Fairland Non-Renews Coach Wilcoxon

Ump · Post by **Ump** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 12:56 pm

Bucking red, you say some of the BOE members didnt go to the games or didnt know what was going on. Correct me if I'm wrong but two of the no votes were ex FHS players that attend most all the games. One of them is an ex QB.
Silente is right on. Its all about wins.
You can score all the points you want. If you dont play defense you aint gonna win. He should have gotten all the daddys off the field and hired a defensive co-ordinator. Or at least put a little more effort into defensive practice. Theres alot of talent at FHS to keep having losing seasons. Good luck to the BOE in their quest for a replacement. Take your time and dont get the good ole boy mentality of hiring your buddies. Put FHS back on the right track with a qualified expirienced coach.

alabama mike · Post by **alabama mike** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 12:59 pm

And some places wonder why they cant build programs? :roll:

Ump · Post by **Ump** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 1:02 pm

If you cant win in 4 years how long should you get. I dont think you realize the talent at FHS. And they still dont win.

bgmonster · Post by **bgmonster** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 1:26 pm

How about the parents of the "talent"...you know, the ones with the most interest in whether their "talented" kids are able to possibly get a little help for college? What about the fact that they are supportive of this coach? Anyone who knows anything about football knows it takes time to build a program. That is exactly what was happening at FHS. However, there are members of the board who have someone else in mind for the job. The "Good Ole Boy" system continues to operate in full force in Proctorville, Ohio.

SilentE · Post by **SilentE** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 1:35 pm

Granted the program is doing better, but is that due to the "talent" of the kids or the "talent"of the coach, and speaking of scholarships for the "talented" ones what college coach is going to come to southern ohio to watch a 2-8, 3-7, and 5-5 team. the numbers may be up in participation but quantity doesnt always mean quality. he can get the kids to come out but cant coach them when they get there.

Ump · Post by **Ump** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 1:44 pm

Who is the last kid from FHS to get a scholarship to a D1 or even a 1AA school? Under any coach. I'm sure there's been a few but not recently. The cardwell kid ended up at KY Christian I think. But they cant offer any $$$ toward school. At least they ere not supposed to.

farmer · Post by **farmer** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 1:51 pm

It is easy to just look at the record but the BOE must also look at what support has been given on their part to improve the football program. Wilcoxen was getting the players to show up and lift weights in the past few years. Fairland has talent but the attitude of BOE and others will prevent Fairland from being a consistent winner. A coach can only do so much. Last year Fairland had a lot of talent that had to miss games because of injuries.

If the BOE wants to change coaches they also need to look at what they will do to help make Fairland a consistent winner. To hire a coach and then do not give him much to work with is very difficult. As other schools have improved their fields/stadiums over the years Fairland has done hardly anything.
Good luck Coach Wilcoxen in your future.

farmer · Post by **farmer** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 1:56 pm

As for scholarships read other threads on here and you will read that it is not just one school but the entire area which can not get many DI scholarships. Even Ironton has had players play at Ohio State but they did not start there on an football scholarship.

SilentE · Post by **SilentE** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 2:18 pm

This same group of talented athletes seem to consistently win in other sports with different coaches, it starts at the top with the coach

MTSWNGRVSG · Post by **MTSWNGRVSG** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 2:21 pm

Talent depends on who is judging it. D-I talents sticks out like a soar thumb and it is very hard for a coach to mess it up! If a kids wants noticed now a days you have to go the camps and you will get noticed if you have the talent!

bgmonster · Post by **bgmonster** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 2:54 pm

Let's remember that most of the talent that everyone keeps referring to are juniors and sophmores. The last post was correct in that a player must attend camps, etc. to get noticed. That's especially important if you come from a small school. What's equally important is how hard your coach is willing to work to get you noticed. Wilcoxen had the connections and the willingness to get that done. I don't think the question is how many kids from Fairland have gone on to play a sport (any sport) after high school but how many kids could have. Is it a reflection on the talent pool or the programs at Fairland? One of Wilcoxen's first moves early on was to purchase video equipment that enabled him and any other coach at Fairland to make film to send out to recruiters. There was a lot of controversy over that purchase because no one wanted to help pay for it. Last night at the board meeting, the weight instructor asked for money for upgrades for the weightroom. We don't have the equipment now to keep up with the number of kids lifting. (Wilcoxen and other "daddies" manned the weightroom year-round to encourge lifting). Board member Leep said he wasn't prepared to commit. The issue was tabled without a vote. There are several kids in this group with the potential to play on the college level-some in baseball, some in basketball or football, and a few in more than one sport. D-I-who knows? Unfortunately, it appears that the only committement the board is prepared to make is to their own agenda. I wish the boys luck with their future pursuits, athletic or otherwise.

Ump · Post by **Ump** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 3:06 pm

Did the athletic director have any comments last night? He seems to stay in the shadows on many of these issues. What did Wilcoxen have to say for himself

sportsnut mom · Post by **sportsnut mom** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 3:37 pm

We can deliberate on this forever-bottom line is he's gone and so is his staff. I wish the people who had such big problems would have been man enough (or woman) to attend the meeting. I'm wondering how long we'll have to wait for an answer on the new coach.

earp · Post by **earp** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 3:39 pm

Probably the board meeting in August mom.I am just guessing though :?:

balla4life · Post by **balla4life** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 6:30 pm

i heard hatfield is transferring to cali and lamb to texas

bigtimehitter · Post by **bigtimehitter** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 6:33 pm

This is the first I have heard of this and I want to get a few things clear.
Some people know me on here and know that I was a sophomore when Coach Wilcoxon first came to Fairland. I didn't know what to expect when he first came there, I didn't know anything about him. But I swear it to anyone he was the hardest working man I ever saw.

To him there wasn't a player that went unnoticed. even if others paid no attention to that little unathletic freshman that wasn't any good, there would be Coach Wilcoxon talking to him and doing everything he could do to help that person in the weight room or the classroom. He put a new attitude in Fairland football. You wouldn't believe the numbers and the encouragment in the weight room thanks to him.
He helped any player in any way. And you can talk numbers all you want, the bottom line is is that the talent wasn't there the his first 3 seasons, And don't try and argue that with me cause i was a starter my
junior and senior seasons and special teams player my soph. season.
Coach wilcoxon was also the most competitive man I have ever met, he didn't like losing and didn't except it. He worked every day, all day to fix the problem. THE HARDEST WORKING MAN I'VE EVER MET.
Let's also not forget that Coach Wilcoxon, took HIS OWN TIME AND MONEY to help his players to get to the next level! What does that say about his character?

After my senior season was over from football, Coach had done alot to get me noticed by some D-III schools, and he worked his butt off sending out film. And one thing that I will always remember about Coach Wilcoxon , my senior year He had sent some film to Greenville College in Illinois(about 30 minutes from St. Louis). They had been contacting me pretty often and was wanting me to schedule a visit. I was finding a hard time to schedule a visit there and make the drive. So coach Wilcoxon cared enought to try to help one of his players and students, THAT HE OFFERED TO TAKE ME THERE. A 6 hour drive that he had nothing to gain from .Use his own time, and money to BENEFIT ME. Now to me that speaks unbelievable amounts of volume of his character.

And now for the stupid A$$ SilntE and the pathetic critics and the morons and the wanna be politics on the Fairland school board, lets look at the big picture here.
Is he coaching in the NFL, coaching grown men, and being paid millions of dollars?? No the hell he ain't. This is a man that loves to do what he does and gets paid practiclly nothing for it. He is helping young high school men, to make there dreams come true. He is donig everything he possibly can to help these boys grow up and get a college education. He puts more effort and cares more about their education than 95% of their own teachers.
This makes me sick to my stomach ause a bunch of IDIOTS, look at a wins-loss column, and decides a man can't do what he loves to do cause it isn't up to there standards. Well another thing, the so called Fairland weight room, there wouldn't be one if it wasn't for Wilcoxon. He used his own money to make it what it is. How does the board expect Wilcoxon to produce if they aren't willing to lend a hand in the things he needs. As in a weight room. Coach Wilcoxon is a great guy and a great coach.

As far as I am concerned the critics AND THE ENTIRE BOARD ARE NOTHING BUT BLIND DUMBA$$ES. And so is everyone else on here trying to bring Coach Wilcoxon down. When it comes to SMALL TOWN HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL,even though it was coming and he had it going in the right direction, winning is not always the most important thing.

and if anyone has a problem with what I have said, my name is MICHAEL MEACHEM. pm me if you have something to say.

bucking red · Post by **bucking red** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 6:35 pm

So Ump do you think Mr. Leep who admitted to only attending one game made an informed decision? I don't. With all the injuries to last year's team having 5 wins was amazing not to mention all the games that could've went either way. The facilities at FHS are a disgrace. Wilcoxen was also the only coach at FHS that had speakers come in and give talks about staying off drugs. He cared about what the kids did off the field more than any other coach down there.

bucking red · Post by **bucking red** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 6:44 pm

Great post Meech. That says it all. Hey Balla I also heard Boomer is transferring to Canada.

bigtimehitter · Post by **bigtimehitter** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 7:20 pm

yea but there is still alot more to be said that people don't even know.

qualified101 · Post by **qualified101** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 9:38 pm

dont you love small town politics. i have seen it first-hand for twenty years here in logan. i actually had mr wilcoxen for geology/earth science at logan high school my freshmen year and he was a very caring individual.

good luck in the future.