Colburn comments
Marion High School Warrior scholars hosted the Waubaunsee Wombats Friday for the state assessment tests, at Marion High School Gymnasium.
A near-capacity crowd of parents and district patrons cheered as Warrior senior Polly Hedron scored 98 points out of a possible 100 on the geometry portion of the exam.
The Wombats countered when freshman phenom Algo Rithm penciled in a perfect score in algebra.
The teams battled back and forth, as nervous teachers paced the sidelines, shouting out directions and encouragement.
Marion experienced a setback when Khan Gruent failed to correct a dangling participle. The Warrior ace scored an 85, well below his season average of 93.
The Wombats forged ahead for a 6,555 - 5,990 win.
"Our teachers should've called a time-out before the participle test," one grumbled after the contest.
"That math teacher is terrible — we should've scored a whole lot more on that geometry test," another griped.
"If the teacher knew what she was doing, she'd have had my kid in there for the essay, instead of that Clause kid," said a third.
"I think it's time to start looking for new teachers. These guys just can't teach," a fourth disgruntled patron commented.
* * * * *
Coaches are the only teachers the public gathers around once a week or more to observe and pass judgment.
Each game is a "test." Coaches are praised for good scores, and castigated for unfavorable ones.
Every play a coach draws up is designed to work perfectly. No coach scripts and teaches strategies to lose.
But when it comes to competition, things get in the way. Things like, for example, the opponents!
Sometimes, the opponents are simply better athletes. Other times, an average player unexpectedly has the game of his or her life. Coaches don't control those things, but they experience the fallout when they lead to a loss.
"Test anxiety" is a phenomenon many readers can relate to. A teacher taught you the material, and you knew it all the day before the test.
Then, with the test right in front of you, you drew a blank. You scored a C, even though you knew it well enough to get an A.
The same thing happens to athletes. They learn and execute in practice. Players and coaches have every reason to believe they've gotten it.
But when they take the playing field, "test anxiety" takes hold, and players fail to execute things they did perfectly in practice.
I'm not making excuses for coaches here. I'm simply pointing out there are factors which affect team performance that often unjustly lead people to conclude a coach isn't doing a good job.
Teachers aren't graded on what their students do every week. They're graded on the progress those students demonstrate over the year.
Coaches shouldn't be graded every week, either. Their student-athletes are learning, growing.
A coach's performance should be measured at the end of the season, and should be based on the progress the team has shown.
That progress may not show in the win-loss column, but it should be evident. If student-athletes have gotten visibly better, the coach deserves accolades. If they haven't, let the questions begin.
