Brewer’s Reed a class act

As a fellow member of the coaching fraternity, I am writing in response to the letter written by Virginia Tillinghast (BDN, March 12) in regard to Brewer High School boys basketball coach Mark Reed.

As an opposing coach I have witnessed his coaching for the past three years at Brewer, one year as the junior varsity coach and for the past two years as varsity coach. Coach Reed’s teams always play hard, are well-prepared, and are truly a class act, as is reflected by their coach. The Brewer High School community is indeed fortunate to have someone of this caliber directing these young men.

As far as coach Reed’s substitution patterns are concerned and players being tired late in games, you must have missed those games in which they staged fourth-quarter comebacks to win games or to draw close at the end. Yes, players are going to get tired late in games. Good teams suck it up and play through fatigue, which they successfully did on many occasions this season. Remember, this is varsity basketball we are talking about, not intramurals.

I also think it is safe to assume that the real reason for writing your letter was that a family member or friend of yours wasn’t getting the playing time that you thought they should be getting. Instead of dealing with him as the professional that he is, you instead decided to undercut him in this forum, which is indeed unfortunate.

Bob Beathem Jr.

Bangor

Ref made wrong call

Maine basketball commissioner Peter Webb has taken several opportunities to defend the officiating at the end of the Class C state boys basketball final in which Jay beat Calais. Allow me to comment from a different perspective.

A Calais player did step out of bounds at the end of the game. However, this player started in bounds a good 15 to 20 feet from the end line. How did he get to the end line? He was bumped and pushed by two Jay players in full view of the referees.

In reviewing the videotape from the TV broadcast, you can see the start of this activity in the lower right-hand corner of the screen. Is a player not entitled to a position on the floor and is it not a foul when opponents push and shove him from that spot?

Furthermore, the official who put the ball in play (and called the technical foul on Calais) waited almost 10 seconds after both teams were back on the floor before giving the ball to the Calais player waiting to throw the ball down court. This was more than enough time for the Jay players to force the Calais player from his rightful position on the court.

I am sure Commissioner Webb has complimented the game officials for the fine job they did in this game and will have a special commendation for the referee who had the courage to make the technical foul call. However, I would have found it equally courageous if the officials had the fortitude to call a foul on the Jay players before the technical foul ever needed to be called.

Jim Frost

Assistant Calais coach

Sumner’s bad lessons

We’ve seen it in Little League baseball and in youth hockey. We see it right now in high school sports: Parents ruining the learning experiences for their kids.

The most recent example of this is the situation at Sumner Memorial High School where school board members are using their power to get even with a high school coach. They’re holding a grudge because they felt their kids didn’t play enough.

What is this teaching our kids? It is teaching them that their parents will always bail them out, right or wrong. That people no longer need to strive for excellence because no matter how hard you work or how good you are, you will play, especially if you have a parent on the school board.

Basketball can be a great teacher. It can teach teamwork. It can teach you that if you work hard, good things can happen. It also teaches you to deal with disappointment and to lose with dignity.

What happened at Sumner is a travesty, not because a good coach was fired unfairly but because of the lesson it teaches children. My only hope is that the courageous way the other coaches at Sumner came to coach Dana Smith’s defense will be the lesson that the kids come away with. Stand up for what is right.

Mary Smith

Bangor

Woodland players left out

How many of you fans realize that Woodland High School will not be represented in the Senior All-Star game being played at Husson College, March 23?

Two seniors, Julia Knights and Ashley Marble, were left off the voting ballot. It was brought to coach Arnold Clark’s attention, by another coach, that his two seniors were not on the ballot to be voted for. We understand the coach was the one responsible to furnish this information for the ballot.

What we would like to know, is, who was responsible for getting information to WHS, which they say they never received? This is an annual event. Shouldn’t the athletic director have been anticipating whatever information was needed, and questioned someone why it had not been received? It must have been a known fact to all concerned that there were deadlines that had to be met.

College coaches interested in Julia’s basketball ability have questioned why she wasn’t on the all-star team. What can the answer be? Paper work, apparently? It certainly doesn’t look very good for the people we have in charge of our girls.

Edwin and Vicky Knight

Brookton

Note to readers: The NEWS asks that letters be kept brief and reserves the right to edit submissions for libel, taste, clarity, and to fit available space. Letters should include a signature, full name, address and daytime phone number. Letters may be mailed to: P.O. Box 1329, Bangor, ME 04402, or e-mailed: bdnsports@bangordailynews.net