There is absolutely no racism here. Looks like a coach pissed off about private coaching. It’s a real issue in this sport and has impacted the programs of every coach I know.
Soles draws a hard line. One that is hard in today’s world for people to accept. The reality is that’s everywhere and he won’t escape it by moving from CA.
And hope he’s not going to be that parent sitting in the stands.
Soles will resign at Great Oak and leave California
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My assumption is Soles is upset that the District Office, who more than likely are a bunch of politicians rather than educators, because they handled this situation terribly. I'm also assuming this isn't his first run-in with his District Office, and this is the final straw for him. As a coach myself, I am very familiar with this situation and I don't blame him one bit for deciding to take his skills elsewhere. He decided to take one last swing at the parents who caused this issue on his way out with his interviews with milesplit and prepcal. Also, his kids are about to be in high school and making the decision to move prior to them entering high school is smarter than moving once the kids have already established themselves.
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Fade67 wrote:
[/pquote]
Where is this? Just want to see proof of someone posting pictures and asking BLM (?) to watch them. My skepticism is because it doesn’t really make sense, but people post things that don’t make sense all the time.
I tried to attach the screenshot, but it won’t let me.
Go to the cowards Facebook site. ..Cecil Stevenson (big Steve) and look for yourself.
Make sure you pay special attention to all the BLM hashtags in the photo he posted of Sole’s and his family. While he says he needs to “be watched”...
Unlike the cowards targeting Soles, I’m not full of crap.[/quote]
This is a problem I have with people today. Neither side can avoid from putting their slant on things.
The post is certainly ridiculous and Stevenson’s crusade looks less than reasonable, but on the other side you pick one out of a multitude of hashtags that triggers you to put a major slant by claiming “he told his BLM cronies to watch Soles’ family”, an intellectually dishonest portrayal now that I’ve seen the actual posts. You very clearly have a problem with BLM to frame it as such.
So now I don’t put stock into Stevenson or you, which puts me at a very confusing place. -
So now I don’t put stock into Stevenson or you, which puts me at a very confusing place.
Right, from everything I've seen from Stevenson, he is not handling whatever issue he has in the best way. That said, there's also nothing at all threatening to Soles family about those posts. -
Threats can be made through other mediums of communication. I don’t think most people will use their personal social media accounts when treating others. Cowards usually go the anonymous route.
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beiffitors wrote:
So now I don’t put stock into Stevenson or you, which puts me at a very confusing place.
Yeah... I was bored at work and (regrettably) decided to go down this story's rabbit hole. I've invested 30 minutes of my life into this and I can say that I have no idea what is going on.
I agree with the above post. Stevenson and this "Fade" character are complete garbage with respect to decency and objectively translating a situation. -
Former California Southern Section Coach who faced Doug's teams for many years.
There takes a certain level of commitment and drive to have a program challenging for California and National Championships on a yearly basis. It will cause some injuries to kids. It will run some kids, and families, off. It will cause some hurt feelings and have some parents not agree.
Great Oak consistently has one of the largest XC teams in the state, probably in the country. They get their share of transfers because of the reputation of the program . They also lose kids because of the commitment required. Some kids and families are not ready for, or willing to meet, the requirements of the top level of the GO program. It is very difficult to run a top level program in any sport and many parents think that they know better than the coach. There are many parents who disagree with the methods of the team because of the level of commitment, the mileage, the year-long dedication, etc. Great Oak is not immune to this level of parental disenchantment.
I am not a GO insider but I have known Doug for many year, coaching against him at a reasonably high level and, yes, he has a huge ego and can be abrasive but he always tried to put forth the best team. He spent a lot of time learning principles of training runners and working to perfect his training plans. Not every kid is cut out, or wants to make the level of commitment necessary to handle the top group. But, those that could and did, saw remarkable success!
Is it possible that Doug can be an a-hole and is a very controlling coach who demands total commitment and dedication to remain in the varsity mix? Absolutely., probably likely. However, this does not make him a racist or specifically display discriminatory behavior. I never had a personal problem with him and never witnessed any of this behavior.
Is it possible that the accusations are accurate and that Doug was a different person in the presence of his team? Yes, but I find it much more likely that there are disgruntled parents who live in the club sports world and feel like the GO program was somehow doing them wrong because of whatever reason.
KC -
The club system can really drive wedges between coaches in the schools and coaches in the summer club system. Many of the most successful coaches want almost total control of the kids and this can set up an adversarial relationship with the summer coach. The school board/principal/athletic directors sometimes have to become referees between super involved parents who might prefer the summer coach,( but recognize the state championship series' relationship with getting scholarships) and the coach at the school. The swimming club system on the other hand totally subjugates the HS system and most HS coaches have to kowtow to the club coach. But many track prodigies create headaches for the HS system too.
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I appreciate your thoughts. I don’t know much, but I do know this... it had zero to do with private coaching... GO didn’t have an issue with it.
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Any news on this?
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More kids are going the club route which the swimming world has lived in for decades. Why? Specialization means opportunity for $$$ for coaches, trainers, etc. at the same time that college costs continue to go up.
So the summer track vs. high school track drama that plays out at many schools now has the added elements of paid side coaches plus school choice. -
I haven't read this thread, but isn't it SOP for supporters of one of the predominant US political parties to "own" the other?
But apparently, it can't go both ways? -
Club track has its pros and cons, but GO wasn’t opposed to outside training. Until we hear from the other side we will never truly know.
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From reading the texts the parent posted, it looks like (1) athlete trained with private coach, but (2) when GO training started, she wanted a week off of GO training, and (3) DS said no, “nobody else is taking a week off from our program.” It appears the trigger that set off the parent is the athlete wanting special permission to take a week off of the GO training program.
Re: private coaching, from the posted text, it looks like DS’s point is that, meanwhile this athlete does have a private coach, who was the one actually coaching the athlete at State, not the GO coach (presumably overstepping at a high school event), so DS is saying in the text, cut the pretense.... The screenshot posted by the parent himself very much sound like a parent chafing about not getting his way. -
I wish a reputable coach would start a club running program for high schoolers in the Seattle area for athletes who want to train at a high level. My kid’s high school program is weak, with coaches who don’t seem to know what they’re doing. Anyone want to start this up?
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So these coaches are quitting throwing away one of the best programs in the nation, after having 2 of their runners hit by a car during the offseason because of a little friction with one parent?
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PDaddy wrote:
So these coaches are quitting throwing away one of the best programs in the nation, after having 2 of their runners hit by a car during the offseason because of a little friction with one parent?
He's a snowflake Trumpster, that's what they do. -
Buh Bye wrote:
PDaddy wrote:
So these coaches are quitting throwing away one of the best programs in the nation, after having 2 of their runners hit by a car during the offseason because of a little friction with one parent?
He's a snowflake Trumpster, that's what they do.
It may come as a complete surprise to you, but the majority of conservatives do not make major life decisions due to their preference for a particular presidential candidate. I assure you, Trump is taking up far more room in your head than in that of the average Republican voter. I must say, from all appearances, you really can't spare the room. -
Disgusted wrote:
Buh Bye wrote:
PDaddy wrote:
So these coaches are quitting throwing away one of the best programs in the nation, after having 2 of their runners hit by a car during the offseason because of a little friction with one parent?
He's a snowflake Trumpster, that's what they do.
It may come as a complete surprise to you, but the majority of conservatives do not make major life decisions due to their preference for a particular presidential candidate. I assure you, Trump is taking up far more room in your head than in that of the average Republican voter. I must say, from all appearances, you really can't spare the room.
I'm not the one running away from California because the big black boogeyman is saying mean things about me. -
I don't know the man but I do know he went the extra mile to get his seniors onto college rosters. When I was volunteering at a small D1 program I remember seeing emails he would send our coaches each fall with very long descriptions of all his unsigned seniors (up to 20+ kids). I mean a half page on each kid. Some would state that the kid "just loves the sport and would be happy to be a team manager" while others were d1 or d2 level runners looking for the right fit. Other coaches did similar things but not as in depth or specific about the students personality and preferences. I enjoyed watching his teams rep Ca at nationals.
