PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — The methods of an SAD 1 coach were called into question last Wednesday night during the public participation portion of the board’s regular monthly meeting. At issue was the coach’s stance on the players’ use of foul language.
According to Kurt Bates, who identified himself as a very concerned parent of a team member, this past sports season one of the coaches sat his team down in the locker room and asked how many of them use a particular expletive.
A couple of the players raised their hands, and then another team member singled out other kids saying that he had heard them use inappropriate language.
“Most of the kids, my son included, raised their hands, and the coach said, ‘I can’t tell you how much this hurts our coaching staff,’” said Bates, reading from a letter that he had previously sent to board members. “I have coached in SAD 1 for 27 years and I have never heard of anything so absurd.
“We are not the Greater Houlton Christian Academy Wildcats, we are the Presque Isle Wildcats and have been since 1931,” he said. “In no way, shape or form should our athletes be judged or earn points from their coach for a word they may or may not have said. Obviously a coach’s role does include holding players to high standards as student athletes. However, passing moral judgment on players in an open setting is beyond the role of a coach.”
Bates reminded the board that there are 32 minutes in a basketball game, and five kids play at a time.
“Imagine that you’re one of the kids who raises his hand, and you’re looking across the way at a couple of kids who didn’t raise their hands. They are kids who play the same position as you and are trying to get playing time … minutes on the floor,” said Bates. “When these kids are walking out of the locker room feeling dejected, now they’re wondering what they’ve got to do to get back on par with the kids that they’re fighting for playing time. ‘If the coach is that disappointed with me, how pleased is he with these two fellas for not saying that word?’
“There’s a big part of me that does not want to be here this evening,” Bates said, “but I felt it was something that I had to do, and I strongly feel that this is wrong.”
As is customary, the board listened to Bates’ concerns and there was no discussion or action taken by the directors. However, following the meeting, SAD 1 Superintendent Gehrig Johnson said, “Coaching is an important but not always popular position in a school system. Our coaches in SAD 1 work hard to be excellent role models for PIHS student athletes and they have my respect and support.”
