Wisconsin High School Sports | Wisconsin Sports Network | WisSports.net

Spring after spring.

Year after year.

Over the past decade or so, the alarming number of outstanding high school basketball coaches in Wisconsin who have either been fired, forced to resign or opted to step down under extreme pressure is nothing short of staggering.

As sure as tulips popping up from the ground or robins flying into bird feeders, basketball coaches are annually falling by the wayside once the calendar turns to April and May.

The main culprit of this annual purging?

The stunning lack of support for coaches from school administrators, which includes athletic directors, principals, presidents and district administrators.

Once a parent or two or three approach the adminsitration of a school with complaints, or once the administrative staff itself determines there is need for a change, the ball is put in motion to oust a coach.

And it happens every year. In every corner of the state. At big and small schools. Rural and urban.

This spring, like so many others before it, the petty bickering of disgruntled parents and the lack of support from administrators, has cost some truly stellar coaches their jobs.

Bob Letsch of Racine St. Catherine's. Brian Bestor of Reedsburg. Darrin Lottig of Badger.

Just to name a few from this spring alone.

The most alarming, by far, is Letsch.

Letsch has spent 53 of the past 57 years as either a student or coach at the Catholic school in Racine.

The 70-year-old retired teacher has won big -- eight state titles and 633 victories -- and has helped develop some of the best high school players in state history -- both Jim Chones (as an assistant) and Jim McIlvaine (as head coach) eventually played in the NBA.

But Letsch's impact on his former students and athletes goes well beyond the scoreboard.

Many former players credit Letsch for their development not only on the basketball court, but also in their life after high school.

Letsch is a bit gruff at times, but those who know him well always said his bark was much worse than his bite. He had a soft side that came through time and time again to help students and the school he loved for virtually his entire life.

Friction between Letsch and the administration at St. Cat's appears to have cost him his job.

Meanwhile, in places like Reedsburg and Lake Geneva, parents upset with their children's lack of playing time or an upset loss to an arch rival or a particular offense or defense employed by a coach met with administrators in an effort to get rid of a coach.

And it worked, just like it worked it other communities in recent years.

Why?

Because, too often, administrators give in to the pressures put on them from parents.

For coaches today, worring about the offensive and defensive schemes of an opponent or making the most of their own teams' skills can take a back seat to worrying about which parents are unhappy and likely to make a move to get them fired.   

Coaches today need a manual on how to prepare for all of the things that come their way each winter.

And in one of the latest issues of Basketball Times, there was an ad for just such a book. It's called "The Best-Laid Plans of a High School Basketball CEO" and it includes a detailed look at how to lead a basketball program and navigate a coaching career at the high school level.

It may become a must-read for aspiring coaches in the next decade or so.

Not all coaches, of course, are beyond approach. Some do step over the line and need to be disciplined.

But far too often, it seems that is not the case and change is made to appease some disgruntled parents. Or, as was the case with Letsch, to avoid continued personality conflicts.

Administrators need to support coaches the way they support teachers.

It takes an awful lot to fire a teacher. It doesn't take much at all to fire a coach. Something is wrong with that picture. Teachers and coaches are considered educators, and yet they are not treated anywhere close to equally by administrators.

Let's face it. It's far easier for an administrator to make a headache go away by simply firing a coach.

There may be some things trending in the wrong direction with high school basketball these days.

But the biggest issue, by far, is the lack of support for the high school basketball coaches in our state.