Letter to the Editor

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: COACHING COMMENT DRAWS RESPONSE

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To the Editor:

For some reason this topic as taken each of my family member into great discussion time. Most of all, my husband and I, then my two children. I feel sorry for each, Coach Janet and the sports writer, because I feel they meant no harm.

We, as adults should remember that we learned from our parents and peers when we were children growing up. And we are affected by the way we are taught. In discussing this matter with my husband he told me of an experience with his coach in high school over 20 years ago.

The team had played poorly the night before and in practice the next day coach brought in tampons and threw them at the boys and said, "HERE if your going to play like a bunch of girls then use these."

On hearing this from my husband, I felt abused. But think how do you think those boys felt and some didn't even know what they where used for. Then I started to think about when I played girls high school volleyball. The coach said, "You girls look like a bunch of SISSYS." Is that not what I was? At that time it was used to get us motivated to play better and we didn't even think about we were girls.

So, Coach Janet may have had this coaching technique used on him in this way. And as adults most of us always do what we were taught and exposed to before we really sit down and think about what to say or do. Instead of facing what might be wrong and searching for words to say, in that one quick moment we go back to our brains and find how it was taught to us. Not knowing that it might have been taught the wrong way or not, but that; what was on file in our brain. And remembering the technique it was used by our parents and or peers we use it because it worked on us back then.

So, we learned that not only did our parents teach us values, so did our teachers, coaches, ministers and etc.

OOPS!! There's that word that ex-vice president Quail used. VALUES.

1. If anyone thought about 20 years ago there were no girls basketball in this area. So, yes we could classify bad play with girls or nerds. Because they never got the chance to play.

2. Now it is a different story just in this community alone we have the Jackson girl basketball and Notre Dame girl basketball teams which are some of the best in the State of Missouri (That is how I feel) and I know they could give the boys a run for their money. (OOPS! Can't say that they might think we are betting on it.)

As I said before I don't think Coach Janet meant any harm in what he said because he would probably like to have some of the girls on his boys team. And all of us just have to start to think of other techniques to get our boys and girls motivated. I guess Coach Grim could say to the girls, "You play like a bunch of boys." This is just to start out. HA!! and think about it, he maybe giving a compliment.

Maybe 20 years from now they will have a Women Pro Basketball team and Playing will be our very own Jill, Jamie and Michelle Jordan Air.

But, first let's start changing the attitudes given to us by our parents and or peers and making values good and strong.

Nancy Graham

Jackson