Word has spread about the future of 3 area football programs and their coaches.
What is true is that Bad Axe, Lakers and Ubly will have new varsity football coaches come this fall.
Dave Rowland is out at Bad Axe, George Gardy is out at Lakers, and Bill Sweeney is out at Ubly.
Gardy retired earlier this year. Sweeney resigned earlier this week. The reason for Rowland's dismissal is not clear.
The Tribune, in the near future, will have stories on each departure and what it means to the programs.
It's pretty simple what it means in Ubly. It means all the years of hard work building a football program are now gone because some kids and their parents are suceeding at "bullying" there way through life. I can do what ever the he!! I feel like and their shouldn't be any punishment for it. It will be a sad day when nobody will want to coach because some of these kids are starting to act like professional athletes and their parents like their agents.
ReplyDeleteI know the feeling. In our district we have lost an excellent baseball coach and basketball coach over the last few years for the same reason.
ReplyDeleteSome people in Ubly have know idea what they are losing in Mr. Sweeney. He was not perfect, nor is any coach, but he loves coaching, loves the kids. He is not afraid to stand up for what he believes, he will chew a player out but still supports players. Now, Mr. Sweeney can relax and what his own kids play and compete.
ReplyDeleteMany parents don't "get it". What they don't "get" is that high school sports isn't about your (or my) kid being the star. It is about being a part of a team, learning how to be a good teammate, learning to work hard and having fun. 99% of the coaches do NOT have agendas, they are there because they love the game, love the kids and want to teach them. They don't have anything against your kid and they don't play favorites. If YOUR kid isn't getting as much playing time as you think he/she should be, it is probably because they aren't working hard enough in practice, or they aren't as talented as you think they are. SUPPORT YOUR COACHES!
ReplyDeleteUSA Fan-could not agree more. If a player complains about playing time, then work harder, then if that isn't enough, have a MATURE converstation with your COACH, not your PARENTS about it. Turning your parents against your coach will not solve anything, sports are competitive for a reason. If a player or parent can't handle it, then move someplace else. USA has the right mind set in their athletic program, I envy that school, they have had success in every aspect of their athletic and academic programs. Sorry Ubly, but losing Sweeney is going to be the worst thing to happen for that community. He brought a winning mindset and tradition to that community, and the numbers don't lie: 1 state runner-up, 4 semi-finals appearances, 4 regional titles, 10 or 11, lost count, straight playoff appearances, 3 straight undefeated regular season, surpassed Coach Herp's consecutive regular season winning streak, 3 straight GTE league titles, god knows how many district titles he has won through the years. The numbers don't lie, he will be greatly missed.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget that it was just 4 years ago that a group of parents chased a great coach away at USA also. Coach V was (and is) a great coach. This is just a group of parents in Ubly that wanted new coaches in the boys programs. They wanted rid of Leipprandt, Sweeney, Becker, and also AD Delamarter. I guess they are half way there. I would like to know how many schools would be thrilled to have these individuals run their programs. Let's just hope Becker sticks around and continues the great work he has done.
ReplyDeleteYou are correct about chasing coach V away. The mindset has changed a bit at USA and to some extent that is why the success has changed also. Another part of it is that the level of the atheletes skill is also down but attitude of the players and the parents plays a HUGE part. IMO Ubly losing coach Sweeney is bigger than many people in that community think it will be. Ubly still has talent coming up so depending on who the next coach is they will do pretty good for a few years but coaches like Sweeney don't come along every day and in a few years they will start falling back into the pack and all their programs will suffer.
ReplyDeleteWow why would they chase out ublys coach? They do amazing at football.
ReplyDeleteBad News for Ubly, good news for the other teams in the Thumb!
ReplyDeleteGood players and good coaches both have there time. No one thing drives them on or out.
ReplyDeleteSome of these problem parents have no clue how much time Sweeney and Becker actually put into that school. They hit the reset button on the losing culture when they arrived. Lots of early mornings and late nights. They never cared where you came from or who your parents were. They were intense and would never sugar coat anything in practice. At the same time, if someone couldn't afford cleats or didn't have a ride, they always stepped in. I sure hope Mr. Becker at least stays on. If he doesn't stay, things could get ugly in a hurry.
ReplyDelete-Former Player
The inmates officially run the asylum over in Ubly. It's nice to see the gutless administration over there lose their football coach after letting a punk kid get away with being a jerk. Sweeney was not going to be treated as a doormat, like the principal there and I'm glad he took a stand.
ReplyDeleteGeorge Gardy was not ready to retire, but the official excuse was that Lakers wanted a coach who had a Bachelor's Degree. What a nice way to treat a coach who had given so much for so many years.
Dave Rowland was doomed from the start. When nobody cares about football, but just expect the wins to pile up, problems will be right around the corner. Are you guys seeing the brainless administration theme here?
Personally, I'd like to see Rowland take over in Ubly. He got things started for Sweeney before trying to revive the Bad Axe program and I think he could do great things in Ubly. And don't let his record at the cesspool known as Bad Axe football fool you, the guy knows football.
"Lakers wanted a coach who had a Bachelor's Degree."
ReplyDeleteWhat does this mean? Coach Gardy didn't have a Bachelor's degree? He taught at the school for a million years and was in adminstration (Vice Principal). As much as I loved Coach Gardy IMO it was time for him to retire.
Sweeney's resignation is a shock. Rowland's was simply business as usual at Bad Axe. Gardy? Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't he say that 2010 would be his last year...last year?
ReplyDeleteOn other matters.
Won't be long until Kingston, Peck and North Huron leave the 11-man ship. From the Port Huron Times...
The Cardinals (MC Cardinal Mooney) will be playing in the Mid-Michigan 8-Man Football League with Carsonville-Port Sanilac, Akron-Fairgrove, Owendale-Gagetown and Flint School for the Deaf.
http://www.thetimesherald.com/article/20110316/SPORTS/103160318/1006/sports/Cardinal-Mooney-gets-new-coach-switches-eight-man-football
Chiuk Czlek