Miramonte High School men's basketball coach Dave Brown said Wednesday he was released from coaching responsibilities at the school by Mats principal Adam Clark earlier in the week.
"I want to be back but the principal told me Monday that he will not re-hire me," Brown responded when contacted. No reason was given for his dismissal, according to Brown.
Brown led the Matadors to a 20-10-0 season this year, 8-4-0 in league play. The team finished their season ranked 124th in the state.
This article on Contra Costa Times should clear up any questions people had on this. Has anyone ever heard of something like this before? The principal needs to be held accountable for his actions in this situation as this is grossly unfair to Coach Brown and his Miramonte players. To do this after such a successful season in which a young team which only had one senior play a lot and still went 20-10 is the worst part.
Pathetic the way personal politics play out in these public schools. Private is looking better all the time.
Let's extend that to life in general. "Mr. Ellison, Annie hasn't been promoted to manager even though she's been at Oracle for a whole year. I'm selling my stock." When I was a player, back when we used peach baskets for hoops, it was understood that you earned playing time through hustle, hard work, more hard work, teamwork, more hustle and talent. Mommy and Daddy couldn't help me once I set foot on the court or on the field. Nor did I expect them to. It was my job - and only my job - to earn a start or to do my part for the team as a role player. Did I like riding the pine? No, but I also knew when someone was better than me and worked to grow my skills. As a parent, I hope my children will love their endeavors enough to work hard at them, earn their role, accept their role, and learn more in defeat than victory.
Principal Adam Clark forgot the wise words of his grandfather he quoted his first year of reflection in Lamorinda Weekly: Article link: http://www.lamorindaweekly.com/archive/issue0414/Miramonte-Principal-Reflects-and-Looks-Forward.html "My grandfather," he says, He always told me, 'Don't close any doors. Once they're closed, you're going to have a hard time opening them up again.' So that's what I tell these kids. Don't close any doors.” Sadly, Mr. Clark just "closed doors" for MHS players and talented players who deserve a great coach, like Dave Brown. Ironically, the decision will likely open new doors for Coach Brown, who is well known in this community for his “moral character building” and "professional coaching talent", along with his strong team records. Another quote by Adam Clark. “Kids are intuitive...” Yes, kids are intuitive, and by high school, Lamorinda athlete kids know “equal play time" ends with LMYA. Our intuitive kids realize it takes coaching leadership with both individual & team player talent (not equal play time) to produce the strong results MHS has had. Play time is “earned” with hard work, skills, & sportsmanship attitude. Hopefully the "moral value coaching" MHS players had from Coach Brown,will help them survive their terrible loss. A future basketball team will be honored, to have Coach Dave Brown!
We as parents need to understand and accept our kids for who they are, then encourage them, and role model appropriate behavior, rather than use power to advocate for them. The entitlement attitude really hurts the kids, and they don't learn skills to overcome natural stress and disappointments in life. So disheartening that any HS Principal would advocate for personal reasons, above and beyond what is best for his entire school/team - very sad situation. Coach Brown is a rare find, MHS was lucky to have him.
There is a real toll on the families of high school coaches, especially those who seek to build a high character, high academic and highly competitive athletic program. It takes a lot of hard work and emotional energy to build such a well-rounded program - to the point that it oftentimes feels like a full-time job. However, high school coaches must have other gainful employment, because we're only given a small stipend. I'm not complaining, because I knew what to expect, but the sacrifices are indeed significant - far more, in fact, than I had imagined with two young kids and a two-income household. The sad part of this story is that we have an incredible group of young men in our program. This past season was the most amazing team-bonding and character-building experience for me as a coach - and our players shared in this feeling. We will have 11 varsity players returning next season, so the team chemistry should develop further. With 8 of our best 9 players coming back, next year's squad has the ability to do something very special on the court, and I think it is unfair to the kids and to our coaching staff to break-up what has become an incredibly supportive and competitive team environment.
Maybe, you'll be able to find another school. The whole situation seems sad & I hope things work out for you.