“Upon return from Easter Holidays, we were informed by parents that Coach Toby Todd, Head baseball coach at AHS, texted some of his players on the bus coming back from a game in the West Monroe Tournament in early March, for them to go to YouTube and view a video of University of Texas head coach, Augie Garrido, Flips Out — a video of the coach addressing his team following a loss. Immediate investigation revealed that the YouTube video was totally inappropriate and was misrepresentative of the expectations and philosophy the BPSB adheres to for coaches and athletic programs. Coach Todd has been disciplined for violation of the BPSB policy related to Electronic Communications Between Employees and Students and has been place on administrative leave from his coaching duties pending further evaluation and assessment of this incident. Coach Todd has taken full responsibility for his poor choice in this incident and has personally apologized to his players.”
Even taking into account the fact that coaches are not particularly known for their sensitivity, this was terrible judgment on his part, as he acknowledged.
Here is that video if you haven’t seen it. Be warned, the language is explicit and profane.
I don't believe that a school employee should ever suggest that any student watch a video like this, coach or not. I also am against coaches cussing in front of their players. If I did this in the classroom when I was a teacher, I would have been fired right away and should have been.
ReplyDeleteToby Todd and his soul crushers are deplorable. What ever happened to "coaching" Maybe encourage instead of berate.It's shameful that a non senior player feels so badly that he is playing while a senior is on the bench(we are up 10) He asks coach to be relieved(scared to ask) I've watched as a former player/parent walking around with Todd as if they are baseball Gods. All the while putting enormous pressure on the select few to win- Stop living through your kids. Focus on teaching some damn empathy- giving the glory to GOD- Maybe THEN you would win state- Karma came for them- I hear she's a bit**
DeleteA couple of points from me:
ReplyDelete(1) Augie didn't "flip out" - this seems to be his standard mode. I wouldn't let my boys play for his team.
(2) Toby Todd should have had far better judgement than to share that video with his high school players. Let's reverse that - if I were the coach and one of the boys was caught sharing that around on team time, the kid would have been suspended from the team.
(3) BPSB should have suspended Toby - without pay.
What the kids find and discover on their own time is one thing. The coach can't control that, but he certainly can control what happens during games, practices, etc.
Wonder what words of wisdom Augie had on June 24, 2009? Didn't Augie and his boys got their &^*#I#*& a$$ kicked by those (^*(#Q#$*))(& LSU Tigers?
ReplyDeleteshould have said "get."
ReplyDeleteThis is the reason kids now are big babies, this was for motivation we all had worse than that growing up and it helped. Whoever is doing the complaining probably never played sports. This is a common practice for coaches; tell them to record some of Nick Saban or Les Miles practice sessions. These kids need to learn to be men and the parents need to stay out of it.
ReplyDeleteAnon @ 6:30, I agree. I remember my high school baseball coach. We had just lost in the regional playoff to Van Meter (Iowa.) Back then there was no text or Youtube, it was an in-your-face ass chewing. I did recall how he "failed" us and how it was "his fault," for not teaching us to pull the "thumbs out of our asses." This was back in 1975. Could you imagine had that been said in this day and time.
ReplyDeleteAnon 6:30
ReplyDeleteI played sports in high school and never heard one of my coaches use any profanity. You are right though, this is common among coaches today. I would argue that profanity does not make you a man. I think that I acted manly during my three tours to Southeast Asia during the Viet Nam War. Maybe if my high school coach had cussed I would have done better.
If Todd felt he did nothing wrong why did he apologize?
He probably apologized because that what he was told to do. I don't have a problem with the video at all. So what he cussed. Big deal. I do have a small problem with the coach sending text messages to students. To me that is a boundary I just wouldn't cross. To suspend the man for it I think is going too far. I would warn him and if it happened again then maybe a suspension. I really hate cry baby parents though.
ReplyDeleteWhen I worked at Benton High I would help the basketball coach during our tournament by doing various jobs. One night I was working at the back entrance out side a room used as a dressing room. A Shreveport high school's girl's team was using the dressing room. They had a male coach. During half-time I could hear him yelling, using profanity including the F-bomb numerous times. Is that O K ?
ReplyDeletethis is some weak sauce.
ReplyDeleteto start, the ban on texting is nothing more than technophobia. there is nothing nefarious about communicating electronically with students. in fact, especially for coaches who have to supervise a large number of students while traveling to different locations for games, it's the most reliable and efficient way to communicate. besides, if something questionable occurs, there will be a record of it.
two, a suspension for a few cuss words? come one, are we really that uptight? these kids have all heard a lot worse. even if they have not, they will. and in any event, these are just words. if anything, the coach sinned against manners, not morals.
in short, i'm not sure the video had any real educational value, but it sure ain't something to suspend a guy for.
wheeler weighs in! it's been a looooooong time since i've read a comment with no capitalization!
ReplyDeletewelcome back, wheeler!
the whole mess is just disgusting.
we really have deteriorated as a society in the 35 years since i was in high school. heck, i even find myself slipping when it comes to language, propriety, etc. not proud of it, and i'm doing my best to catch myself.
wheeler makes a good point about texting (or other electronic communication). at least there is a footprint that can be followed if things go south.
It is a state law or parish policy prohibiting this type of contact between students and teachers. I don't remember which it is.
ReplyDeletethis is one of those issues that unites conservatives and liberals. the former is shocked at the foul language. the latter worried about the player's self esteem. so they unite to lynch the offender.
ReplyDeleteand capitalization is for chumps.
AND FOR PEOPLE WHO YELL
ReplyDeleteheh!
ReplyDeletenyuk...wheeler, I don't want to get in to a long discussion here...but i learned back in skoo that certain things should be capitalized (proper names, the first word in a sentence, names of cities, states, nations, etc.)
(it's the "shift" key that makes it happen).
your friend,
chump
really am glad to see that you are alive and well.
i ain't kidding.
at a previous job i had a long standing dispute with my boss over my lack of capitalization in electronic communications. initially i never used caps just because i didn't think it necessary for informal electronic communications. by the end, i did it just to spite her.
ReplyDeletei am an old school grammar nazi when it comes to formal communications, though.
and thanks for the concern. i am alive and couldn't be better.
Wheeler, thanks for clearing that up. I figured there was a back story to it.
ReplyDeleteMaybe we could hire Bobby Patrino - I hear he is looking for a job.
ReplyDeleteNaw! Bobby can't keep a momocycle upright. I'm thinkin' Houston Nutt would be our best bet at this point.
ReplyDeleteTobty Todd is a jerk. Glad he finally was publicly reprimanded.
ReplyDeleteA coach should set a good example. It's terrible when coaches act this way. Just because some do act like jerks doesn't give the others a "pass" to act like that, too. If its a state or parish rule, what's the fuss over? He should be suspended without pay in my humble opinion.
I bet your one of those cry baby parents. What the real problem? He wont let your kid play? You one of these parents who believes in participation ribbons? Bottom line is he didn't do anything wrong that would warrant this type of punishment. B
ReplyDeleteAre you kidding me? I got worse @ss chewings than this video while I played at Airline. That is part of the game, and part of sports. This isn't Dixie Youth anymore parents.
ReplyDeleteLanguage like this should not be part of the game. Especially not at the high school level. You probably had worse @ss chewings when you played high school ball, but should not have. I cannot believe that more parents are not opposed to their children being treated like this by school officials. Coaches and teachers should be role models.
ReplyDeleteWalk through any high school parking lot or locker room, and you'll hear this language - from the kids.
ReplyDeleteWalk through any high school parking lot or locker room, and you'll hear this language - from the kids.
ReplyDeleteLooks to me to be a good old fashion witch hunt stirred up by a parent of a player that doesn't get much playing time. The player is likely a junior or senior that is not nearly as good a player as his parents think he is. My son is a baseball player that is going to Airline next year. Although I would rather not have the coaches send such a video to the players, I understand the purpose of the coaches action. And I know that my son who is an 8th graders has probably already been exposed to this type of language at school. I understand the frustration that many parents of players may have becasue their son does not get the playing time that they think they deserve...but don't cause disruption in the program just because you son doesn't play. This appears to be a petty offense and someone is trying to stir the pot. I may be incorrect in my assessment, but as an outsider, this is my best guess as to what is happening.
ReplyDeleteThere are many coaches out there that would have given this kind of butt chewing first hand. At least the coach directed them to a video of one of the most respected college baseball coaches checwing out his players, instead of him giving it to his players first hand. Now that a parent wnt to the School Board and made this public, exceedly more damage has been caused. Those that would have never been exposed to the video, have now been exposed. Instead of stopping at 20 or so baseball players that saw the video, my guess is that at least half of the student body at Airline and many students at other high schools have now seen the video as a result of this parent(s) and the School Board. This should of been handled differently. The first time I read about the Todd incident, I checked out You Tube. I bet that almost everyone that is aware of the Coach Todd supension has been exposed to the video. This includes students. If you have a student at Airline or one of the middle schools that feed into Airline, ask them if they have seen any of the video or if they aware of the content of the video. Coach Todd's action may have exposed 20 or so students to the content of this video, but the School Board (through the action of a supposedly concerned parent) has exposed significanlt more students to this video.
ReplyDeleteOverreaction all the way. I played sports in high school and college. I grew up in the Pittsburgh area. Some coaches did not roll this way. Some did worse than this. Not texting more like throwing chairs, getting in kids faces, pushing them and cussing in the locker room and such. Never really had a bearing on performance either way. At 17-12 this year this bunch needed some motivation anyway. Things are different today. When I picked up my kid from Airline after a football game, they never even took a shower. Explain that. I'm left to guess that a few f bombs, even if they're not made by the so called offending party, makes more on an impression these days given the heightened level of sensitivity about pretty much everything.
ReplyDeleteWe are a sick society when we approve of coaches talking like that to a group of children. What about English teachers? Should they have the right to drop the F bomb if a child does not do well on a test? Some people think that profanity makes you a big man. It does not.
ReplyDelete10:37 is probably that crybaby parent that went to the school board.
ReplyDeleteI know from first-hand experience, when Mr. Machen was principal at Airline, he let coaches get away with worse than this. They had coaches involved in extramarital affairs with teachers and parents, coaches involved with homosexual activity, coaches involved with and players smoking pot and trying to cover it up, just to name a few that are far worse than sending a link to some players.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the content was not appropriate and Coach Todd displayed poor judgment in sending it. But the people cited above were not dealt with nearly as severe as Coach Todd, if they were dealt with at all, for what I consider worse acts. The only difference, in my opinion, is that the coaches listed above were part of the old BPSB machine, either they had been here a long time or they had political ties to the BPSB, or both. Too bad this coach was not from here, or had old connections to the BPSB, he would probably not be dealing with the “witch hunt” that is going on here. I have spoken with many players that played for Coach Todd and the general consensus is that he knows baseball and is a liked and respected coach. I hope the powers to be, give fair discipline and leave this coach in place, if he is fired, it will be very undeserving considering what Mr. Machen and Airline High School has allowed in the past.
I think you are truly sorry for your lapse in judgment and I personally forgive you Coach Todd.
This has nothing to do with Mr machin
DeleteWhy even bring his name into conversation? I do agree with you though about coach Todd. He is a great coach and always was a great coach even in south Louisiana.
Delete"Rangers lead the way"
Coach Todd is an awesome coach and a great person. He cares about his players and puts his all into his job for those guys. This is high school, not elementary school. These "kids" are not "kids." They are using plenty of foul language, having sex, etc. etc. If you think they don't know what expletives are, then you are living in a fantasy world. This is just another example of parents trying to dictate everything that goes on in schools. This is part of the reason why many great teachers leave the profession, or never even enter it in the first place. They are tired of putting up with ridiculous, overbearing parents. Once again, this is high school. Get a grip people. What are you going to do, lock your 15-18 year old "kids" in the house for the rest of their lives? Coach Todd deserves an apology. And this FaceBook page should be ashamed for "sensationalizing" this issue/story. Whoever runs this page is just egging on this kind of ridiculous and overbearing attitude of these people. Let's talk about something that really is affecting the high school population in Bossier- like racism, drugs, date rape, etc. Those are some real issues that need public attention!
ReplyDeleteAnother great example of the pussification of America.
ReplyDelete11:45. The "old BPSP" machine is referred to these days as "central office".
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in jr. high, we got beat 40 something to nothing by the other team. In the locker room after the game the coach told us we were the "the biggest bunch of (female body parts) he had ever seen." When I told my dad what the coach said he said, "the coach is right. y'all are a bunch of (female body parts).
ReplyDeleteI guess we were just expected to suck it up and be tough and today we want to raise our boys to be, well, female body parts.
quit wasting money on trips to new orleans & chicago and asking the tqx payer to pay the bill
ReplyDeleteHe needs some serious anxiety meds.
ReplyDeleteSo much time to deal with something so trivial. Shouldn't the Bossier Parish School Board spen it's time working on problems like the fact that some children can't go to their assigned middle school without the serious fear of Bullying!
ReplyDeleteWhen a coach curses a child is that not a form of bulling?
ReplyDeleteSorry coach for all the time and effort u put into these kids that goes unnoticed because u tried to come with something to motivate Them! U should have been at home spending time with your family where maybe u would have been appreciated! No good deed goes unpunished! Hell I wish my kid would have had a coach who had a little fire in is belly!
ReplyDelete