Coaches aim to teach lessons on and off the field
Submitted by James Quatromoni Hull High Athletic Director/Community Outreach Coordinator
Our community is passionate about its young people, in that youth and high school athletics are of great interest and importance to most of us on the peninsula. It can be a great atmosphere in which student-athletes pursue their goals and dreams. Truly, we at Hull High School appreciate the interest and support.
The challenge of coaching a high school athletic team is multi-faceted. As any parent of a teenager knows, at times, young people can be unpredictable. On a daily basis, the coaching staff at the high school is balancing myriad responsibilities, covering a wide spectrum of considerations. Much of it involves work to reach “on the field” goals. Much of it involves helping young people reach that consistency in character and behavior that produces positive results on and off the field.
One of those responsibilities is participating in a collaborative evaluation process. On a very regular basis, coaches and I are working together to seek improvement. Every day brings that potential opportunity to improve. It is up to us to grab hold of that opportunity. Seizing the opportunity involves identifying areas of improvement, and addressing them. We’re on it.
It is important to me that our community recognizes that the high school coaching staff is constantly and rigorously pursuing improvement – no matter what the final record indicates. It is a requirement of the position.
An important aspect of this process will be planning the work, and working the plan. I am committed to this. Our coaches and I will work to develop realistic plans to improve and sustain programs. We will work to build bridges back to youth organizations within our community. We seek to create a more efficient process that exposes young athletes to future ideas used on the interscholastic level. In activities that are not currently supported by youth organizations, we will develop methods to reach youth through camps and clinics. As the Carthaginian military leader Hannibal was quoted as saying, “We will either find a way, or make one.”
With all of this said, I think it is important to acknowledge the idea of “educational athletics.” Building the character of young people to ensure on the field and real-life success is not material for a white flag waved by those who do not navigate the journey of a season with a winning record. Instead, this is the basis – no, the priority – of any individual who works within athletics in a school system.
The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association [MIAA] governs our participation in sports at the high school. This organization is made up of lifelong coaches, teachers, and administrators. The MIAA’s mission is something with which all participating high schools must align themselves.
I offer excerpts of the essay entitled “Why Educational Athletics?” as published by the MIAA and revised on Aug. 23, 2006:
“The mission of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association is to enrich the educational experience of the student-athletes by providing leadership and support for the conduct of interscholastic athletics. This Association promotes activities that provide lifelong and life-quality learning experiences to students while enhancing their achievement of educational goals.
“What is interscholastic athletics? At first glance, one would think that this term simply refers to sport competitions between teams or individuals representing their school communities. While this definition partially defines the description in question, interscholastic athletics are much more than the competition that takes place on the field of play. Interscholastic athletics are an extension of the classroom that provide teaching and learning experiences for all involved. These experiences and lessons relate as much to life and education as they do to the outcome on a scoreboard.
“The privilege of interscholastic athletic participation can be one of the most exciting experiences of a student-athlete’s life. The responsibility associated with this privilege can help the student-athlete maintain proper perspective throughout his or her educational journey, and should constantly remind each of what is truly important in life. We win through sports if we help to develop athletically successful individuals and teams.
“More importantly, we win through life if we help to develop socially successful and responsible individuals and teams. We lose by all accounts if we measure success by wins and losses, and not the life lessons being learned along the way.
“Even though interscholastic athletics may garner an extraordinary amount of attention from spectators at given times, it is important to remember that these programs exist to prepare young men and women for the next level of life, not the next level of sports. If the primary purpose of interscholastic athletics was to create future contributors to college or professional sports, then we would be failing miserably, as a negligible number of our 50,000 graduating student-athletes each year move on to a higher athletic level. We are not the promoters of big-time sporting events, rather the supporters and organizers of healthy, educational activities. We are not the builders of farm clubs for college or professional teams, but the supporters and teachers of tomorrow’s community, state and national leaders.
“In educational athletics, everyone wins if everyone tries. There has never been an official who wanted to officiate a bad game. There has never been a coach who wanted to coach a bad game. There has never been a student-athlete who wanted to play a bad game. When everyone is trying their best, interscholastic athletics becomes what it is supposed to be – a place were moms and dads, relatives, friends and fans can come out and cheer, have a great time and celebrate the sanctity of high school athletics.”
As the athletic director at Hull High School, I can assure you of one thing – our coaches will work tirelessly to achieve success within each and every aspect of their responsibilities to our programs. I will drive them or guide them. I respect the passion that our community has for our programs, and we appreciate your support. |
