By Ed Farrell

Herald Assistant Sports Editor



IT’S SAD. Another area coach may bite the dust, and not of his own volition. Attribute it to peer pressure. That’s not referencing teen-agers; rather, it’s adults with an agenda.

Mercer High boys basketball mentor Mike Williams recently was notified his position has been opened. And although the prideful Williams won’t let the door bang him on the butt on his way out, neither is he ruling out a return, contingent upon July’s school board vote. That’s because Williams maintains his involvement in coaching is not to appease his peers — parents, applying pressure for playing time for their sons.

Williams recently related his ouster is the result of “ a petition in which 17 people signed, asking for my removal.”

Unashamedly, Williams related, “In my 9-year tenure (97-121), my varsity teams captured three conference titles and advanced to the District 10 tourney in each of those seasons. The 2002-03 and 2003-04 teams won back-to-back conference titles, the first Mercer teams to do so since the 1981-82 and 1982-83 teams,” he noted, continuing, “I am leaving the new coach with eight returning letterwinners, and the Mustangs should be a playoff team next season, as well as contend for the region title. Numbers are way up from when I took over the program in August 2000, when I had to move up the entire freshmen class just to fill out a varsity and JV roster, and inherited only one letterwinner (and finished 3-21).”

Williams shares a sentiment with numerous other coaches at the scholastic level: Too many parents perceive their children, not as they are, but as someone they see on ESPN “SportsCenter” highlights.

“I had two parents this year upset with me, thinking I was holding down their ‘(NCAA) Division I recruit’ son with my style of coaching,” Williams related, rhetorically asking, “Division I? Please. I don’t know too many coaches that make the contacts with college coaches that I did. I’m constantly trying to promote my kids to the next level. Division I? Where did (Farrell’s Marsell) Holden and (Kennedy Catholic’s Kyle) Randall sign this year? And no disrespect to them, as they are the best players I’ve seen in the past 5-10 years. But neither of them are headed to Duke or North Carolina, are they?

“Yet I had one at Mercer ... and I didn’t even notice?”

Earlier this spring, Brian Hoover (Sharon), Marlon McGaughy (Kennedy Catholic), Gary Steele (Sharpsville) and Tom Roskos (Brookfield) either left of their own volition or were notified they were not being retained. Ironically, Steele’s successor, Jim Smiley, experienced his own parental-pressure problems in his previous post at Neshannock.

Another interesting tidbit, also involving Mercer. According to Williams, boys’ soccer coach Brian Livenspire also has come under attack from parents.

“A better coach? Maybe. A better man? No way,” Williams said in praise of Livenspire.

“Nobody gets into coaching, particularly basketball and football, to make friends,” Williams noted. “My goal never included being friends with parents. My goals included building lasting relationships with my players, producing a competitive basketball program from top to bottom, and mak(ing) friends within the coaching fraternity in Mercer County and District 10, which, for the most part, has been realized.

“I want to thank those scores and scores of great kids and parents who supported me through the years at Mercer,” he related, “The good times and great memories have been many — almost too many to remember,” he continued, later adding, “For those detractors who went after my job, mostly due to playing (time) issues and wanting to strong-arm me and my coaching style — and there might have been two-dozen of those unhappy parents — it is what it is.

“This happens to coaches all the time nowadays. Parents have become very unrealistic when it comes to their own child’s abilities,” Williams observed. “Coaches are blamed for players’ poor effort, for poor free-throw shooting, for being out of shape, and even for poor academics.

“We understand those things and roll with the punches,” he continued. “Unfortunately, nobody ever considers what a coach’s family must endure during those tough seasons when the wins are few. Nobody loves Mercer basketball more than me, with the exception of my son Isaac. What do those detractors think I should say to him? My wife (Leah Ann) and daughter (Madeline) have also been great supporters, as has my loyal coaching staff and family and friends.”

“Coaching basketball does not and never will define me as a person,” Williams emphasized. “I will continue to excel at my teaching job at West Middlesex, as well as at my other coaching positions as an assistant boys’ track coach with the region champion Big Reds, and continue to strive to make WMHS the best athletic program in Mercer County. We’ve had three team state finalists in my four years as the athletic director at West Middlesex, and the faculty, administration and athletic community seem to like the job that I’ve done thus far.”

At summer’s outset, Williams was conducting the Mustangs’ offseason program. However in the wake of his notification his position has been opened, he has stepped aside and admittedly does not know if anyone is working with Mercer’s cagers, and that’s precisely his point: Though it’s the middle of summer, time lost now could cost those kids when competition comes calling in December, January and February.

Reportedly, in spite of the disgruntled parents seeking to place the program “in a different direction,” there is a groundswell of support for Williams, so he is considering reapplying for the post.

“I’ve been involved in athletics for a long time, and it’s not about the parents, and it’s definitely not about the boosters,” Williams, referencing legendary John Wooden, said, while emphasizing, “it’s about the kids. ... It’s not always about X’s and O’s, but it’s about Jimmy’s and Joe’s. (Coaching’s) more about managing kids.”