Like I've said before, for a short period of time in my life, I was part of the New Hope community. I have had the pleasure of meeting Stacy Hester while I was there. It's hard for me to knock the guy because he offered me a chance to be a student-teacher/assistant and teach me the ropes of HS baseball, which I declined for personal reasons. So, I do feel a little bit indebted to him at least for the offer.
Having been a part of the community, it was well known that he was an intense individual who had extremely high expectations, obviously was very successful. One thing I also learned while I was there was about the politics of small town Mississippi. I grew up in the Jackson area, and I must say it is a different animal to say the least. Not that Jackson doesn't have politics, but it's just different. It's hard for me to explain, maybe it's because more people know you in a small town, or maybe there's more at stake in a small town because if you make someone angry, you may very well have to leave town, whereas in Jackson if I make someone mad at UMC where I work, I can probably find another job at another hospital and not even have to leave.
As far as Hester the coach- has he done some things that he probably shouldn't have? I don't doubt it. Could he have won without doing it. Maybe. Some people are very intense and when you try to take that away from them, they tend to not perform as well. You're basically asking them to not be themselves, which I think is a mistake. A guy like Hester, you have to take the good with the bad. Honestly, I would say that he has done more good than bad. Does that excuse his actions? No, but at the same time that goes back to what I just typed.
Now as far some of the players and parents coming forward for and agianst Hester, the nature of the beast of HS athletics anywhwere is some people are going to be happy with you, and some are going to absolutely hate your guts. The reason being, every parent thinks that their child is the best, and can not objectively look at their child's talent in most cases. That's a problem everywhere. Look at how many schools have people that complain that a coach "plays their favorites". However, the reality is a high school coach's job is based on wins and losses. They really can't afford to "play favorites" . For all the players that Hester has supposedly damaged, he sure has gotten a lot out of them based on his track record of wins and losses. Whether people agree with his methods or not, it's hard to argue whether or not they were effective. That's coaching, whether people agree or not.
Finally, it seems to me that Hester more or less should have obeyed one of the Cardinal rules of baseball- do NOT interact with the fans in the stands. He would have been a whole lot better off letting that woman say whatever and ignore it, and in all likelihood, it would have made her look stupid, feel stupid, and not do it again. Then the dugout incident may not have gone to lengths of getting the team to write their sides to the story, or it possibly would have lead to less harsh punishment.
One thing I have always said is when something horrible or seems like it is horrible happens, more often than not it turns out to be a great blessing. Stacy Hester had been at New Hope for 18 years- a very long time- and while it's ahrd to say he left out on top given the circumstances, he leaves a program in good shape that he took to the next level. I'm sure he's proud of that. I think the town of New Hope is going to get a kinder, gentler coach which is apparently what many in the town want, and it may be the best thing for the town as well. Hester will probably turn up somewhere else and probably will do very well. He may go somewhere like Columbus and turn them into a powerhouse, which is something he may cherish more than leading New Hope to yet another titile.
I hope the best for New Hope and Stacy Hester.
Having been a part of the community, it was well known that he was an intense individual who had extremely high expectations, obviously was very successful. One thing I also learned while I was there was about the politics of small town Mississippi. I grew up in the Jackson area, and I must say it is a different animal to say the least. Not that Jackson doesn't have politics, but it's just different. It's hard for me to explain, maybe it's because more people know you in a small town, or maybe there's more at stake in a small town because if you make someone angry, you may very well have to leave town, whereas in Jackson if I make someone mad at UMC where I work, I can probably find another job at another hospital and not even have to leave.
As far as Hester the coach- has he done some things that he probably shouldn't have? I don't doubt it. Could he have won without doing it. Maybe. Some people are very intense and when you try to take that away from them, they tend to not perform as well. You're basically asking them to not be themselves, which I think is a mistake. A guy like Hester, you have to take the good with the bad. Honestly, I would say that he has done more good than bad. Does that excuse his actions? No, but at the same time that goes back to what I just typed.
Now as far some of the players and parents coming forward for and agianst Hester, the nature of the beast of HS athletics anywhwere is some people are going to be happy with you, and some are going to absolutely hate your guts. The reason being, every parent thinks that their child is the best, and can not objectively look at their child's talent in most cases. That's a problem everywhere. Look at how many schools have people that complain that a coach "plays their favorites". However, the reality is a high school coach's job is based on wins and losses. They really can't afford to "play favorites" . For all the players that Hester has supposedly damaged, he sure has gotten a lot out of them based on his track record of wins and losses. Whether people agree with his methods or not, it's hard to argue whether or not they were effective. That's coaching, whether people agree or not.
Finally, it seems to me that Hester more or less should have obeyed one of the Cardinal rules of baseball- do NOT interact with the fans in the stands. He would have been a whole lot better off letting that woman say whatever and ignore it, and in all likelihood, it would have made her look stupid, feel stupid, and not do it again. Then the dugout incident may not have gone to lengths of getting the team to write their sides to the story, or it possibly would have lead to less harsh punishment.
One thing I have always said is when something horrible or seems like it is horrible happens, more often than not it turns out to be a great blessing. Stacy Hester had been at New Hope for 18 years- a very long time- and while it's ahrd to say he left out on top given the circumstances, he leaves a program in good shape that he took to the next level. I'm sure he's proud of that. I think the town of New Hope is going to get a kinder, gentler coach which is apparently what many in the town want, and it may be the best thing for the town as well. Hester will probably turn up somewhere else and probably will do very well. He may go somewhere like Columbus and turn them into a powerhouse, which is something he may cherish more than leading New Hope to yet another titile.
I hope the best for New Hope and Stacy Hester.
