“Embarrassed” CHS football fan address school board

After attending a Clinton High School football game last fall, alumnus Jared Hooker said he was “embarrassed.”

“I was embarrassed for the head coach. I was embarrassed for the assistant coaches. I was embarrassed for the players.”

A Clinton native, retired college football coach and a volunteer coach for Clinton’s Junior Football League (JFL), Hooker spoke to the Clinton Community Unit School District board at it’s Tuesday meeting.

“What I saw during the game was troubling to me,” said Hooker. “As a special teams coach you watch body language. I watched the body language from the sidelines and it was disturbing to me. I saw dysfunction of the staff. I saw guys not giving the head coach the support they should have given to him, and that breeds disloyalty.”

The problem needs to be addressed, Hooker told the board. He said Superintendent Dr. Jeff Holmes held a helpful roundtable discussion with several football coaches last spring. In addition, Clinton High School football coach (John) Hayden has met with JFL coaches multiple times and Hooker described the interactions as “beneficial.”

For the complete article see the 07-20-2012 issue.

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