Theory to Practice

Get Ready For Some Football! History of the Football Team Over the course of years the athletic department at New Age College has done quite well. The games were always crowded and the students and faculty were filled with that mighty school spirit. Every player attended practice at least twice a day, lifted weights, and ran laps in order to stay in shape. Everyone was so regimented. There were no attitudes. There was total respect given to all coaches. If a player missed practice, then he did not play in the upcoming game. Let Us Meet the Coaching Staff The Head Coach is a physical education teacher who has taught for over 28 years and who has coached for more than thirty years. He does not work out much and feels that you should not push the team too hard. Assistant Coach P is an assistant principal at a nearby alternative education school. He has been in our school system for 15 years. He has a black belt in Martial Arts and he works out at least four or five times a week. Coach P is very disciplined in his workout routine and in his eating habits. He devotes his time to assisting with the football team even though he is presently working on his Ph. D. Coach P, is often reprimanded by the head coach for being too tough on the team. As a former athlete, he recalls the hard work and the rigorous practices that he had to go through in order to win. He believes that hard work brings about the best results. Assistant Coach G is a math teacher who has made it known that his only reason for coaching is to make a little extra money. He arrives at practice late and sometimes does not even show up. He does not care about exercise and lifting weights. Because of his apathy, most of the work falls on Coach P. Over the Past Year The players begin to skip practice. They feel that since they had an undefeated record in the past, that now they do not have to worry about anything. Before the first game of the season, the head coach gives the team a pep talk and allows every member of the starting team the opportunity to play. Coach P is frustrated because they had reprimanded those boys who had decided not to come to practice. The head coach pats them on the back as if to say that it was no big deal. As the season progressed this type of attitude was exhibited in the entire team. No one cared about practice, lifting weights, and running laps. One of the players was failing most of his courses and the Academic Vice President dismissed him from the college. Later, the head coach was extremely upset. The worst thing was that he was not upset with the boy on the team, but rather upset with the VP. The season concluded with a zero win. The team had lost every game during the season. The head coach was told by the administration that if they did not start winning games, that next year he would not be holding that position. This Year In Football Another year has begun and the head coach is still the same person. The job was promised to Coach P at the end of the school year last year, but the administrators never resolved the situation. Coach P continues to coach completely depressed, but out of devotion to the players, refuses to give up the job. Coach G is also coaching with that same apathetic attitude and missing practices daily because he says that he has more important things to do. The first game of the season ended in a loss of 51−0. Coach P left the field, packed up the equipment, and went home. The head coach stuck his head up, saying that the team did the best that they could.

The Problem

The college’s finances are now being affected by the loss in income due to sponsors backing out, the downward trend in ticket sales, retail sales, and the like.