The Cat in the Hat

Last night was one the best track nights of my life as a coach and a father.  And the worst.  I'll explain.

As a parent, it is so much more enjoyable and fulfilling for me to watch my children excel than it ever was for me to accomplish anything (albeit small accomplishments).  Last night my son advanced to the State Finals in Track and Field as a junior in three events.  His epic performance came in the 800M (half mile) when he ran a 1:57 and finished second to one the fastest 800m runners in the entire United States.  Joshy's performance was made all that much sweeter by the fact that he could barely make it out of bed that morning due to sickness.  He has a sinus infection and his head hurt so badly that it was painful to move his head.  I love the fact that he overcame so much adversity to do so well a matter of hours later.  What a great life lesson to learn!

And in the blink of an eye, this epic, incredible night was tainted by an incredibly selfish and stupid man.  James Johnson is the "sprint" coach at Independence High School.  Two races and 25 minutes later, Josh ran the third leg of the 4x4 relay.  He was exhausted from just running his 800m.  No one expected Josh to run a personal best (PR).  Everyone knew he was exhausted mentally and physically.  A half mile does not sound like much, but at a 1:57 it requires an athlete at the high school level to dig very deep.  To no one's surprise, Josh ran his slowest leg of this year.  However, he was comparable to the other three guys.  And (here's the kicker) THE 4X4 TEAM WON!  They are going to state as one of the favorites!

However, the overall time was not fast enough for James Johnson.  He then proceeded to yell at Josh immediately after the race (in front of the others), telling him that he "laid down", meaning he didn't try hard enough.  He argued with the Head Coach that the 800m should not tire Josh out that much.  Truly, this obese man has never run an 800m in competition in his life.  What is even more unbelievable is that James Johnson then told Josh's team mates that he was upset with Josh and that Josh should not run the 4X4 at State.  He talked about my son to the other athletes behind my son's back.  Josh could not even enjoy one night of an incredible, brilliant night on the track.

And now I have had enough.

James Johnson has a history of putting his foot in his mouth.  He has angered the mother of the best 400 runner in the state of Tennessee.  He has angered the mother of one of the best girl athletes on the team.  He has angered all of the coaches.  And he has angered other coaches in our conference.  He has levied personal attacks against one of his track "competitors".  And he is the laughing stock of 95% of the kids on the track team.  The other 5% like him because he blows smoke up their rear ends about how fast their splits are (although he takes split times wrong and just claims, "I do it my way") Ironically, these are the kids that he wants to coach in his coaching business in the summer

And I believe he is racist!  Here's why.

Josh ran 2 seconds slower than his usual time.  According to James Johnson's split timing methods, so did the lead runner (James has timed the lead runner at 49.44, last night his time was 51.6).  And the last leg ran 2 seconds slower than his best ( the last leg runner is capable of a 48.4 split, he ran a 50.4 split last night.  This particular runner also ran a 48.94 open time last night)  So why was Josh singled out? Why didn't the other runners get yelled at in public and talked poorly about behind their backs? My contention is that Josh is white, and he is running in a race that is predominantly black.  And the rest of our team is black.  And James Johnson is darker than coal.

So here is my solution.  I will let James Johnson walk away with any shred of dignity that he has left.  He can quit for "personal reasons".  And he should not be coaching at the State meet next week.  Nor should he be allowed to use the Independence Track and Field for his personal business any longer (he runs a track club in which he is paid by the parents).  Simply walk away James.  Your life will be much easier if you do.

I have spoken to Joshy and he will not run one more inch for this pathetic man!  He will not take any coaching direction from this person. He has betrayed the trust, respect, and confidence of my son and of numerous other athletes.  And I am determined that he will not represent the school that my son runs for.

And if he does not walk away, I will meet with the Athletic Director, I will meet with the Principal.  I will write Op-Ed pieces for the paper.  I will start a Facebook page about this man.  I will have others come forward and tell their stories about his false personal attacks on them.

James, you are the Cat in the Hat.  And I will do everything in my power to make sure that you don't coach at Independence High School ever again.