He is worth it. Results should matter and this is a badass coach with a chip on his shoulder. Would certainly want him to coach my kid. The big problem is that very few are capable of producing results and, when they do, the go unrewarded. I remember reading a story about the Arcadia guy a couple of years back. Yet, all those who produce absolutely nothing, make inaccurate claims of their success using a joking tone so they can backtrack at a later time and act as Kim Jong-un wannabees.
He will not be back unless he runs for the school team coach. Private coach has been banned and the school system has ruled definitively this summer. Private coaches have no role in the public school team and Brentwood has admitted fault. The playing field has to be level, and the private coaches have been purged from the school teams. They can still train privately but not in lieu of the school coach. That's the truth and the end result. No teammate confrontation or jealousy, just the school didn't follow the rules and got caught.
Does that mean Jett and the other Kindersports crew can't participate now? Is this just against Coach Avery is there more to this? I coach in a different part of TN and I'm interested in knowing what rule was broken, because there are tons of young people using private coaches for field events in my area.
Kinder is no longer an official coach at Brentwood from what I have heard. There is nothing wrong with private coaching unless the coach is a coach at the school too and taking private payment from a select few.
The guy deserves to get the boot from his school monopoly if he was having the kids pay basically to compete for the team. That is unethical for a high school team.
But I don't see why kids training with private coaches is a bad thing. My experience with high school sports and coaching is that you should:
A) Want what's best for the kids and the team as a whole.
B) Understand that you are likely going to get a mixed back of situations from all these kids you are wanting the best for and, sometimes, you have to compromise.
If there were lots of opportunities for the Kindersports kids to compete while not being on a team, I'd say it makes sense to boot them when they refuse to work with the school coach. But, in Tennessee, those opportunities don't exist. You have to wait until post-season and be prepared to travel alot. If I were at the school--while I don't know the whole situation at all and can't say for sure what would be right--I'd let the current group of Kinder-kids who wanted to pay and refused to work with the school coach train with the coach who made them nationally great (because who wouldn't want to stay with the coach everything was going well with, who had likely changed your life). Then I'd tell all incoming groups that they were welcomed to work with private coaches out of season (because, free will) but would need to attend team practices during season to compete. I'd grant the current kiddos a grandfathering in so they never felt like their future was at risk. I'd aim to stop anyone from poaching the new kids for in-season work by doing a good job and I'd do it for free verses $600 a month.
THE FACTS
Avery's small group of privately-coached athletes has tallied 170 state champion medals, 31 All-American medals, 2 National podium Cross Country Club team finishes and 2 All-Time National Records and a National Champion, in distance running.
About 95% of his privately-coached athletes were the school record holders at their respective schools in cross country and the distance events in track. At last count, 62 out of his 65 privately-coached athletes went on to become collegiate runners over the last 8 years, with most garnering significant scholarships. Two of Guy’s runners include a National Champion, who is currently the top-high school recruit in the country, along with another top-10 recruit in the country.
At Brentwood, the Brentwood Boys' Cross Country Club, recognized as one of the best programs in the entire country, operated 100% independently from the school team, as required by national sanctioning. Club teams cannot compete as school teams.
There was never any "pay for play" in effect. In fact, the single disgruntled parent who made these accusations, actually had his "pay for play" demand rejected, before falsely claiming "pay for play" against Avery.
Varsity teams were determined in the most objective and simple merit-based way possible: If you raced as a top-7 runner on the team, you were varsity regardless of whether you were a coaching client of Avery’s. Everyone knew this policy and it was followed. This varsity team policy was 100% fair and was stated at the start of the Summer and Fall and reiterated before and after every cross country meet by the school coaches, including Boys' coach, Billy Anderson and Girls' coach, Lara Whitaker.
Avery refused offers by the Athletic Director to be hired and paid as a school coach and he never accepted a penny from Brentwood High School or Williamson County School District.
In the two Fall seasons when Avery was listed as a volunteer, no athlete that was not already privately-coached, ever paid for coaching services, and no athlete was ever asked to pay for coaching services.
Avery volunteered his time to help the school's varsity teams and any runner with varsity level ability, was freely coached. In both cross country and track, dozens of athletes were freely helped every season by Avery, without compensation.
Avery was given permission and encouraged to use the Brentwood track by the Brentwood HS Athletic Director, Ron Seigenthaler. Both the BHS Principal, Kevein Keidel and BHS Athletic Director, Ron Seigenthaler, were fully aware of the occasional track usage for privately-coached athletes. It is a matter of public record that even the WCS Athletic Director, Jeremy Qualls, was aware of Avery's occasional track usage. The large majority of Avery's private training group practices were not on a track and were held off-site and were always held completely separate from school practice times. In contrast, it is common knowledge that Gary Kinder was a paid Brentwood High School track coach, who used Brentwood facilities almost daily for the past decade, while also charging Brentwood and other athletes, for private coaching.
Avery absolutely did not refuse to meet for this investigation. In fact, Avery offered to meet with Human Resource Specialist, Lindsey Quirk, on 24-hour notice to clarify all accusations and yet he was still not interviewed, nor were the large consensus of facts presented by the large majority of parents, included in the WCS report.
The school investigation stands as truth? I think I wet my pants when I laughed so hard.
Are you the vindictive parent or jealous coach?
Without private coaching the top kids in the nation would never learn how to dig into the turns.
I read the report and checked out the so called supporting evidence. Much of it one sided, taken out of context and weaved together to make a story. The "Investigation" appears to be a witch hunt.
But gloat away and continue your agenda.
Brentwood is getting what they deserve: bad publicity. They tried to blur the lines between a club and a public school. I think they should lose all those state titles they won during this six year run. It won’t happen, because TSSAA will say that they can’t do anything about it.
As for Guy, he’s a very good coach, and I hope his club team does well.
Guy is a good coach. He could be very successful if he operated inside the rules. He did not. That's just the truth. Now Brentwood will have to deal with the consequences.
Also know wrote:
The private coach, Avery is a nut charging high schoolers $600 a month to coach them and they have to sign a 2 year contract which they're expected to honor even if injured. He has worked with several stud TN boys who run great in HS and then don't do anything in college because he can't get out of the way.
All of this is not true. To the fee, to the extent of the contract, to the belief that his athletes don't improve in college. Stop spreading false information.
At the end of the day, he was a volunteer coach for the school that solicited payments during the season. I think even think Avery admits this. I understand the clock decides who makes the team, but when you go into a public school, sign on as a volunteer coach, and then start soliciting payments during the season, it's crazy and unethical. You don't go to a homeless shelter to volunteer and then start selling food to the people there.
I'm not questioning the guys coaching credentials or abilities, but signing on as a volunteer and soliciting payments during the season is ridiculous. Get hired by the school and paid by them or move to another school that will pay you. Don't volunteer and then shake down kids parents.
Homeless shelter analogy is spot on!
Avery didn't start soliciting payments after he starting volunteering. He already those athletes as private coaching clients. He already had contracts with those athletes.
There was no solicitation. He didn't and didn't have to , solicit or advertise his coaching business. Parents came to him. But that Durant matter.
The school pressed him to volunteer. The agreement nor did the school inform him about their own rules regarding him continuing to receive his payment for privately coaching his already contracted athletes . Those athletes received additional training and coaching outside the school practices. That is what the payment was for. Not the school practices , is my understanding. Which is not against TSSAA rules. But it is against the schools own policy which was mit in the volunteer agreement and the school did not notify any of the coaches that they could not accept payments from already contracted clients at all.
He met his private coaching clients outside of school practices and was not allowed to get paid for that . Which once he was informed of that school policy which is not a TSSAA rule, he complied.
He was not informed of the school policy becayse the AD didn't even know the school policy. No one seemed be aware of it.
Until the disgruntled parent started grasping at straws and hired a lawyer , his brother I think is one, and had him look for something that could cause Guy Avery trouble. That parent or rather parents because it was both the mother and father are very vindictive.
The school is making Guy Avery the scapegoat. And this so called investigation is a witch hunt
There are other private coaches that also volunteered and received payments. In addition they used the school facilities.
The school officials should be fired
Avery is a Chicken hawk!
Nice try! Take a look at page 25, #10 of the WCS schools coaches handbook. It doesn't matter if they were his athletes prior to becoming a volunteer coach.
Sorry, page 15 - #10