[NikonD300]

Lets see how politics ruin a program,,,,

You are a losing program (jenkins) you get lucky and get a coach in Chris Tolliver who decides to take over a horribly ran program, only with the thoughts of building it back to what it should be. A coach who left a 16th region championship team in mid season to move back to his roots to help build a program in his own county where he lived his whole life. Note the fact he WAS getting paid in a school district that was one of the highest in the state.
To take a job with a team he knew was in terrible shape, horribly ran, and completly depleated compared to the team he currently coached. Not to mention a team that was abandonded in mid season by a coach Jerry Bentley. Who took the luxery of scheduling games knowing he was leaving in mid season. Translation that means he scheduled games he knew they could not win which in turn meant the new coach hired would not win games either. Trying only to make himself not look so horrible as a coach.
Now you have a coach in Chris Tolliver who takes the team he is given fights through all the problems, people attached to the program that he had to keep, also not having practice time, no money to fund a program, and only a few parents that support him. He takes this team and does his best to get the team prepared for a new year his first upcoming full year.
WHAT DO YOU DO (JENKINS)
"TERMINATE" HIM WHY Because he actually tried to coach a team with the best players on the floor and THAT caused him to ruffle a few feathers on the school board/site based council who had children on the team who were not better than some kids who were playing CONGRATULATIONS JENKINS

Lets see what you have lost here are Coach Tollivers Credentials only because you are not smart enough to realize what you have:
His credentials listed below might be new to you all,,,,i am sure you have not known them before now:

-1 regional championship as player 1 time in 53 years a team made it to state tourney from our county in basketball
-former college basketball/ baseball player
-2 consecutive district titles (head ast coach)
-2 consecutive regional titles (head ast coach)
-2 consecutive 20 + win seasons (head ast coach)
-only 11 losses in 2 seasons (head ast coach) all of which to top 25 teams in state
-34-2 record as (jv head coach)
-2 consecutive region sweeps undefeated season in the 16th region (head ast coach)

Here is what you have gained New Coach Ashley Addington's credentials:
Nothing against her but lets be honest is the the right hire to rebuild a program in the shape jenkins is currently in: (not because of Coach Tolliver)

- no experience
- never played college basketball
- never coached a team period EVER

So congratualtions Jenkins you have truly thrown yourselves into a hole again by letting POLITICS ruin a program,,,,,,,Good Luck next season I am sure your games will be alot easier, WHY cause this coach actually knew what he was doing........he scheduled games so the kids could have a chance of success because WHY he wanted to WIN not for himself but because he knew the kids would be able to enjoy it a little more,,,,,,,hmmmm,,,,,,kinda makes a little more sence than politics in a school,,,,you know the thought a person might care about the kids who play for him more than the people around the program who should not be involved,,,,,
I hope new coach addington knows what she is getting into,,,,my next article will probely have to defend her as well because if their is a chance JENKINS will definitly mess up her chance at improving the program as well,,,,

I agree with what you're saying about politics and I agree that Coach Tolliver got screwed as a result of politics but just because you're right on that doesn't make you right on everything else you've said.

First of all you're listing Tolliver's coaching credientials like they are all his accomplishments when you even go as far as to list that he was merely an assistant coach in a lot of those accomplishments. An assistant coach can't lay claim to those accomplishments, those are for the head coach who couldn't have done them without help but that doesn't make them any more the assistant's accomplishments.

And the Jenkins schedule was chock full of sub-.500 teams that Jenkins had the chance to defeat but simply didn't. Jerry Bentley didn't make out an impossible schedule as you're trying to make it sound. If anything Bentley should have made a harder schedule so these girls could actually learn something from the teams they were playing...that is the only short-coming of Bentley's in this matter. The majority of the schedule was against teams that ended up losing more than they won and the Jenkins girls simply didn't get it done.

That is something that is running rampant at Jenkins...people blaming everyone else but the coaches and the players. They blame politics, the refs, the other team's fans, the moms and dads of the kids they don't like...it's everyone but the team and the coach. Fact is that 9 time out of 10 when you watched the Lady Cavs play basketball last year the majority of the team was running at half speed before halftime and couldn't wait for the game to end. One exception would be the transfer from Letcher Central because she had something to prove (and she's not the only exception but she stands out). Their hearts were not in it either because they didn't want to be there or were not inspired enough to want to be there and that falls on the coach.

As for Ashley Addington's credentials, you're correct in that she hasn't coached high school basketball. She has, however, worked as an assistant to April Damron on the girls softball team for years so she knows how to work with kids. Basketball is a whole different world but the fact remains that she has coaching experience. She also knows the game backwards and front and her attitude will not allow her to get sucked into the politics that may exist. I've known her all my life and she's a hard-nosed competitor but is very compassionate when it comes to the ideals of being a team.

She's also a former Lady Cavalier and who better to have coaching the team than someone who actually cares about the team? At least Jenkins got this one right after they passed over Harvey Tackett for the Superintendant's position. It's about time they start putting people in charge that actually cares about the school system and looks at it as more than just a business to run.

And I feel sympathatic to Coach Tolliver because he came into a no-win situation because of the shape of things at Jenkins but he is gone and there is no changing that. But to say that Addington is somehow inferior to Tolliver is completely innaccurate.