Conference choice good for Jay Co.

To the editor:
Despite Jay County’s loss at sectional last week, there is still good news on the JCHS campus. Why? Because the North Central Conference’s invitation has caused open discussion, and this is good.
On one hand, PG-14’s Rob Weaver has voiced his opinion against joining, and Rob feels he is right. On the other hand, Aaron Loy thinks we should join, and Aaron thinks he is right. On yet another hand, Russell Clark thinks there are too many decisions made by a good-old boy clique, and he IS right.
Now let’s look at the North Central Conference (NCC).
In its day the NCC was without a doubt the preeminent conference in the state. With the exception of Loganspport, every team in it has won at least one state championship in basketball. Led by the hated Muncie Central Bearcats (hated by old Patriot fans) and equally-hated Bill Green-led Marion Giants (hated by younger Patriot fans), the NCC collection of basketball state champs may never be equaled by any conference.
In my opinion, the NCC has fallen on hard times. In the last six years, New Castle beat Jay County for the state championship, Marion let one slip away, and Muncie Central ran into Oden twice. All these were at least five years ago, and prior to that there were even fewer NCC finalist teams.
Does this mean we should not join the NCC? Of course not.
Does it mean we should join the NCC? Same answer.
In my opinion, one criteria for joining would be Marion replacing Huntington North (in a projected division). The alignment would make Anderson the most distant team in our division, and that’s just a little more than an hour’s travel. In fact, Marion, Richmond and New Castle are all about the same distance.
In the final analysis, the determining factor in Jay County’s ability to compete in the NCC lies in the quality of our coaching, and, with two or three exceptions, I feel our coaching is equal to or better than other NCC teams.
Exploring the Norwell-Bellmont conference if it is more favorable is another option. Bellmont and Norwell are both excellent fits for Jay County.
A few years and a half dozen (football) coaches ago, I was guilty of writing a horrible, ill-conceived letter to the editor about the football team that was so poorly written it didn’t convey the fact I am and always will be a student-athlete advocate. So much so that people actually avoid my presence just so they won’t have to listen to my tirades.
Why?
I had the dubious distinction of having played for a coach who in his first year here (Portland High School) had a team that was undefeated and unscored on. Half a dozen years later, in 1951, we couldn’t win a game and only scored one touchdown in 1952. Why? Fundamentals. In three years of playing for this coach I don’t remember him teaching one fundamental.
This coach got along well with everybody, which is good. He was kind of a good-ol’ boy. Then, in our senior year, Bill Goshert was named coach. I had played since the third grade and thought Bill was crazy when he said he was going to teach us how to block and tackle. Bill gained the respect of everybody who knew him, both on and off the field, all without ever being a good-ol’ boy.
This brings me to what transpired on the football field for JCHS in the 2012 season. The talent on the field (along with those who didn’t play), coupled with a more capable coach could have been undefeated and went to at least semistate.
A person’s inability to do what it takes to build a winning program is not a crime. This does not make them a bad person. The crime lies in their insistence that they can when it is evident they can not.
The crime lies with the poor judgment of the good-ol’-boys who lied to us about their abilities and the crime lies with school board personnel who hired the good-ol’ boy and continue to back his decisions.
Larry Chittum
Portland[[In-content Ad]]