May - 3 days after the offense is stymied in the spring game, coach wright asks for Coach Spavital's resignation. He tells Coach Spavital that two defensive assistants (Bohannon and Davis) will quit if Coach spav doesn't resign.Coach Davis and Coach Bohannon have both said on the record that Coach wright lied to Spav and that neither one of them ever had that conversation with Coach Wright.
Mid-June - Coach Ward is hired as Def. Coordinator. Coach Collins resigns after losing his RB's job. Coach Gardner takes a job w/BTW after losing his D-Line job.
Early August - Coach Wright does away with "Redskin Night" which is a long time tradition @ Union. This along with changing the uniforms, specifically the helmet color, is the start of destroying the tradition that Union has worked so hard to develop.
Mid-August - coach wright attempts to cancel a scrimmage with Westmoore, L. Ike and Edmond Santa Fe because he thinks that practice time is more important.The team does scrimmage and an altercation between Ike and Union erupts. The beginning of Character issues.
Late August - coach wright does not play his starters in a scrimmage vs. Sapulpa to save them for Muskogee thus offending the Sapulpa coach.
Mid-September - After starting 0-2, coach wright attempts to resign citing personal reasons and family issues with his wife's job. Dr. Burden refuses his resignation.
Late October - In pre-game of the Stillwater game, players and coaches throw footballs into Stillwater players and coaches attempting to meet. After a drubbing of Stillwater, two Union assistant coaches degrade the Stillwater logo. This action is reported to coach wright by Coach Stockton. coach wright's response is "that is just their culture." Coach Stockton resigns the following Monday.
Early November - coach wright is forced to write an apology to Stillwater and is warned about his team's conduct and instructed to make sure that no pre/post game antics of intimidation or taunting happen in the Muskogee game.
November 10th - coach wright does a striptease at the assembly and fabricates a story about the Muskogee coach.
November 10th - Union players go to midfield and taunt muskogee and their coaches while coach wright casually observes from 10 yards away.
November 13th - coach wright is put on a plan of improvement for the actions of his football team as well as his actions at the assembly.
November 14th - 4 days after the Muskogee loss, coach wright watches the film with the offensive players and criticizes and belittles the seniors for an hour and a half.
Late-November - coach wright announces to the seniors that they are not welcome in sixth hour anymore and that he wants them out.
Early December - two coaches that coach wright hired are reprimanded for inappropriate behavior at the high school. One coach is suspended for 5 days.
December 15th - After meeting with coach wright and discussing concerns and issues with the football program, 6 assistant coaches resign. An emergency booster club meeting is scheduled to address the resignations and rumors about coach wright's future.
December 18th - coach wright meets with the team and asks them to vote on rather they want him for their head coach.
December 19th - An emotional coach wright admits to some mistakes and assures the parents that the future at Union is bright and that if their are any concerns he would meet with everyone individually to get concerns straightened out. After the meeting he confides in a local newspaper reporter that he is resigning in the morning.
December 20th - coach wright resigns.
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Post by tigercoach on Dec 25, 2006 19:09:24 GMT -6
Sorry, should have finished off with the fact that this is only 1 side of the story.
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Post by aznando on Dec 25, 2006 22:50:25 GMT -6
Damn, when does the movie come out?  Aznando |
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Post by coachjaz on Dec 26, 2006 13:34:22 GMT -6
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Post by ttowntiger on Dec 26, 2006 23:56:49 GMT -6
This is amazing. I thought Coach wright had a pretty clean reputation.
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yspace
Sophomore Member
Posts: 145
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Post by yspace on Dec 28, 2006 19:05:27 GMT -6
"A lie can make it halfway around the world before truth is finished tying its shoes."
The lengthy post above is disappointing to me on a lot of levels, not because I think the poster is malicious or a liar or a bad person of any kind, but because of how highly I value this board, what it stands for, and what I think the coaching fraternity should be when it's at its best.
I will admit up front that I have a dog in the fight - Kevin Wright is one of my closest personal friends with whom I stay in very regular touch, and he is a mentor as well as a friend. I don't claim to know everything about the situation, but I am certainly directly informed enough to specifically refute or put into correct perspective many of the things written, and feel comfortable enough from having known and/or worked for him for 11 years to give him the benefit of the doubt on most or all of the rest.
That said, I am not here to espouse that my friend is faultless in the situation, or to say that everything in that chronicle is a blantant falsehood or has no basis in fact...opening up that kind of he said/she said is exactly what I don't want this board to become.
My REAL point is this: All of us know how tough this profession is. This board is fantastic because it promotes an environment that allows guys from this tough profession to share ideas, help each other, and support each other in a setting that is safe from a lot of the things that make this job tough. (continued, below)
If you've ever been a head coach, you know that two of the toughest things to deal with are:
a) Coaches within your staff that do not buy into what you're doing...call it unsupportive, disloyal, not on the same page, whatever...
b) Poisonous internet environoments surrounding your program that give voice to anonymous, disgruntled people who can post things as facts without being accountable for the accuracy of what they say, the identity of who they are, or the impact of their words.
The post above is guilty on both counts...bringing to this board two of the very worst of the things that our profession has to deal with as we try to serve kids the best we can.
I would hate for a place with this much good to offer good men to have the element of "those boards."
It's one thing to get on here and ask a general question about your situation or a coach you're having difficulties working with to get others' insight.
It's entirely another thing to address a specific guy by name, and take accounts from anonymous posts on message boards and/or disgruntled staff and pass them off in a form that resembles fact.
They are not facts, but now dozens of people who read the posts who have never met Kevin Wright, have no idea what he has done for dozens of kids who had no shot and no future before he worked with them academically, athletically, and socially, have no sense of the hours that he has given back to the profession by selflessly giving his time and full attention to coach after coach after coach with no expectation of anything in return---people who know nothing of those things will have a negative impression of him that they would not have had otherwise, and they got that impression from a board that was created to SUPPORT coaches.
That is the bottom line of what bothers me. I apologize for being long-winded. If I came across as sanctimonious or self-righteous, I didn't intend to--I just love this community, I am honored to be a part of the coaching fraternity, and, too, I want to protect my friend in some small way.
Andrew Coverdale
Trinity High School
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Post by saintrad on Dec 28, 2006 21:22:41 GMT -6
"A lie can make it halfway around the world before truth is finished tying its shoes."The lengthy post above is disappointing to me on a lot of levels, not because I think the poster is malicious or a liar or a bad person of any kind, but because of how highly I value this board, what it stands for, and what I think the coaching fraternity should be when it's at its best. I will admit up front that I have a dog in the fight - Kevin Wright is one of my closest personal friends with whom I stay in very regular touch, and he is a mentor as well as a friend. I don't claim to know everything about the situation, but I am certainly directly informed enough to specifically refute or put into correct perspective many of the things written, and feel comfortable enough from having known and/or worked for him for 11 years to give him the benefit of the doubt on most or all of the rest. That said, I am not here to espouse that my friend is faultless in the situation, or to say that everything in that chronicle is a blantant falsehood or has no basis in fact...opening up that kind of he said/she said is exactly what I don't want this board to become. My REAL point is this: All of us know how tough this profession is. This board is fantastic because it promotes an environment that allows guys from this tough profession to share ideas, help each other, and support each other in a setting that is safe from a lot of the things that make this job tough. (continued, below) If you've ever been a head coach, you know that two of the toughest things to deal with are: a) Coaches within your staff that do not buy into what you're doing...call it unsupportive, disloyal, not on the same page, whatever... b) Poisonous internet environoments surrounding your program that give voice to anonymous, disgruntled people who can post things as facts without being accountable for the accuracy of what they say, the identity of who they are, or the impact of their words. The post above is guilty on both counts...bringing to this board two of the very worst of the things that our profession has to deal with as we try to serve kids the best we can. I would hate for a place with this much good to offer good men to have the element of "those boards." It's one thing to get on here and ask a general question about your situation or a coach you're having difficulties working with to get others' insight. It's entirely another thing to address a specific guy by name, and take accounts from anonymous posts on message boards and/or disgruntled staff and pass them off in a form that resembles fact. They are not facts, but now dozens of people who read the posts who have never met Kevin Wright, have no idea what he has done for dozens of kids who had no shot and no future before he worked with them academically, athletically, and socially, have no sense of the hours that he has given back to the profession by selflessly giving his time and full attention to coach after coach after coach with no expectation of anything in return---people who know nothing of those things will have a negative impression of him that they would not have had otherwise, and they got that impression from a board that was created to SUPPORT coaches. That is the bottom line of what bothers me. I apologize for being long-winded. If I came across as sanctimonious or self-righteous, I didn't intend to--I just love this community, I am honored to be a part of the coaching fraternity, and, too, I want to protect my friend in some small way. Andrew Coverdale Trinity High School Amen Coach Coverdale. I could not have said it better myself. Eventhough I do not know Coach Wright or pretend to begin to understand what went on in Tulsa I do not see the one sided accounts as being valid or forthright. Huey and everyone here have worked to hard to have this end up as most teenage/fan oriented sites have become... gossip fodder. I do understand that tigercoach was only trying to impart some knowledge to those of us not living in Tulsa and I honer his intent, but cannot condone the lack of accountability for the information. I do believe that since we are all adults, descretion will prevail and the truth will come forward for those that are concerned. Gentlemen thank you for your time, efforts and energies onthis matter. And yspace, I have enjoyed your material you have put out over the years and will hopefully one day meet the man that has had a profound influence on so many coaches (especially me) over the years. Thank you for your time and the sharing of your knowledge. |
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Post by tog on Dec 28, 2006 22:45:42 GMT -6
"A lie can make it halfway around the world before truth is finished tying its shoes."The lengthy post above is disappointing to me on a lot of levels, not because I think the poster is malicious or a liar or a bad person of any kind, but because of how highly I value this board, what it stands for, and what I think the coaching fraternity should be when it's at its best. I will admit up front that I have a dog in the fight - Kevin Wright is one of my closest personal friends with whom I stay in very regular touch, and he is a mentor as well as a friend. I don't claim to know everything about the situation, but I am certainly directly informed enough to specifically refute or put into correct perspective many of the things written, and feel comfortable enough from having known and/or worked for him for 11 years to give him the benefit of the doubt on most or all of the rest. That said, I am not here to espouse that my friend is faultless in the situation, or to say that everything in that chronicle is a blantant falsehood or has no basis in fact...opening up that kind of he said/she said is exactly what I don't want this board to become. My REAL point is this: All of us know how tough this profession is. This board is fantastic because it promotes an environment that allows guys from this tough profession to share ideas, help each other, and support each other in a setting that is safe from a lot of the things that make this job tough. (continued, below) If you've ever been a head coach, you know that two of the toughest things to deal with are: a) Coaches within your staff that do not buy into what you're doing...call it unsupportive, disloyal, not on the same page, whatever... b) Poisonous internet environoments surrounding your program that give voice to anonymous, disgruntled people who can post things as facts without being accountable for the accuracy of what they say, the identity of who they are, or the impact of their words. The post above is guilty on both counts...bringing to this board two of the very worst of the things that our profession has to deal with as we try to serve kids the best we can. I would hate for a place with this much good to offer good men to have the element of "those boards." It's one thing to get on here and ask a general question about your situation or a coach you're having difficulties working with to get others' insight. It's entirely another thing to address a specific guy by name, and take accounts from anonymous posts on message boards and/or disgruntled staff and pass them off in a form that resembles fact. They are not facts, but now dozens of people who read the posts who have never met Kevin Wright, have no idea what he has done for dozens of kids who had no shot and no future before he worked with them academically, athletically, and socially, have no sense of the hours that he has given back to the profession by selflessly giving his time and full attention to coach after coach after coach with no expectation of anything in return---people who know nothing of those things will have a negative impression of him that they would not have had otherwise, and they got that impression from a board that was created to SUPPORT coaches. That is the bottom line of what bothers me. I apologize for being long-winded. If I came across as sanctimonious or self-righteous, I didn't intend to--I just love this community, I am honored to be a part of the coaching fraternity, and, too, I want to protect my friend in some small way. Andrew Coverdale Trinity High School Coach, it sounds like a bad situation all around. I wish Coach Wright all the best. He has helped some of my good freinds on here and he deserves a better situation. |
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Post by coachjaz on Dec 28, 2006 23:01:31 GMT -6
Thanks for the reality check Coach Coverdale. You are exactly correct. I as being a coach who has never met Coach Wright can only hope that many of the negatives that were stated were in fact false, and nothing will change my opinion of the man unless I meet him myself.
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bhb
Junior Member
Posts: 259
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Post by bhb on Dec 28, 2006 23:22:20 GMT -6
Bravo, Coach Coverdale, Bravo!!! It's been said in the past that there are always three sides to every story- yours, mine, and the truth- and since the post above only shows one side (which the poster clearly, and respectfully noted) it really should be taken with very large grain of salt..
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Post by tog on Dec 28, 2006 23:32:07 GMT -6
I know the poster that made the long post as well, and know they have the best interests of that school in mind. Hard to deal with this situation and get all the facts out. I am not even sure all the facts need to be out. Wright is a good man and coach. Let's just leave it at that. It didn't work out there for many reasons.
This thread is locked unless coach wright or coach coverdale, or tigercoach wants to respond. IF they do, they can just send me a pm and I will facilitate that.
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Post by tog on Dec 28, 2006 23:45:36 GMT -6
from tigercoach
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