COLUMNIST: Parents need to know their place

Jason R.
Vergas, MN     02/09/2010 8:11 PM

I don't know what this article is reallly about, and I don't care. I do feel the need to stand up for Forrest Gump. That guy was a great athlete. He ran across America (twice). John should apologize to this fictional character for not recognizing his athletic ability. I am outraged.

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T G.
Red Lake Falls, MN     02/09/2010 10:38 AM

Good article! Someone actually standing up for coaches!!! You just don't see that very often anymore--take a look at the number of great, succesful coaches who are getting out! It's a shame, but it's only going to get worse!!

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Carli B.
Perham, MN     02/08/2010 10:23 AM

I agree with john all the way.I think parents just need to let the coach do HIS job and stay out of the way. I also like whoever wrote if you dont like the fact that the best player should play no matter the age,grade or best off yet there last name than bring them to a church league!

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Brandon F.
Perham, MN     02/07/2010 10:03 AM

First off, John I could not agree more with this article. Second, in response to the previous comment, there are many different coaching styles, it all depends what level you are coaching. Obviously, if your working with younger kids, which I assume you are, you would handle it differently than working with young adults. When you coach younger kids they are still learning about the game, how to dribble, how to shoot, if its something they like or dislike so they need that postive reinforcement. But when you get older you already know they know how to do those things and they have chosen to play your sport. So they learn about the mental aspect of the game, how to handle different situations, how to react in those situations without having to think about it as well as fundlementals. Every varsity sports coach yells at their athletes at one point or another, you see it in football, Xcountry, volleyball, basketball, baseball, softball, etc. It's a motivational tool just like false promises (ex: you keep it up and you'll see some varsity minutes) can be used as a motivational tool. Just keep this in mind last time I checked playing sports was a priviledge not a right.

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Karlie H.
Perham, MN     02/06/2010 6:09 PM

As an active student council member at Perham High School I feel that it's part of my job to support my classmates. By reading these comments I think it's fair to say that this subject has been direscted around the basketball program. I am very proud of our boys basketball team this year and I can't take anything away from any of the boys that are a part of it; their grade makes no difference because they've all earned their spots. However, there shouldn't be a single person to comment or even write this article until they have personally heard the stories of the many boys who feel they have been betrayed and personally degrated by their coach. I'm glad to see this subject finally being discussed as I know first-hand this has been an issue for many years. As a coach myself, I would never put down or lie to a single one of my girls and I believe that's what makes us successful. The fact of the matter is, this kind of treatment towards a student would not be accepted in a school, nor should it be on a court, field, pool, stage or wherever a school event is taking place.

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king o.
Perham, MN     02/05/2010 11:54 PM

cmon john, dont you see the names of these people, they are special. babler, schornack, even geisers though not perham, they do think they are "it" in perham, why im not sure but they do.

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John & Kathy G.
Perham, MN     02/05/2010 8:50 AM

Diane W. I have been to about 150 boys basketball games coached by Dave Cresap in the last 10 years. I've NEVER heard him call a kid a loser, or blame a loss on any one individual. Get your facts straight. If that did happen, Prove it! Get the kids who he said those things to to step forward. I don't want the parents of those kids to say it happened to their son, I want to actually hear it from a player. Unless you can do that, I'm going to have to pull your comments for liable reasons. Also, quit accusing us of trying to sell papers based on one little story. Just how many extra papers do you think we sold based on this story? Give me a break! People like you are missing the point of this article. I wrote it BEFORE the boys basketball situation came about. This article was written in response to another coach, not Dave Cresap, having trouble with parents. Meddling parents are a big problem in high school sports. I've actually had coaches tell me that they are afraid to play certain players, like talented freshmen and sophomores, just because they are afraid of the backlash from parents. How fair is that? John George

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Diane W.
New York Mills, MN     02/05/2010 7:47 AM

I don't think the artical in the paper was correct. The point people were trying to make about the coach is the hatefull words he used and the verbel abuse we all heard him use towards many boys. He called them Lossers, and many names that I am unable to print in this paper. A boy could be in for 1 minute and he would tell them in front of everyone it was their fault the game was lost.Now is that a good way to build self esteme? This whole thing has gotten out of control because the paper wrote something to sell papers and not report the facts. How sad when we worry more about 1 coach then all the young men who have been abused!

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stacy b.
Fargo, ND     02/04/2010 10:39 PM

From the sounds of it, the original article seriously misprinted what was actually discussed at the school board meeting. dave cresap has always had a controversial way of handling certain team members. never once was playing time or sophomores vs. juniors or seniors playing ever discussed. this was a treatment issue of certain members of the team. these parents in question went about it the right way. they are not the ones making the huge deal about it, they simply stated their frustrations through a letter and an appearance, which they had every right to do. it was the writer of the original article that has caused so much extra heartache and frustration for mr. cresap, the boys basketball team and the players and parents at focus in the original letter. this was poor reporting that has done more damage than anything.

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John & Kathy G.
Perham, MN     02/04/2010 7:14 PM

Contrary to what some people might want to think, this column wasn't specifically written in response to the current boys basketball situation. In fact, I had it written about 2 weeks ago, and it was held back for a variety of reasons. In fact, I had originally written it in response to another coach letting me in on some problems they're having with some parents. Also, why is the newspaper at fault here? Because we reported on something that happened at a school board meeting? People need to realize that the paper isn't here to be community cheerleaders, although I think we do a very good job at doing just that. Not every story has a happy face on it. Quit blaming us when you see a story in our paper that doesn't have a happy ending. The situation with the boys basketball team didn't happen because of the newspaper. It happened because some parents went to a public meeting and raised the issue. John George

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