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Ideas - Why can't Tarkington field a winning team?

OldTimer

By OldTimer
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OldTimer

OldTimer

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Tarkington has not made the play offs since 1959.  They appear to have decent kids who try hard but for some reason cannot get over the top.  Has anyone else heard of another program living thru this type of play off drought.  Its got to be tough on a program to keep their kids motivated to go through 2 a days and season after season losing the way they appear to lose.

Any ideas on why this 3A team has these problems as I know several people from Tarkington and they all appear to have the same question.

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Javelina

Javelina

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I not sure but Kountze has not been to the playoffs in a while also.  Not sure why Tarkington not done better.  But the thing might be that it has been so long.  Maybe the kids don't want to play for a team that has not won in a while.  But you also have to look at the district they are in it is a competitive one.

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bh34

bh34

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I've always thought Tarkington has some really good looking players(I'm not talking about their faces).

This is just my opinion; but winning is not easy, and loosing can become a tradition, like winning can. The losing mind set gets entrenched into the players, coaches and community, everyone just expects to lose. When the game is tight, and your used to loosing, its easier to stay within your comfort zone, and not put out the extra effort because you'll just be disappointed.  I have no idea what your situation is over there, this all speculation on my part.

Also, when the school and community grow custom to loosing, then the school board may not search for the best coach, also it maybe harder to get winning coaches to apply for the job(don't know anything about your coaches, they maybe great).  I know over here at the Hill, our school was fortunate in its early years, by hiring some young coaches that were hungry, and winning was very important to them. Two of them had a huge impact on our school, one was Loyd Kelly and the other was Gene Sharp, and I know there was another one or two way back in the 30's and 40's, that shaped our program.  BH, had lost its winning ways for most of the 80's and 90's, so it happens to everyone from time to time.

Ya'll just need the right coach and the right group of kids to turn it all around. You need a coach that dares the kids to lose, and what I mean is, its much harder to go through the punishment i.e. hard practices, than it is to put forth the effort to win. Look at Lumberton, hadn't won anything till two year ago, and now their expectations are high and they plan to win every week. Hopefully that will happen to ya'll someday, and its a great ride when it happens.

Not sure any of that helps, just my observation.

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Guest LR1969

Guest LR1969

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I've had a chance to meet Coach Carpenter and I have found him to be a great guy with a sincere desire to turn things around in Tarkington. He was brought in just a week or so prior to school starting and has his hands full. If given the chance, I believe he will turn the program around. He is a former player at Tarkington and has a vested interest in making the turn.

I agree with all the talk about "tradition" etc. It makes a huge difference at the high school level. Some schools just never make it. It's taken Lumberton over 30 years to begin building a tradition. But, with the right coach and the right group of kids, it can happen. It will in Tarkington if the community gives Carpenter a chance.

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ncplaya

ncplaya

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The football coach just needs to have the same amount of slack in the reins as the volleyball coach and they would be a lil better.  Walk into the guys field house and look at what the players as well as coaches have to be in on the daily basis.  They should give every guy coach a tetnus and herpes shot when they sign there contract. The bad thing is when the old supt was there and the designs for the new HS were developed, there was a fieldhouse on the plans.  It disappeared the next year.

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UKCats

UKCats

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bh34--- I believe the winning at the Hill start in the late 80's early 90's. Know your history ... you might offend some people.

Well ur both actually kind of right and wrong. Barbers Hill made the playoffs in 87, 88, and 89. From 90 through 95 the only year they made the playoffs was 92. I hardly call one year of the six considered the "early 90's" to be domination or the start of a winning tradition.

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bh34

bh34

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bh34--- I believe the winning at the Hill start in the late 80's early 90's. Know your history ... you might offend some people.

Are you telling me BH didn't start winning until the late 80's and 90's?  BH went to the playoffs in the early 80's, like 81 & 82, then didn't go back until 87 and 88, I don't think they went in 89(could be wrong about that, maybe that was coach Skidmores first year) They made it to playoffs two times in the early 90's and then didn't go back until 99.  What I'm saying is we weren't as dominate in the 80's and 90's as we were in the 60's and 70's.  From 82 until 87, you wouldn't believe the ridicule the players took.  I'm not trying to offend anyone, I just remember from about 82 until 99 (with the exception of a couple of year) Bh was not considered a winning team(I'm only talking about football).  When Kenny Robins was a Sr. and the when Ken Skidmore was a Sr. were the only two years BH was really considered strong from 82 till 99. 

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UKCats

UKCats

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BH got beat by Montgomery in the 2nd round in '89

I was thinking that was 1990, but your probably correct.  I'm almost positive it was the first round though. 

Definitely 89, and I think ur right it may have been the first round. One of those years they went two rounds cant remember for sure which one.

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