I WAS NOT GOING TO POST THIS, BUT FEEL IT IS NOW APPROPRIATE. BELOW IS THE SPEECH I READ TO THE SCHOOL BOARD. TELL ME, I AM CRAZY OR NOT? ********************************************* My name is Chad Hannon, and I have been an unpaid volunteer assistant coach here at JFK for three years now; Two years of Track, and one year of 6th grade girls’ basketball. Based on your decision later this evening, I hope that I will be allowed to continue to assistant coach at JFK. First, I would like to assert to you that good parents do exist and they do have a lot to offer. I have run across more than a few. In fact, JFK currently has good parents helping with nearly every event, and sport. Volleyball, Basketball, and Track…Boys and Girls. I also fully understand that bad parents do exist. Pushy parents whom want to put their child first, or whom want things done their way or the highway. Parents that want to just show up unannounced at practice and take over! I have not heard recently of any of those parents at this school. They are NOT the norm at JFK. Tonight, as I understand it, you will be discussing how the school and administration will differentiate between good parents and bad. You will be deciding whether any parent should be allowed to assist a paid teacher/coach, and to what extent. I thought I could offer some insight and hopefully convince you that we don’t want to throw out the good with the bad. Here are a few things to keep in mind: 1) The IESA recommends that coaches seek out assistance from other sources. When I got my own IESA coaches certification, one of the major themes was not that a good coach knew everything, but that they knew when to get help. They asserted that coaches find people with the knowledge to help. Specifically they recommended high school students, other teachers, and PARENTS! So, by IESA standards, the coaches using parents are some of the best and smartest coaches JFK has to offer. 2) Teachers are well trained! We trust their good judgment literally with our children’s lives on a daily basis. I believe they can be trusted to let the right people in and keep the wrong people out. Guidelines should be set to be sure…but let’s not close the door for parents to assist teachers. Parents are a vital resource for them. …and let’s not forget that Teachers remain the HEAD coaches. They are in charge at the athletic event just as they would if a parent visited their classroom. 3) Unpaid volunteers aren’t taking anybody’s job! There are three paid teacher/coaches for the track team. There is one paid teacher/coach for the basketball teams. If I had not assisted, that number would not have changed. 4) Extra coaches make a HUGE difference! In some practices this year for basketball, we were able to divide the kids up into three 5 girl teams. The extra coaching available made some practices three times as useful, as ZERO kids had to sit and watch. Additionally, this allows the coaches time with ALL the kids. Everyone wins when the 15th girl on a 15 girl team gets the same attention as everyone else. 5) It makes JFK more competitive! For many years now JFK has been in a middle ground in athletics that has made us less competitive. The smaller schools have an extensive list of parent coaches/volunteers. The bigger schools have a much larger talent pool. We need an advantage! For instance, Cherry’s track team of 12 kids had THREE coaches. One paid, and TWO volunteers. On the other hand, Peru’s basketball coach while by himself, confided that he had 35 girls try out for the team, and he was allowed to cut to the best 12. In comparison, without parent assistance, JFK would have had the same number of coaches as Cherry, but for 70+ kids…not 12. 6) A school is part of a community! Parents are a vital part of it. I know I myself spent three years reading to classes here at JFK on a weekly basis. I help run the “Dodgeball Night” for kids annually. I am a member of PAWS! I help out all the time at JFK outside of athletics. How is showing a kid how to box out on a rebound, or stride rest on the third lap of a mile, all that different from reading to them? As they say “It takes a village”. I like to think I live in a town where we are encouraged to help each other and help the community. DO WE REALLY WANT TO STOP PARENTS AT THE DOOR AND TELL THEM THEY ARE NOT WELCOME!?! Do we want them told that “Parents do not want parents helping at this school” or “The teachers Union doesn’t want parents here!” as I was told? I don’t think that’s what we want. So, who should you let coach, and who should you keep out? The answer might be simpler than you think. I myself have been IESA certified, background checked, and finger-printed. Plus I have extensive coaching experience, having coached 7 seasons of Spring Valley youth soccer, 4 seasons of T-ball, 3 seasons of Hall township basketball, and one season of Illinois Valley Falcons Youth Track…in addition to my assistant coaching here at JFK. AND I am now asking you for your approval! I think those five things would be good qualities for any volunteer coach: 1) IESA Certified 2) Background Checked 3) Finger-printed 4) Experienced 5) Board approved That would be my recommendation. Especially the IESA certification. That certification is really more about being a good person, a good leader, and being fair to everyone than it is about coaching. It spells out how to act for the good of a team, the good of a school, and the good of a community. I would also like to ask you to leave a window open for ANY parent to help as they can. Many parents don’t want to help every day, nor do they have a season’s worth of wisdom to impart. They are not asking to be an actual “Coach”. They just have a specific thing that they can really help a coach with. Maybe something as simple as running a stop watch at a track meet, keeping the kids calm in the stands awaiting track events, or keeping the book at an AWAY basketball game. That parent would need an easier route, and probably one as simple as being asked by a teacher or coach. I can tell you the best practices I have ever had involved many parents. In fact outside of JFK, I often take parents from the sidelines and encourage…ENCOURAGE…them to come and help at practice. Most of the parents that have come to my Spring Valley soccer practices have found themselves playing goalie, running a stopwatch, or doing something. I have even had enough parents to once have them play as the entire opposing team. I can tell you, it was awesome. Just one last thing… As you consider this tonight, please consider reinstating me as an assistant track coach. I feel I have helped the team. I have never heard of a complaint about me. Not one complaint. The teachers have bought me thank you gifts, the kids have written me unsolicited “thank yous”, and parents shake my hand after meets and games. In fact, the fact my presence as a coach for three years even with this policy in place should stand as resounding evidence that I have caused no problems at all and have been an asset to JFK and the student athletes. Thank you for your time. I’ll leave it up to you.
Posted on: Tue, 25 Nov 2014 16:16:43 +0000
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