(4-25-17) According to a Daily Press story, Gladstone (Michigan) Clayton Castor, the 2017 U.P. Class ABC Coach of the Year in boys’ basketball, resigned as head coach .
His reasons:
- Family considerations
- difficulties launching the summer program
- issues with the booster club
- parents
“At the end of the day, the reason why I am resigning is because of parents. I don’t want to deal with them. The last five years I have coached at Gladstone I have given it my life. My time could have been better spent doing other things.”
“I really, really enjoy this. But parents have taken the fun and enjoyment right out of it. Maybe some of this is on me. I just don’t have thick enough skin or the will to put up with it. For that amount of time, it’s just not worth it.”
Castor’s resignation is starting to become the norm in this changing world of high school sports, just winning is not enough. The issues continue to grow, lack of certified officials and now coaches whose jobs use to be considered ‘part-time’ are now year long and full-time. Student-athletes continue to change schools in order to be ‘seen’, following AAU coaches to a new school or being recruited by a program at an independent private school.
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Stateline Sports Network 
wow, ive been privileged to be around some record setting coaches and never did they consider their job part time or only in season. in fact far from it, they were always working on their craft no matter what the season. As far as the parents and the points in this column, i couldnt agree more. BUt never has coaching been a part time job!
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And you’ve obviously never worked in a small district where everyone wears multiple hats. In many places, coaching is just one of many jobs held, and quite frankly given the BS of parents, simply not worth the toll it takes.
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Unfortunately, the coach no longer runs his program. Overzealous parents believe they run the program. Kids are so concerned with the next level as the parents push them incessantly.
If a student begins at a particular school, that is where he plays his four years.. If he transfers, he sits. No more stacking.
Following a coach? No way.
Selfishness has, almost, destroyed the high school programs.
WHY in heavenso name are high school games being televised. Especially on national television. They will get that exposure at the next level. They do not deserve that kind of attention.
Greed, Greed and more Greed. Spoiled brats become spoiled thugs.
It is time to bring back the discipline and return the parents to being spectators.
Little/Big Johnny can remain special to the parent. Keep his arrogance grounded..
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Welcome to the world of coaching. Pick a level. From biddy ball to the guys who do this to feed their families, this IS reality. Coaching is teaching. Teaching is learning. Learning requires commitment, dedication, and the constant awareness of one simple fact: It’s not about me. Coaches and educators who make a difference make sacrifices, put in long hours, don’t get paid nearly what their time or effort is worth, but in the end game, all know it’s about the jelly in the sandwich. Athletics, if you allow it, changes lives, especially of those who coach. Whether you’re just doing something to occupy dead time or are passionate about kids, immediately, everyone watching you will know who and what you are about. This is a gift; not a curse. Parents are passionate about their kids. This is a good thing. True, some need to be educated in the facts concerning “D-1”. If, however, a coach is constantly “hearing it” from parents, this is because these parents are involved in their kids’ lives, the program, and are concerned with and about the person influencing the minds and decisions of their children. Again, all good things. There are WAY too many incredibly dedicated and truly gifted people who commit to programs and kids who perform in front of empty stands. Look around. You don’t have to go to an inner-city school, to find “senior nights” filled with coaches and administrators escorting athletes, rather than their moms and dads. A lot of these same people, because of budget restraints, don’t even get paid. Good coaches, however, do “get paid”, in a manner in which no other occupation has to capacity to do so. It’s the ripple effect. Young men graduate from high school, when, without it, would have dropped-out. They become the first in their lineage to go to college and get a degree. They grow to be incredible fathers and beautiful fathers. They make a positive impact on others, simply because someone was willing to do the same, for them. I’ve had the privilege of being invited to weddings, baptisms, and yes, funerals, of some great young men. Nothing challenged, yet rewarded me more, when one of my players was fighting his terminal cancer, while he was in college. We laughed, we cried, we took our turns having not so nice conversations, with God. In the end, somehow, someway, I was able to convince this young man to turn his life over, to God, before he passed. No dollar amount is equitable to this. No paycheck is worthy of the honor of being introduced to the sons and daughters and wives of the young men I’ve been blessed to coach. No, coaching isn’t easy…..but what of any worth is?
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