I have pondered posting this for a while so I am just going to say it. Thomas Dale high School should find another head coach. Kevin Tucker seems like a good dude but his lack of success in big games is worrisome. All those years Vic Williams was at Dale he would pull off wins against teams superior to them. Beating LC Bird in 1992,CD Hylton in 2001 and Oscar Smith in 2009. Vic also won multiple region titles and coached in 3 state title games. Tuckers Dale team always seems to look unprepared and often get blown out. They win a lot of easy regular season games so his record is not bad but good is the enemy of great.
Wanting a new coach
- Thread starter TDKLIGHTSOUT
- Start date
I am not a former player or anything like that if that's what you are wondering. I am a former student from the the late 80's early 90's. That all I will say.
Little boy. I am in my 50's. You can't tell me you are satisfied with getting beat down in every big game every year. We gonna have to get freedom papers from Manchester and Dinwiddie. Haha
Understandable, I always felt like every year they never felt like a real threat, even in 2023 when they went Undefeated in the regular season. What you said about the player not seem to be prepared is valid. I was at the Glen Allen game last year, and just seemed like when they faced a little adversity they crumbled.
WOW
didn't realise TD was in such dire straits.
I live in that area and when I compare TD to MBK, RHSA, PHS, Clover Hill; I always considered Dale to be a cut above those schools.
didn't realise TD was in such dire straits.
I live in that area and when I compare TD to MBK, RHSA, PHS, Clover Hill; I always considered Dale to be a cut above those schools.
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The have became the Dallas Cowboys of the Central region. They win a bunch of games but never the important ones.
and like Dallas Cowboys fans, you are always cryng poor with a mouth full of bread (as my father used to say).
Winning games is different than being a champion. Dale doesn't play the way they used to. The Dark Zone defense use to be a hard hitting standard. Now it's just a shallow name. First round or second round exits is all I see in our future unless there is change.
He can still stay a teacher at Dale. I just think we need a new head football coach. My opinion. You act like I can actually get him replaced. Hopefully he will see this and inspire better coaching.
I’ll say this, Coach Tucker earned my respect last season when he took action against a top player when he knew that he opened himself up to be soundly criticized. That took a lot of guts. He did the right thing for the team, and the best thing for the kid involved. He put character above all else. That is a heck of a lot more important than winning in my book.
Being a good dude is nice but their are plenty of good dudes still winning championships.
The landscape is entirely different. Williams had teams that drew from the most talented parts of the county. Today, a kid pretty much plays for whatever high school he chooses to. That wasn't possible when Williams coached. Dale was one of the three largest schools in the state back then, and the stident population could not pkay for any other school. It's a very different landscape now, adding more balance to the skill set. With all that talent, Williams never did anything in the stare level of the playoffs.
Same is true about your Monarchs. For many years you had a lot of tough, homegrown kids in the Meadowbrook area and the demographics favored football abd basketball. But, over time, the Meadowbrook area became a lot more mixed racially, specifically with an ever increasing Hispanic population. Things changed. Where kids in that area, like most areas, grew up with a football, a basketball, or swinging a bat, now you see soccer being played on every vacant lot. And unfortunately for Meadowbrook, when a kid is coming along that loves football, and he has some talent and dedication, there is a strong temptation to change schools so they can be in a better program.
Hopefully, the VHSL will aggressively enforce the new rule adopted by the League that makes it exceedingly difficult for a kid to transfer and play athletics that first year after transfer. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to see teams made up of only kids that grew up together? And hopefully see strong rivalries revived?
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Vic won 7 region championships,play in 3 state title games and won a state title in division 6 in 2009. What are you talking about. Also Dale has way bigger enrollment now. They even have two campuses because they have too many students. Back to Vic, his teams beat 2 top 25 teams in the country(Hylton 2001 and Oscar Smith 2009)
Why don't you go donate your talents to help. I can arrange an interview for you.
That program is run clean. While other "top programs" recruit kids, they line up and play with kids in the hallways while all the time fighting off the wolves.
You speak like a fan and have no idea of the daily workings of that program. They have 2 schools correct, but they also have 800+ kids in the fine arts program that inflate the enrollment numbers.
Watch your mouth when you speak on the Darkzone. That was my uncle who was the Defensive Coordinator during the 90's and early 2000's. His son took over as DC last year and did a great job with a very young defense.
They pretty much played a varsity schedule with a JV team last year. Only graduated 9 players. A ton of sophmores played.
My grandmother used to say, better to remain silent and be thought a fool rather than open your mouth and prove it.
BTW while I'm on my soapbox. Do you know the numbers of kids he has got into college or lined them up for job opportunities? I would imagine if you polled his former players over the past 10 seasons, 90% would have his back. Sometimes it's not about wins and losses
Imagine a guy wanting to have someone fired because he can't go the water cooler on Monday and push his chest out.
That program is run clean. While other "top programs" recruit kids, they line up and play with kids in the hallways while all the time fighting off the wolves.
You speak like a fan and have no idea of the daily workings of that program. They have 2 schools correct, but they also have 800+ kids in the fine arts program that inflate the enrollment numbers.
Watch your mouth when you speak on the Darkzone. That was my uncle who was the Defensive Coordinator during the 90's and early 2000's. His son took over as DC last year and did a great job with a very young defense.
They pretty much played a varsity schedule with a JV team last year. Only graduated 9 players. A ton of sophmores played.
My grandmother used to say, better to remain silent and be thought a fool rather than open your mouth and prove it.
BTW while I'm on my soapbox. Do you know the numbers of kids he has got into college or lined them up for job opportunities? I would imagine if you polled his former players over the past 10 seasons, 90% would have his back. Sometimes it's not about wins and losses
Imagine a guy wanting to have someone fired because he can't go the water cooler on Monday and push his chest out.
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I am shaking in my boots. You taking things too personal dude. I guess I love being a champion too much. I have to be ok with getting whipped by Manchester and Dinwiddie each year...and by Oscar Smith if we make it that far.
Then you're part of the problem and not the solution. I'm sure Coach Tucker would love to sit down with you and hear what you could offer.
This is the problem with the internet. It gives folks like you an awkward sense of security to say things you would never be man enough to say in person.
You have a blessed day and maybe one day, you're dream will come true
They're not. This is one of those "fans" that probably was calling for Coach Williams head after 2002 (they had 6 years of no playoffs until 2009 when they won states)
I can answer that Glen Allen game for you. That was a veteran team (GA) vs a young team (TD) and it showed. It happens. That 2023 team was 1 play here or there from being 6-4, but they found a way.
Coach Williams was allowed to get away with those bad years because he did so much in the years prior. Also the Central district was peaking during that stretch with Hopewell and Meadowbrook winning back to back state titles and Bird being Bird. I would have never doubted Coach Williams personally. He was a great coach and person in my opinion. Coach Brockwell was also a great coach and all around dude. He was my teacher when I was a sophomore. I will say this to end all things. I do like that Coach Tucker has people willing to fight for his coaching skills. Maybe I will look at him with I less critical eye for now. Be blessed everyone and remember "when our days have ended here and friends of old must part. We'll always cherish Thomas Dale deep within our hearts!"
I get why people don't want people calling for jobs but at the same if someone is still an active member of that community I think it's fair that they voice their opinion. As long as the analysis and criticism stays on the field it's no big deal. Plus we know this is mild compared to what gets said in the stands.
GO Blue, I think you should be fired. You have not won the big one. Take Edwinanderson the 2nd with you.
I hear you GoBlue and TDKLIGHTSOUT but, be careful what you wish for. With the rate that Coaches are stepping away from the game, and perhaps an even bigger problem, the rate that assistant coaches step away for good after a few years, the pool of proven Coaches is getting mighty shallow. Thomas Dale might be one of the more attractive coaching jobs in the greater Richmond area, but the possibility of attracting a top Coach is iffy at best, due to sheer numbers.
I suggest you embrace and support him. That has a lot better chance of improving things than advocating for his ouster.