Wednesday, September 07, 2005

Where's my money? In March, my team's soccer season had to be canceled mid-season. I coach the team at the high school at which I teach. We had been playing games with 8 or 9 guys. (Soccer requires 11 per side, but you are allowed to play with a minimum of 7), including "borrowed" players from the baseball and track teams. We had had to forfeit a few games. So in a meeting with my principal, Athletic Director, and the Director of Athletics for the district, the decision was made that it would be best to call off the rest of the season and try again next year. There just wasn't enough interest to sustain a team. You gotta have a solid 15 or more to have a real team. Anyway, at this meeting, I asked of the district-wide director that I and my assistant coach be paid for the portion of the season that we had coached. Coaching, as all of you know, is hard work, and coaches of all sports earn a stipend for the season. At this point, we had not received any of the stipend. The director, in her words, responded, "that sounds fair" and said she would look into the appropriate amount. She requested I follow up with an email, which I did the following day, detailing the number of games we had played, the number of practices held, and the amountof pre-season work put in such as scheduling games, etc. (In soccer, unlike some of the high-profile sports, it is up to coaches to track each other down and schedule games.) Well, long story short, six months later we haven't seen the money. Since school started back up in mid August, I have attempted to contact that Director of Athletics repeatedly, having left multiple telephone messges with her secretary and a couple email messages. She has not returned any of my calls. I'm wondering what is going on. I have a feeling she is faced with tight budget constratints and is avoiding me just not to have to deal with it. Anyway, I have no intention of giving up. I plan to increase my persistence with the phone calls, until she actually speaks to me. Also plan to have my AD and/or principal, who were present at that meeting, go to bat for me if necessary. I'll update as more happens. 8:05:41 PM    comment []trackback []