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Coach or educator: It doesn't have to be a choice between the two roles
By Anthony McConnell
Trail Editor
A hot debate is raging on the campus of Northwest College. It all has to do with the reclassification of the coaches from faculty to professional staff. When the topic was brought up at the last Board of Trustees meeting, it didn’t seem like that big of a deal.
There was a brief discussion on the topic followed by a motion for the Board to make the recommendation to the Faculty Handbook Committee. The whole discussion lasted no more than 20 minutes, but that recommendation has had serious repercussions. The coaches are upset and much of the faculty is upset all over what seemed to be a simple idea.
But this issue goes deeper than just simple reclassification. It goes to the root of what a coach’s job is. Are they educators first and coaches second? If this is the case, than they should be classified as faculty. If not, then they should be considered professional staff.
It is understandable why coaches wouldn’t want this change – it would make it easier for them to be fired. Say a coach has a bad season, make that several bad seasons. Under the current system it is very hard for the college to fire a coach who is not performing, but if the coaches were professional staff then it would be much easier.
Herein lies the problem if the first responsibility of coaches is to educate, then their record shouldn’t matter. But if they are coaches first, then their team’s performance should matter.
It is a tough call to make. On one hand, NWC is a two-year school, which means coaches have less time to build a team. On the other, colleges hire coaches to win and bring prestige to a school. If a college has a great sports program then it will attract more students, more donations for scholarships, more money for buildings and better athletes.
Aside from the coaches, this will also affect the student athletes. Should they live in fear their coach will lose his or her job if they have a tough season? In a word, no. No, they shouldn’t have to worry about such things.
The student athletes are the key to this whole debate. They are students first and athletes second and that is exactly how our coaches should be treated. They are teachers first and coaches second. It is their job to prepare these men and women for life outside of the gym. It is all a matter of how they choose to do just that.
Some coaches choose to teach on the court, others off. If a coach wants to teach, then so be it, as long as they are qualified it is all good. But if someone wants to come to NWC just to coach then that should be allowed as well.
There should be a duel classification and separate standards for each. A “faculty coach” and a coach, if someone comes to NWC just to coach then their team’s performance should determine whether they get to coach another year. But if they are a “faculty coach” then they should be treated more as a member of the faculty and team performance should play less of a role.