Concerns

[pirman]

Is there anyone else who is concerned with the lack of public communication from the coaching staff. I am hopeful that they are working their tails off to save the program, but the silence puts some doubt in those thoughts. Many people out there want to know what is going on and this silence is not keeping people's interest. SOmeone with knowledge on the situation want to enlighten me and others of why the silence?

[wrestlingpublicist]

The current coaching staff members are employees of the athletic department. They're caught in a vice. Certainly they want to see their sport saved, not to mention their jobs. However, they're limited in the degree to which they can express public opposition to policy decisions made by their boss.

Ron Finley, the retired coach, isn't governed by that limitation. He's leading the effort to save Oregon wrestling. But in order to do so, he had to resign his retirement job with the Duck Athletic Fund. Otherwise, he would not have been free to speak his mind.

Chuck Kearney and his assistants can do their part by concentrating on the coming season, keeping the team focused, and promoting the NWCA All-Star meet in November. The wrestlers themselves have a giant responsibility: wrestle hard, succeed in the classroom, and for goodness sakes don't have any off-the-mat distractions.

It's absolutely critical that Oregon's wrestling team have a successful season. If it loses a bunch of dual meets and doesn't finish very high in the tournaments, people will ask why try to save a losing program. But if they're successful, the argument for continuing the program grows much stronger.

The rest of us can do our parts by purchasing season tickets and attending the All-Star meet in November.

[pirman]

I doubt the administration is going to fire the coaching staff for outlining to the public what their plan is to try and save the program. If they did the program is not savable anyways.

When the news first broke of the dropping of the program there was a lot of people fired up to help save the program. I see people losing interest due to the lack of leadership publicly. I am not saying people are not working their butts off behind the scene but people want to know what they can do to help.

Rallys for around the state should already be planned or at least starting to get organized. The signing of the petition has really slowed. As of lately we seem to be getting more people signing it from out of state. We need to show the administration that people in Oregon care. Also we might find a booster out there at the grassroot level who might want to pony up some serious money for the cause.

I and at least five friends want to help any way we can. Season tickets and NWCA tickets will be purchased. We are looking at other ways that we can help but it appears that a few people are going to try to do it all. I hope this plan works but I have always felt you are more powerful with numbers.

Just my thoughts and I really do not want to sound negative because that is not what is needed at this time. I and many others want to know what is going on. Coach Fin help us out on what to do.

[wrestlingpublicist]

They would not have to go so far as to fire the coaching staff. Kearney needs support from the athletic department for his current task at hand: preparing for a season, supporting is wrestlers during the season, and if things don't go as we wish, placing as many athletes as he can, and his assistant coaches, with other programs.

Kearney does not need to be frozen out of the loop because he makes public statements that displease his boss.

I'm simply stating that the present coach, as an athletic department employee, must distance himself publicly from an effort that his superiors oppose. Coaching a team is a large enough endeavor.

Let's do all the things you suggested and leave it to Finley to coordinate the effort to save the support. Perhaps the recent article in the Register-Guard will assure you that Ron isn't sleeping at the switch, but that the obstacles are huge.