West Hardin, please fix girls coaching

[bballgirls]

Is is a shame for the kids involved and I hope that for the kids that it gets turned around.  Alot of good coaches get messed over and it is hard to get anything good started for the kids- just like this year

[sporter]

If you have a beef with Cruz you should take it up with her instead of mouthing here. Im sure shes big enough to handle anything you have to say.

[rhino1877]

Everyone has the right to post opinions....and not everyone has to agree with them.

[Guest JCfan]

Exactly rhino. As long as they stay decent. No one is taking personal shots at anyone, but looking at it from a professional and business standpoint.

[sporter]

The sad truth of the matter is WH doesnt exactly have top of the line coaches knocking the door down to jump on board. It's not  a well known place, nor is there a respectable record to draw someone in.  It would take a big man/woman to throw themselves into this program, taking a risk and I'm sure a pay cut (although it looks like Cruz makes good money according to this thread). The talent pool of the girls isnt the probelm. Its the talent pool of the applicants that struggles. But somebody is better than nobody.

[sporter]

No aggie, my toes werent stepped on. I was just saying to JC that the woman can definitely handle herself and I'm sure she has a reason for everything she does or hasnt done.

[bballgirls]

It looks like there have been several good quality coaches over the past few years go out to WH.  The problem isn't that no one wants to go out there- they just aren't allowed to stay long enough to build a program.

[Guest JCfan]

Sporter, I think if you will go to the original post you will see that it wasn't a shot at anyone specific or direct. Rather it was addressing a bad situation in which everyone involved from top to bottom needs to evaluate to see how it can be immediatly improved.

I do not know Cruse personally, so it wasn't personal. She should make sure bball receives the proper emphasis and has a coach that cares enough to put full effort into the bball program. 

[Champion]

Ok lets start with this as outside looking in. 

1. How many games did they win the year before?

2.  How many games did they win this year?

[bballgirls]

Well that won't really work in this case- they had two different coaches this year and another different coach last year.

[hssportsfan]

The other thing in the small schools is not too often do you get a Girls Basketball Coach. Rather you get a football coach that fills a need in the girls basketball program.

I wanted to add that this is not a knock on the coach who started out the year, he had them headed in the right direction I think. It is just my opinion on small schools, their budgets and athletic priorities.

[Bucster]

No aggie, my toes werent stepped on. I was just saying to JC that the woman can definitely handle herself and I'm sure she has a reason for everything she does or hasnt done.

Maybe she doesn't want the girl's BB program to compete with her VB program?

[hssportsfan]

Bucster understands.......thanks.

[fan4all]

I think it is amazing how one person can start out saying one thing, like please help the bball program before next year, and the next thing you know the person is being accused of not following the chain of command to taking personal shots!

I think it is a shame how the year ended for the girls bball team.  I think by watching the guys play for 2 years, it is a good example of how consistency in coaching with a good role model who teaches the game and sportsmanship can make all the difference in the overall attitude of the team and the success of the team.

The point with the girls issue is NOT wins and losses...it is about teamwork, attitude, and good coaching which produces an improvement in the skill in which the team plays the game.  I think it is very hard for a group of girls to be excited about playing a game and be able to play it well when they feel like they are unimportant in the school's sports program as well as feeling like their coaches do not care about the game enough to coach them.

That is my opinion and concern.  Please take it for what I said, and not for what you think I might have meant.

[WH-BackInThaDay]

Maybe (hopefully) next year will be better. I'm hoping for the kids that this is the case. But again, if they don't win a game, that happens too. I've been on teams that didn't lose, and I've been on teams that didn't win, and the blame couldn't be solely placed on one person, nor could the praise. There were a lot of factors: A bad year for talent, not working hard in the offseason, 4 different AD's in 5 years (no consistency), no comradery, bad breaks while playing. Bottom line, we lost every game, it happens. I was just stating in my previous thread that the school board used to have power and influence in places they had no business being. True, they could only hire and fire the superintendent, but who does he have power over. 95% of the people in this community know exactly what I'm talking about. Whining parents should be getting weened off that whole, "my baby should get to play" mess in junior high. That's little league BS. Organized sports in high school has a lot of implications elsewhere, and its not an "everyone gets to play" situation. Sports are about winning with class, losing with class, working hard to attain goals and accepting failure, success, and yeah, rejection. It prepares you for what the world has to offer. If you apply for a job and you don't get the call, mommy and daddy can't complain and get you hired (for the most part). A small town has a tendency to imply its not what you know as much as it is who you know. This is morally and ethically wrong, and it seriously affects performance and hurts everyone in the long run. Even the kid who got to play and shouldn't have. Now, he/she can't deal with the fact that they need more work before they deserve this position or are just plain ol', not playing at the level needed to help their team more than the kid that got the position.. If he/she don't make it,they think,"Mommy and Daddy can fix it. They will make it all better. High school is about growing up, handling your own problems. I'm sure I'll get a lot of negative feedback on this, but I don't care. I've seen it first hand and its pitiful to see a 30 year old who still runs to their parents when they can't handle their own problems. :-\

[Guest bleed orange]

Good post WH backintheday. Its sad to say but it will never be like "back in the day", again. I agree with you totally. 

[whsalum]

It's sad to say but it's all about money at the small schools.The coach will have to accept several roles,some they aren' qualified to do.AE BB coach,spanish teacher,bus driver,custodian and on and on.I can promise you Mrs.Cruz has the knowledge to fix this if she has the resources.She has tremendous knowledge of the basketball game,maybe the AD should direct her to coach the volleyball and basketball teams.I guarantee the last few coaches over there don't know anymore about the game than she does.(Might want to get her momma to assist)

[Old Fan]

Didn't Coach Killam (who is now as Silsbee) coach at West Hardin for a couple of years?  I remember how well the team did back then.  I think that was around 2002-3

[whsalum]

Why in the world would they let him get away.I didn't know he ever coached at WH.I was referring to what I saw over there this past seaon and last year.

[Guest basketball@heart13]

Coach Killam left to be near his daughter who was attending the University of Texas.  He took the head girls basketball at San Marcos High School with a considerable pay raise.  He left the year before Coach Cruse came to West Hardin.  He is a great coach and anybody would be lucky to have him.

[whsalum]

I completely agree!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Guest JCfan]

Maybe (hopefully) next year will be better. I'm hoping for the kids that this is the case. But again, if they don't win a game, that happens too. I've been on teams that didn't lose, and I've been on teams that didn't win, and the blame couldn't be solely placed on one person, nor could the praise. There were a lot of factors: A bad year for talent, not working hard in the offseason, 4 different AD's in 5 years (no consistency), no comradery, bad breaks while playing. Bottom line, we lost every game, it happens. I was just stating in my previous thread that the school board used to have power and influence in places they had no business being. True, they could only hire and fire the superintendent, but who does he have power over. 95% of the people in this community know exactly what I'm talking about. Whining parents should be getting weened off that whole, "my baby should get to play" mess in junior high. That's little league BS. Organized sports in high school has a lot of implications elsewhere, and its not an "everyone gets to play" situation. Sports are about winning with class, losing with class, working hard to attain goals and accepting failure, success, and yeah, rejection. It prepares you for what the world has to offer. If you apply for a job and you don't get the call, mommy and daddy can't complain and get you hired (for the most part). A small town has a tendency to imply its not what you know as much as it is who you know. This is morally and ethically wrong, and it seriously affects performance and hurts everyone in the long run. Even the kid who got to play and shouldn't have. Now, he/she can't deal with the fact that they need more work before they deserve this position or are just plain ol', not playing at the level needed to help their team more than the kid that got the position.. If he/she don't make it,they think,"Mommy and Daddy can fix it. They will make it all better. High school is about growing up, handling your own problems. I'm sure I'll get a lot of negative feedback on this, but I don't care. I've seen it first hand and its pitiful to see a 30 year old who still runs to their parents when they can't handle their own problems. :-\

I don't care if they win or lose as long as the coaches show they are doing what they are paid to do. This year that should've been to improve the talent they had and work hard on getting better. It should not involve looking as if you could care less. It wasn't all the coaches fault but they should be acountable for doing their job right.

[Guest setx coach]

ok...i saw this...and had to reply-Angie Cruse is one of the best coaches i have ever watched(boys OR girls!!!)...just take a walk through the gym at Kountze and gawk at the STATE CHAMPIONSHIP banners hanging there!!  As for her tenure at W. Hardin-she has taken over a girls program that was lack-luster at best...and made them playoff material and respectable...but-she's one person....

And if she's making 60K a year (after 25 yrs coaching!!!!)-I say  -  MORE POWER TO HER!!!  ALL TEACHERS AND COACHES DESERVE BETTER!!!!

[WH-BackInThaDay]

No, I agree JCfan. I wish they would have done better and improved on the talent they had, but the fact of the matter was that they were kind of hard to watch just because, like you say, they weren't improving during the season for reasons unknown to me. I'm not trying to be the bad guy here, I just got started typing and the next thing you know, I was on my soap box. WH is my home. I've always seen it this way. If I didn't care about it, I wouldn't express myself at all in these matters. Hopefully next year will be better. WHalum, I know what you mean about having coach/teacher/busdriver/bombtechnicians and for 30K a year, I mean hey, we had coach Bland teaching us about Health, on matters of personal hygene. Talk about underqualified. ;D 

[bballgirls]

The reasons are fairly clear-They had a coach who cared, was qualified and yes drove a bus! (not sure about his Spanish) They were making progress and becoming a real team- he was reassigned to the boys program and the girls felt cheated and lost alot of their heart. They are the ones who really suffered this year.  It takes time to build programs and tradition and the coaches have to be given the opportuinty to stay long enough to do so.