Barron: Different way from the good old days

James Barron | The New Mexican

5/6/2008 - 5/7/08

The good ol' days of high school sports returned this week.

Monday's meeting about the state of Santa Fe High's boys basketball team and head coach Lenny Roybal was seen as business as usual back in the day.

That was when dirty laundry was aired in the offseason. When player, parents and concerned community members logged complaints — or demonstrated support — of their much-maligned head coach. It was a time when the battle lines were clearer, where grievances were kept to the locker room and the dinner table until the season was complete.

Those days appear to be at an end, however.

Welcome to high school athletics in the 21st century, where a season is now a bargaining chip for players, parents and even coaches.

This past school year, we watched as two programs almost had their seasons come to a halt while still in-season. The situations at Pojoaque High School with its football program and with the West Las Vegas boys basketball program — in which disagreements among players, parents and head coaches spilled into the public domain — demonstrated that nothing is sacred now.

In fact, the incidents indicate the balance of power is shifting to parents and players.

That's not to say there aren't legitimate reasons to take a stand during the season, especially if players feel they are in imminent danger with a reckless coach.

But when it's over disagreements about playing and coaching styles?

Or that a coach is belittling and condescending?

Or that he is not using enough players?

Those aren't tangible reasons to demand a coach's ouster when games have yet to be played.

In fact, they undercut the trust among player, coach and parent. When a student elects to compete in athletics, it is implied that the coach is as much in charge as a parent would be at home. And parents put their trust in the coach to teach and guide their child.

The current climate doesn't engender an easy alliance, and it's only time before coaches start thinking about their own best interests before their team's.

In that case, what's the point of coaching, especially if administrators acquiesce to pressure and investigate matters that are trivial in nature.

Give West Las Vegas Public Schools superintendent Jim Abreu credit for siding with Hamilton Doyle, who is now the Dons former head boys basketball coach, when parents called for his removal just as the Class AAA State Tournament was to begin.

The same can't be said for Pojoaque's football program when half of the team refused to play for head coach Charlie Gomez over conflicts that other teams manage to navigate.

The situation at Santa Fe High, while uncomfortable, is the best way to handle these internal battles. At least time allows for wounds to heal, players to move on and for a program to rebuild.

It seems, though, that this is slowly becoming the exception rather than the rule.