I can't believe there isn't a thread about this yet. Who do they bring in to replace him?

There probably isn't a thread because this is the first we've heard of it.

As for who will replace him, no way to know that now. The board will post the opening, take applications, and make a decision..








[This message has been edited by Captain Pablo (edited 1/31/2014 2:39a).]

That said, I wish coach Southern well, but for whatever reason he couldn't get that football program on track, unless David Ash was on the team...

Obviously the guy knows how to coach. His Marshall teams were very good. But for whatever reason that success didn't translate in Belton...

I've heard lack of athletes, but I don't necessarily buy that. The school has 3000 students and is by far the largest school in the district. Surely there is enough talent to crack the top 4 in district.

Rodney did a lot of good, especially on the facilities front. And with an army of assistant ADs on hand --- I don't know. Real head scratcher...

Anyway, Rodney seems more comfortable in East Texas and maybe he'll find success again out there...

Finally, I heard Temple offered to play Belton in football despite Temple's drop on classification, and Belton refused.

Does this change that?







[This message has been edited by Captain Pablo (edited 1/31/2014 3:54a).]

This will send our TexAgs Yoemen into orbit, but if you're Belton, the answer could be about 35 miles east.

Rick Rhoades should be at the top of the list






[This message has been edited by Captain Pablo (edited 1/31/2014 4:13a).]

Why can't Belton hire an athletic director separate from the football head coach? This seems so archaic to me but I guess it's still common in high schools? And yes Belton has a lot of students but check out the demographics. Maybe later I'll post them from my computer. It's really surprising to me.

What about the demographics prevents belton from having a decent football team?

sorry to hear that.

i wish Rodney well. He was a class act from all accounts on my end when i dealt with him in my time there.

if they're not looking at Rhodes, they're dumb.



and to the demographics statement, i'll be blunt and labeled a racists if needed. Belton has a less than 8% african american attendance. Temple's is closer to 20% and most killeen schools are higher if i'm not mistaken.

while race does not matter whatsoever and good coaching makes all the difference, the fact is that in football and basketball, african americans have tended to be more athletically gifted.

stone me now.


[This message has been edited by c-jags (edited 1/31/2014 2:16p).]

I've been trying to pm captain all day but it won't let me. Here's my reply to him.


I don't want to get into a race debate. Here's BISD's demographics

http://www.bisd.net/domain/10

As far as football goes, Ash was as good as he gets his Jr year and before him, it took Ramonce Taylor.
Before him, I don't know, I haven't kept up with hs football since the fall of 1990.

From that page you can also see that 50% of bisd is on free or reduced lunches. Which likely means that parents don't have time or money for rec sports when kids are young. If you don't play pop warner football, or whatever it's called around here, you likely don't play much in middle school. If you don't play in middle school, you're less likely to stay in football in highschool.

[This message has been edited by mazzag (edited 1/31/2014 2:39p).]

At least my boys didn't. Maybe they weren't good enough but as a parent of 7th & 8th graders I would like to have seen them play for my reward of 5:30am practices. When they got into highschool I discouraged both of them from wasting an elective on athletics.

I think we can look at numbers without it turning into a "racist" conversation.

I think Temple suffers from similar low income numbers. At the end of of the day. Southern needed an elite athlete for his teams to succeed and didn't have that outside of Ash and Taylor.

Didn't ramonce play for the last coach Belton fired before southern?

Warrick? Maybe?

Time to focus on futbol it seems

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Warrick? Maybe?

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I think so. My cousin played for him. His sophomore year he got a write up in dstf. His Jr and Sr years he didn't play up to potential.

quote:

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Time to focus on futbol it seems

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It seems that way.

I don't know why you couldn't PM me..

Anyway, there are many schools with demographics similar to Belton's that have good, even great football programs. Some have had powerhouses.

Katy has a demographic profile almost IDENTICAL to Belton's and they have been a powerhouse for years..

Many, MANY schools have similar demographics and good football programs

I do not buy AT ALL the notion that Belton's demographics prevent it from having a good football program.

It's not accurate

The right coach can turn that program around in short order







[This message has been edited by Captain Pablo (edited 1/31/2014 4:32p).]

Katy HS is about 55% White, 35% Hispanic, 7% Black

Almost identical

quote:

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and to the demographics statement, i'll be blunt and labeled a racists if needed. Belton has a less than 8% african american attendance. Temple's is closer to 20% and most killeen schools are higher if i'm not mistaken.

while race does not matter whatsoever and good coaching makes all the difference, the fact is that in football and basketball, african americans have tended to be more athletically gifted.

stone me now.

---

No need to stone. But it's just not a good excuse

There have been many predominantly white teams that have either taken home state championships, made it to the championship game, or at least have made deep playoff runs in recent years:

Lake Travis
Westlake
Katy
Smithson Valley
Southlake Carroll
Abilene Cooper
Pearland
Georgetown
Judson
Woodlands


And others








[This message has been edited by Captain Pablo (edited 1/31/2014 5:03p).]

And that's just the State level teams

As far as Belton's program, I ain't talking about a State championship or anything. I'm talkin' about a functional football program, as in making the playoffs almost every year

It's not as if the competition is all that stiff. Midway is OK, Cove is hit and miss. All that's left are the Killeen Schools and Temple, and they haven't done much.

And little ol' Temple will be gone next year, so that's one team out of the way

With 3000 students and state of the art facilities, your program should finish in the top 4 and compete for a district championship every year.

That program is the epitome of underachievement

No argument as to race not being a qualifiying issue. It is not. I just touched on that from a demographics standpoint.

There is a HUGE difference though and Mazzag hit it well.

Belton has that high of a white population. So do those schools. Belton has a nearly 50% low income/poverty rate. Not a single school you mentioned is anywhere NEAR that.

No argument that they are habitual underachievers and I think the coaching is everything, but it's a pretty darn poor community.

Poor communities can, but often do not do as well historically in large schools.

[This message has been edited by C-jags (edited 1/31/2014 6:13p).]

Captain, my pm won't work for anybody I try to pm. As for the schools you mentioned, they have always been good in football. Maybe not deep playoff runs, but year in and year out for 2+ decades, they've been good. Belton hasn't ever had a streak like those schools have. As far as our excellent facilities, those are fairly new. All those other schools have had elite facilities for decades. We are catching up and still behind.

[This message has been edited by mazzag (edited 1/31/2014 6:16p).]

Also, those other districts will always attract talent because they've always been good and have always had nicer facilities. Belton doesn't. I feel like we are talking about mbb at a&m.

[This message has been edited by mazzag (edited 1/31/2014 6:18p).]

So it's a combination of being too white and too poor?

I don't buy it. There are plenty of white schools, and plenty of poor schools that are far better than Belton in football

We can come up with a million excuses as to why Belton is no good, but that's all they are - excuses

Belton is not uniquely white or poor or Hispanic or whatever - and even if they were that still is not a valid excuse. There are plenty of kids just like those at Belton that have done just fine

Here is the key -- the first step toward becoming a good program is to stop looking for every excuse in the book as to why you've been bad, and start looking for ways, and FINDING WAYS to become good

And then --- become good. It's that simple

And if you can't, get someone in there that can get it done

There are no excuses. That district has everything it needs to succeed.

Hopefully the next guy is the type that can get it done -- no excuses








[This message has been edited by Captain Pablo (edited 1/31/2014 6:30p).]

quote:

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Belton is not uniquely white or poor or Hispanic

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No. But Belton is predominantly poor, white and Hispanic. It's not an excuse. It just is what it is. And Belton will try and hire a coach at a bargain. Again, shouldn't the athletic director not be the men's varsity football coach? The same old regime runs things and things will be done the same old way.

quote:

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Also, those other districts will always attract talent because they've always been good and have always had nicer facilities. Belton doesn't. I feel like we are talking about mbb at a&m.

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Not all of them have always been good. A lot of districts are bad, and then are good. They get the leadership to get it done

As for facilities, Belton has the best in the area. Does midway have better facilities? Cove? temple? Yeah no, they don't.

Temple was barely 5A and their kids are dirt poor...

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The same old regime runs things and things will be done the same old way

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Well there might lie the problem

You sure hate a single HS.

How so?

I haven't been to midway in about 5 or 6 years but their field for the middle school kids was nice. In highschool, every thing they had was nice. And they were good. I hated competing against them in one act play. Snobs.

I moved to Westlake in the 4th grade. It was like going from the temple dillards to a Dallas Neiman's. Very eye opening.

I bet

quote:

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quote:

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The same old regime runs things and things will be done the same old way

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Well there might lie the problem

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Same voters too. I'm still amazed these bonds passed. If the new weight room/locker room/jumbotron had gone thru bond vote, I doubt it would have passed.

I was kidding. Kinda.

You just seem kinda harsh on Belton. Yeah we get it. They historically haven't been good. Like with any school, it takes the right kids and coaching staff. Belton just hasn't had that.

Midway is very well off. Baylor coaches kids go there.

quote:

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same voters too. I'm still amazed these bonds passed. If the new weight room/locker room/jumbotron had gone thru bond vote, I doubt it would have passed

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They did try to get it with a bond in 2009 and it failed. Thank God.

I don't fault them in the recent bonds. They had 800 and getting close to 900 in some elementaries. My son was one of 800< kids at Pirtle. 2 middle schools were full and SBMS helped with that.