Winning But at What Cost

The Convenant School of Dallas has been in the national news over the last week. Their varsity girls basketball team defeated the team from Dallas Academy, a school for kids with learning differences, by the score of 100 - 0. Coaches and administrators from the losing school report that the girls from Covenant kept full-court pressure on even in the fourth quarter. The Dallas Academy players took only seven shots during the entire game. In the backlash Micah Grimes, the coach from Covenant, was fired. The school offered an apology on their website. Grimes' published comment was he disagreed. "We played the game as it was meant to be played and would not intentionally run up the score on any opponent."

While I don't know Micah Grimes, I am familiar with The Covenant School. They are in the same area of Dallas where Lutheran High School, where I formerly coached and served as school counselor, is located. Covenant has an excellent academic reputation. During my years at Dallas Lutheran we annually played Covenant as part of our non-district schedule. All my contact with them was positive. Covenant was founded on Christian principles and my experience with them reinforced that. So the question is; what went wrong.

Micah Grimes was hired by Covenant to coach basketball. He is not a member of the faculty or staff at Covenant School. He was brought in by the school to build a program, which to his credit he did. The Covenant girls won only two games during his first season. Last year, in his third season, they were state championship contenders. This year they are undefeated in district play.

My observation is that The Covenant School fell into the trap many parents fall victim to. They wanted someone to coach their girls how to play basketball but in the process they exposed the girls, and the school itself, to someone who held a different set of values than they did.

Coaches should be mentors. In addition to teaching athletic skills they need to be imparting life skills as well. Coaches, along teachers, with church youth leaders, scout leaders and others who are paid or volunteer to work with kids, should be part of the parent's support system. They should reinforce and augment that which parents have taught. When they don't, their presence can be counter productive. My only question is why did it take so long for the school administration to discover this? I guess winning covers a multitude of sins.