After four losing football seasons, Kimball Public Schools may be looking for a new head football coach for the 2004-05 school year. At the last school board meeting Thursday, Jan. 15, the board had a tie vote, 3-3, on a resolution to thank Dave Traurig for his years of service and look for a new football coach for the 2004-05 season. Board members voting in favor of the resolution were Jerome Kuechle, Dave Van Vleet and Doug Stenger. Matt Serbus, Marguerite Laabs and Dorothy Kersten voted against the motion. The board agreed to discuss the issue further at an upcoming meeting. Traurig and others spoke on his behalf. His supporters included parents of his players, athletes, the principal and assistant coaches. Traurig spoke of the things he has been doing as a coach. He said he stresses the importance of academics in his coaching. “When I coach, I view it as an extension of the classroom,” Traurig said. He specified how he has addressed team concerns. To build size, he required players to lift weights. To add speed, players completed plyometric drills. He also discussed adding more summer camps for the athletes. Steve Deutsch has had three sons in the football program under Traurig. “They gave 100 percent for Dave,” he said. “Their record has not been the greatest, but [the experience] has never been negative.” Steve’s wife, Donna, said she enjoyed attending Traurig’s “mother’s day practice.” At the event, moms learned about the game, equipment, strategy and skills. She also recognized Traurig’s passion for the game. “I have heard Dave talk, it’s that heart of the game,” Donna said. “I would hate to see someone [come in and] not have that.” Kimball Area High School (KAHS) junior Aaron Dahlinger has played on Traurig’s team for three years. He said that Traurig could be scary but was also sensitive. “Traurig helped us through [tough times],” Dahlinger said. Varsity assistant coach Shawn Meyer gave two examples of Traurig’s coaching. First, he said that Traurig offered an injured senior a chance to serve as an “assistant coach.” Meyer said this allowed the student to be involved with a sport that he loved, even when injured. Meyer also shared how Traurig asked team members to sign a football for a player who transferred to another school. “Once a Cub, always a Cub,” the football read. Meyer said this gift meant so much to the former player and attested to Traurig’s committment as a coach. Finally, KAHS principal Karen Imholte read a letter that she presented to the board. “The process to evaluate coaches has not been respected … certainly, we had a sad season when the win/loss record is the only measuring tape,” Imholte said. Imholte added that athletes were always excited for their games. “Even when the opponents were certain to outdo us, players were excited to play. They were not defeated in spirit.” As Traurig’s supervisor, Imholte heard one parental concern last season, which was addressed and resolved. Imholte shared statistics showing that 80-90 percent of Traurig’s players were satisfied with his coaching practices. Van Vleet, a member of the board’s athletic committee, said all survey results show these numbers. “The ones we need to question are the students that are dropping out. The students that are filling out the survey are ones that enjoying playing. We need to find why the others aren’t playing.” Van Vleet said. Imholte challenged the board’s ethics. “By letting him go, the board denies a belief in the system set in place. It allows personal feelings to guide rather than ethical practices.” The five board members (Stenger was unavailable for comment) denied this claim and cited multiple reasons for finding a new coach including low participation numbers, community concerns, and the win-loss record. Kuechle said, “It’s my personal belief that when a program is not doing well, it’s usually the person incharge of the prgram thats to blame, not the students.” He said he voted in favor of the resolution to try something new. “We need to give someone else a chance. Maybe he is doing the right thing; we don’t know. Maybe a new person would produce the same results. If we don’t do something we are going to continue the same way we are.” Van Vleet voted in favor of the resolution, agreeing change was needed. Dwindling participation numbers also aided in his decision. “Why would students play in fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, some in ninth; but drop out in 10th, 11th and 12th? I understand that the numbers are down, but you’ve got to have a promoter.” Kersten voted against the resolution to give her fellow board members, Laabs and Serbus, more time with their decisions. “I came prepared to vote, but decided if they needed a month to make their decision that was okay with me.” “I didn’t have enough information,” Serbus said. “It seemed that we were jumping into it. It seemed that we needed to look at this issue more before taking away someone’s job.” “I need to do some more listening and talk to some other people,” Laabs said. Students rally Dahlinger and football teammates Chris Sheehan, Erich Deutsch and Steve Schutz started a petition at the high school. The group hopes to obtain 150 signatures showing support of their coach. This number was chosen because it is over half of the student body population (283, grades 9-12) at KAHS. “A losing record should and can not be blamed on one individual person,” the petition states. “Even the greatest coaches and advisors have had hard years.” As of Friday afternoon, the group collected 100 student signatures. They said some students were willing to sign, others opted against it. “We don’t want to lose Traurig,” Dahlinger said. “Changing the coach isn’t going to change the attitude of the players. “Personally, I don’t think that they can find someone better,” Sheehan said. “Respectfully, we will play for whoever comes in, but it won’t be the same way. Traurig has taught us everything we know.” Sending a message “As a school board, if we fire him, what kind of message does that send to the kids?” Serbus asked. “That it does not matter how you get there, winning is all that matters? That is the wrong message to send.” “The losing season has nothing to do with it,” Van Vleet said. “Where are the other kids that used to participate? That’s what I want to know, why they are not there?” Van Vleet also said he has researched the issue with other school districts. According to one teacher, football promotes school spirit. Van Vleet said, “The football program and fall sports set a precedent for participation in the second and third sport seasons. It’s also such a visual sport, it helps promote school pride that will last throughout the year.” The school board will discuss this issue at an upcoming meeting. For more information, contact Kimball Public School’s district office at (320) 398-7700.
