Gretna lost again tonight 42-3 to DR. I guess the administration at Gretna is ok with the football team looking like a joke pretty much every week. Have a coach ready to take over but evidently they don't want to get rid of the current coach.
Gretna's pitiful coach
- Thread starter tarheel8803
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I've said it before and I'll say it again. Gretna has NO chance at a winning record with the current coaching staff!!
NFL, NCAA, high school, little league...Every time something goes wrong it's fire the coach. Maybe they are a bad staff..maybe they are not.
Three different coaches in a row get state championships at Gretna and leave. The fourth and current coach is loosing. Is it him?
Bob Christmas wins 2 state championships at JF, leaves and goes to Georgia for 17 years. Comes back and has two undefeated seasons. This year they have won 2 games. Is he now a bad coach?
Jones wins state at Bath County, leaves and the next year wins state with Heritage, gets national coach of the year. Leaves a few years later and can't win with Franklin County...Did he all of the sudden become a bad coach?
It may be the coach, but there are so many more factors that go into a team than just the coach...Coaching commitment, player commitment and effort. You can't coach effort.
Winning and loosing teams are like the economy, you can't always have great or even good seasons. If it worked like that every team would win and we would all be rich. They will rise again.
Let me start by saying I have no vested interest whatsoever other than we were on the receiving end of a beatdown by a very well coached Gretna squad in 2011. That said there is another thread on these boards that read very similar in so much as the fan base is very disgruntled and expect more. I would say when our coach retires, takes a different job or is dismissed for whatever reason, we would be devastated too. That said I have seen very little positive support of them or the student athletes other than to say they should be better. As a parent that has coached and stood in the stands and clapped, the one thing we didn't do was criticize the coaches or other players. Negative talk has a way of gaining momentum and destroying coaches/teams before they even get a chance to develop. I am not accusing anyone in this situation or the other I mentioned but as fans sometimes we have to support the team and by proxy the staff or they are doomed to fail. Each year a team starts over regardless of the continuity of the staff and kids because the internal dynamics change. I wish Gretna much success and hope they return to the position of perinneal power.
Many years ago I was sitting in the stands watching a high school game where a prominent NFL coaches son was on that team. The team wasn't too good that year and needless to say there was a group of parents bending his ear-----NFL Coach stood up and addressed the fan base and said "why are you complaining about the coaches? They are trying to win with our gene pool and we should be blaming ourselves"
That quote has forever stuck in my brain and holds more relevance as the years go by.
With that being said, I wish Gretna the best of luck this year and for years to follow.
That quote has forever stuck in my brain and holds more relevance as the years go by.
With that being said, I wish Gretna the best of luck this year and for years to follow.
One thing you have to know is the head coach and defensive coach when they were at their previous schools had Never won a game. The head coach was hired out of convenience not coaching credentials.
To paraphrase a coach I know who won a state championship and then had a bad year the following year. "Last year I was a genius, and this year I am the village idiot and I'll be damned if I know what I did different. Parent's create a toxic environment when they complain about a coach. That kills belief and belief has to come before hard work. Be careful what you wish for. There are many coaches who have had bad starts, figure things out and were able to turn things around and became legends. Willis White of Salem and Frank Beamer come immediately to mind. We live in a "got to have immediate results" or the coach sucks world.
i thought the HC was the offensive cord in the winning years of 2011 and previous years?
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Gretna needs a new coach & AD . There programs in Boys sports is a joke . They had a chance to get a good basketball coach they hired who ever, no effort to bring a good coach in . Football the coach is more worried about where the cheerleaders are standing . Anybody that seen Gretna play knows there is talent on that team .
Easy to blame the coaching staff and they could be part of the problem. However, those of us who have been around longer than 15 years could also make the argument the Gretna program is reverting to their historical norm and you were fortunate to enjoy an extended run with an athletic group/cycle of kids in the early 2000s.
Your right he was.But when he wanted to do he usual stupid play calling he had a HC that had a set and would over ride him.He was a HC before at another school with 0 wins.
Sorry to say this, but sounds like we have some qualified people on here. Update that resume and turn them in
There is a Very qualified coach that wants to come in. The problem is they will not get rid of the current HC.
They need to hire Derek (Physical Therapy guy) as the head trainer. That guy is a beast. There is not enough weights in the gym we gets lifting
My point was people on here thinking they can do a better job. I have coached and I know there are others on here as well, and I don't know the situation and sounds like he isn't the right guy for this job, but not anyone can do it. Some people complain on here about teams that consistently win with their scheme but still hate it and would go in and change that winning scheme and culture. I hope the best for Gretna because one thing is for sure, this board is more lively when they are winning
Maybe Gretna has just returned to what they really are? They were atrocious for MANY years. Then they had a GREAT decade or so. Now that "gene pool" (as the former NFL coach put it), is gone.
I couldn't coach my way out of a wet paper bag as far as football goes but I think even I could have won with Vic Hall and company.
I couldn't coach my way out of a wet paper bag as far as football goes but I think even I could have won with Vic Hall and company.
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I was gonna stay quiet on this one, but when Gretna had Von Bennett at wr with #12 (a white kid, dont know name) at qb in 2014. i knew it was gonna be a hideous season. i was like "they need to switch that up." half way through season, they did and started winning with Von at QB. sadly it was too late for it. im not gonna say its all coaching. i dont think the talent is there now. basketball they won 3 games in 2 years if i am correct?
Also Im hearing JV is 7-1? I told yall that freshman qb yall got from appo is the truth. he is a great athlete and we gonna miss him here in appo.
Also Im hearing JV is 7-1? I told yall that freshman qb yall got from appo is the truth. he is a great athlete and we gonna miss him here in appo.
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I was told this by players parents. The talent is there but the want to play mood is going away game by game. When coaches are constantly putting players down and blaming them for the loses it's not hard not to want to give it everything you have in a game. Was also told by parents might not have enough players to play against Nelson Co. talk to another fan that went by practice today 10-27-16 and said there were very few players.
I don't have a clue about the situation at Gretna.I told my Daughter last year when she ran track that if you start something you will finish it.I think some of the parents need to take blame also on whats going on in Gretna.
Are you kidding me? Not enough players to play Nelson.......NEXT WEEK!!!!!! Not even talking about this week, but next week??? Someone should be held accountable, whether it be the coach, the parents, or hey, how about we hold the kids accountable too just a little bit. If you sign up to play football, then you signed up for the season. Maybe I'm just a little crazy, but we hold our CC runners accountable, to a pretty dang high degree. We expect a lot out of them, and we make them grind, and some of them are definitely not your typical CC runner. But you know what, they come back every day, with very few complaints. We have a good time, but we expect a lot. And if you don't wanna work hard and you wanna goof off and drag others down.....well, we'll just move on without you. But I digress......how in the world would Gretna not have enough players to play Nelson County, no disrespect but possibly one of the worst teams in the state right now. A team that use to dress 50+ players every single week. If what I read on here is true, then someone needs to be held accountable.....coaches, players, parents, AD need to take a look in the mirror.
Pittsylvania County used to have a policy in place (wish more would go to it) that if you start playing a sport and quit, then you have to sit out the next sports season and not just the season, but the season in which you would typically play. So if you quit football and play basketball, no basketball that season or if you didn't play basketball but played baseball, no baseball. Keeps kids in check. Also, growing up I was not allowed to quit mid season and I hold my own kids to the same standards. You are just quitting on your teammates, your coaches, your community and your school. Hell, you play football to be playing a game you should love, not for a coach.
I love reading Preps, but I have hate how our society has gotten to the point where we blame everyone else, but have a hard time holding ourselves or our kids accountable. I know one of the reasons the previous coach left Gretna was because he saw a decline in the talent and another reason was due to the amount of abuse that the fans heap onto the coaching staff. Every staff since Prunty left, win or lose has taken a public beating at some point. Senseny, Thurman, Saunders, they all won games, but they all also took a beating on these boards. What happened to the days of getting behind our school, players, and coaches with our support? Now it is bash, bash, bash and usually by people who don't coach and don't really know the sport and what it takes to coach. If they did, they would do so and I'm not talking about toss sweep 90% of the time pee wee football either.
Didn't intend for this to turn into a rant, but it sure bugs the crap out of me when people bash coaches and players and programs and feel that they are entitled to do so and then go and post things about how qualified coaches are ready and anxious to take over. Seriously? People, players read these boards and see what is being said. Ever think that maybe reading all of this negative talk and lack of support has had some impact on their minds and desire to play?
Look at their schedule...they have beaten the teams they should have and lost to the ones that I would have expected most teams to lose to. They play 3A tunstall, Brookville, and Heritage. Then you add in Appomattox and Dan River and Altavista. Yeah, maybe they should have beaten William Campbell. That is a tough schedule for any 2A team. I hope much success for next years team and some better fan support, win or lose.
I love reading Preps, but I have hate how our society has gotten to the point where we blame everyone else, but have a hard time holding ourselves or our kids accountable. I know one of the reasons the previous coach left Gretna was because he saw a decline in the talent and another reason was due to the amount of abuse that the fans heap onto the coaching staff. Every staff since Prunty left, win or lose has taken a public beating at some point. Senseny, Thurman, Saunders, they all won games, but they all also took a beating on these boards. What happened to the days of getting behind our school, players, and coaches with our support? Now it is bash, bash, bash and usually by people who don't coach and don't really know the sport and what it takes to coach. If they did, they would do so and I'm not talking about toss sweep 90% of the time pee wee football either.
Didn't intend for this to turn into a rant, but it sure bugs the crap out of me when people bash coaches and players and programs and feel that they are entitled to do so and then go and post things about how qualified coaches are ready and anxious to take over. Seriously? People, players read these boards and see what is being said. Ever think that maybe reading all of this negative talk and lack of support has had some impact on their minds and desire to play?
Look at their schedule...they have beaten the teams they should have and lost to the ones that I would have expected most teams to lose to. They play 3A tunstall, Brookville, and Heritage. Then you add in Appomattox and Dan River and Altavista. Yeah, maybe they should have beaten William Campbell. That is a tough schedule for any 2A team. I hope much success for next years team and some better fan support, win or lose.
Much of being a head coach has nothing to do what you know about football. Do they create an environment where kids want to play at a young age in their program? Will they stick with it throughout the years? Gretna has always had talent I venture to say. Hell, Nelson County has more talent than a lot of teams they play. There's just no leadership that creates a culture that's conducive to success.
Every year I see teams loaded with talent, but never make it to Salem in December.
I remember one year when I saw every good 2A teams in the state, I thought Wilson Memorial had more talent than anyone, yet they got bounced.
I remember one year when I saw every good 2A teams in the state, I thought Wilson Memorial had more talent than anyone, yet they got bounced.
Am I reading this correctly..basketball has only won a handful of games the past two seasons. Your football team is reverting back to its old ways.
But you want to put all the blame on coaches..I'm assuming most the basketball players are also on the football team. Is it too hard to believe that maybe the talent level just isn't there?
I agree part of the problem at Gretna is likely coaching but I refuse to believe it's the only problem.
But you want to put all the blame on coaches..I'm assuming most the basketball players are also on the football team. Is it too hard to believe that maybe the talent level just isn't there?
I agree part of the problem at Gretna is likely coaching but I refuse to believe it's the only problem.
finally, someone took notice in that. yes 3 games in 2 years. 2 years ago, they won 1 game and it was Appomattox they beat. i said same thing. talent is down in gretna and no one on this board gonna convince me otherwise.
Advocate, your statement implies that good teams have more talent. While on the surface that makes sense, there is no way that holds true long term. If that were the case taking a look at Riverheads you would summize that we have consistently had better talent than most teams around us over the past 10 years plus. I would argue that to be false even though I am a die hard supporter of the red team. There have been and will be much more talented teams but are they coached to succeed? Both of these variables play into the equation and while two of the big three sports having a down cycle indicate that the talent level may be down, I again argue good coaching gets more than what should be expected from average talent. To be clear I will take a "team" coached to work as a unit over a collection of talent at the HS level. Evaluating skills and utilizing that skill to its maximum is an art and frankly only a select few do it at the highest level. Look to the No Fun League at what the hated Patriots do. They evaluate and utilize talent better than any other team in the NFL and we can bitch all we want but they don't have the best collection of talent. But I guarantee they have the best "team". I am not trying to defend what some of the more extreme Gretna fans have said but to dismiss it by putting it on talent is naive also. We can certainly agree to disagree but talent is not the only factor in the demise of strong teams.
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