HS Coach With Letsrun Ties Fired Over Runners Running With Their Shirts Off

That policy is such crap. On my high school team the guys run with their shirts off all the time when it is hot out. I don't see a problem with it, plus all the overweight kids that do track keep their shirts on anyways.

The tide turned against this coach with this weird "workout with breaks" marathon PR nonsense. I've never heard of someone doing that, and thus indicates to me that he is a douche. Perhaps even a massive douche. But, he still did the right thing by his kids. No one should be fired for letting their runners run shirtless.

Are you sure that you meant to be responding to something that I said? I have no idea who Chris Odizzle is, or what Xaverian is, and I didn't call Mr. Davis any such thing. I don't know any of these people, nor do I want to.

I ran in a competitive NCAA Div. 1 program in the South.

There were some 90 plus degree days in late August and September and in late April and May where it would have been foolish not to go shirtless in practice. It was hot at 4 in the afternoon.

I felt badly for the women, who even with the lightest training tops had more discomfort. (Please, avoid the sexist remarks).

There has to be more to the story here. Moreover, what AD - mind you - we are talking about a chief administrator here -keeps his job after hitting a kid?

Really, this is stupid.

I ran for a very competitive DII program in the Northeast; the humidity and heat from June through September was brutal. But I wasn't such a big pussy that I found it difficult, no .. UNBEARABLE, to train with a shirt on. If the kids ran with their shirt on, in weather described as 75 degrees (are you joking), the guys would have his job and there wouldn't be a thread.

Half this younger generation treats Prefontaine like he's some sort of semi-god, the toughest of the tough, yet .... they bitch about having to train in a shirt.

Give me an effing break.

shit man, during the HS track season in 1974, we spent more time streaking around naked than we did wearing clothes.

That was an interesting read. I have witnessed Tom Davis and his coaching style in Westwood. I'm sure there is more to this story than just an isolated incident of a kid taking his shirt off. I was totally unimpressed by how Tom treats others. His actions and words came across as pompous, conceited and disinterested. As a role model for young kids, his actions should be completely the opposite. I have a feeling he openly flaunted the rules that the administration sets out for coaches.

I have a feeling that you have an ax to grind with the guy.

Night Runner wrote:

I'm missing something on this whole "shirt" thing. I grew up in FL and attended schools here - we always ran without a shirt when it was hot...

Despite the temperature differences, this is the kind of story I'd expect to see in FL, at least the northern parts, rather than anywhere in the Northeast, except that in the South it wouldn't just be the A.D. yowling about the evils of shirtlessness, it would be the parents and every pastor in sight, although there would also be a huge double standard between boys and girls. Some of the bumpkins down here would rather see girls run in full gowns than in any kind of shorts.

Hell, when I coached high school (boys and girls) I usually ran with the team and often went shirtless myself off campus (and when with the boys only) and no one said shit. Shirtless people running is just something most people don't flinch at seeing when it's balls hot or even when it's merely mild.

What's stupid about some of the posts here is that the very people calling for an organized insurrection (e.g., other teams ditching their shirts or skipping practice) are in some cases saying that the kids doing things like "kind of" wearing shirts in an obviously defiant way were out of bounds. That doesn't make such sense.

Only thing thats' clear to me -- and I admit I'm only on page three of this crap -- is that regardless of the character and behavior of Tom Davis, the A.D. at that school should be out on his ass as of several years ago. Certain people employed by school districts -- a select few who never seem to be teachers, only administrators -- are given exalted and obviously protected status in the face of behavior that is not only egregious but borderline criminal. If Westwood wants to escape this with any dignity it will remove the turd from the scholastic punch bowl.

Tom Davis is like the Kanye West of the high school coaching world.

Is he talented? Has he produced great results? Absolutely.

Does he think that he's the greatest that ever lived? Does he let his mouth run too often, rubbing people the wrong way? Do his foolish actions take away from what he was actually accomplished? Well, that would be a yes on all counts.

Totally Evil Coach wrote:

Two golden rules I've found that apply in all HS Track/XC coaching situations:

1. The coach can get fired at any point, for any reason. Always remember that and be nice to everyone, at all times. The future of your involvement may depend on it. Running is nothing to the powers that be and they consider you interchangable.

2. Never toot your horn or defend your runners on the internet. In HS running, everyone hates everyone else. Parents of your team will anonymously rip you, parents of other teams will too, your actual team, rival teams, ect. Never, ever poke your head out of the fox-hole. Ever. Ignore it and profess ignorance when told about it.

There's more to being a HS coach than connecting with kids and knowing your stuff, unfortunately.

Awesome! I could have used this advice many times before, and now you tell me?

state of delusion?? wrote:

Wow, he is full of himself.

Eevn lies about his girl friends HS accomplishments, 12 time state champion. Not even close, did she win even one individual title? She was on one relay champ, but what else, usually didn't get it done at the big meets.

He is a master of self promotion.

You guys are right. The high school scene may be more ruthless than the pros with coaches and parents slamming one another.

Her wake Bio says 6 individual track titles, 3 xc titles (so that's 9), not hard to get to 12 from that with relays and team. Definitely more than 1.

Seisamoiditis wrote:

Not telling the kids to put their shirts on during practice was the final straw.

http://www.wickedlocal.com/westwood/news/x1621729181/Davis-fired-as-Westwood-boys-track-coach#axzz1LOZLKUZq

the girls team complained.

Thats professional of Tom to call out other students on the news like that. Clearly he cares about the students. This is a guy that will never get another high school job in MA, book it.

Hey Tom a rule as made, you didn't like it so you didn't enforce and mocked it in front of the athletes. You say you didn't know about the rule, that no one told it to you yet your athletes were flaunting the rule wearing half shirts over two weeks ago flaunting the rule and sticking it in the admins faces. You lied on camera about getting pushed by the AD, sounds libelous to me.

Good luck buddy! You say you want to be a lawyer someday, just so you know the Character and Fitness people do google searches on you! Next time you get fired for blatant insubordination better off just going quietly into the night.

Why, oh why would anyone be a high school track or xc coach?

Crazy administrations on power trips who know nothing about track or xc, kids who openly question everything you do with posts on internet message boards and FB, parents who criticize and bad mouth you over every little thing, and other coaches who go into jealous fits when your team outperforms theirs. And pay that is close to nothing. No thanks.

fact man wrote:

You guys are right. The high school scene may be more ruthless than the pros with coaches and parents slamming one another.

Her wake Bio says 6 individual track titles, 3 xc titles (so that's 9), not hard to get to 12 from that with relays and team. Definitely more than 1.

http://wakeforestsports.cstv.com/sports/w-track/mtt/barton_jessica00.html

Guess what, she didn't win three xc titles, might have gotten one as a soph, that's one title and one lie.

She did not win six individual track titles either, I remember one at the divisional level, none at the all-state level. So, that's two lies.

couple lies has to make you question the whole story

It was actually 2 in xc '04, '06 (Kasper was hurt and didn't run).

To clear it up concerning Jessica Barton, the confusion stems from whether a MA Division I title is considered a "title" or it must be a MA All-Division title. If you include both meets, relays and individual, plus the two XC titles, you get 12. If you want to consider getting a 4x800 title at the Division I state level and the All-State level in the same year double counting, fine, but she is still probably the #2 distance female ever from Newton North HS.

Back to the topic, I think Coach Davis should just walk away from this one, and seek other employment. Let the situation be a learning lesson, even if the AD is a jerk. Know when to fold 'em.