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Show t Page 14 Sun Chronicle SPORTS SPORTS SPORTS Thursday, April 29, 1976 i auwevea inai o greatness today, but the guy is doing everything that points to greatness in an athletic leader. Coach Thompson sacrifices. Hie majority of coaches today do not even know what the word means. He loves his job and is the sort of guy who would rather be making championship baseball teams rather than making a million a year in earnings. When Roy High opened a position for a coaching job some three years ago, they hooked on to a winner and Principal Darrell K. White must have known this as much as anyone. Now in his second year as the head varsity baseball coach, Thompson is batt ing for the Region One championship presently tied with three other teams for second place. Grew Up In Neighboring Ogden Sports filled the schedule of Coach Thompsons early days of growing up as they do in nearly every other quality coach. He attended Wahlquist junior High where he was the blocking back in a powerful offense. That d machine was led and quarterbacked by Tom Budge who is now the head football mentor at Bonneville. It was then that tackle football was first allowed in junior high schools. His ninth grade year, the school cashed in on football, basketball, and baseball championships. He attended Weber High School the next three years and again goh involved in football, basketball and his favorite, baseball. The schoolnever visited state playoffs in either basketball or football, as a junior, the baseball crew captured the state title in baseball, in his senior year, the baseball team ended m a tie with Ogden for the league championship. Both teams were slated to playoff at John Affleck Park and the game was a pitchers duel for six innings. In the bottom of the seventh, Ogden was at bat. The Tigers were able to load the bases and Weber made a pitching change. The new hurler was inexperienced and was charged with a balk on his first attempted throw. Weber bowed out as Ogden went on as the champions. With a few friends encouragemenr, Coach Thompson entered Weber State and played sparingly with the freshman baseball team. He served an LDS mission to the New England States mission for the following two years. When he returned, the Weber State baseball team was already chosen and he opted to sit the year out. He attended every game and deep down inside missed being out of the lineup. He sustained a daytime job and went to school part time at Weber. That same spring, Coach Thompson took a basketball class from Coach Dick Williams, then the head baseball coach. One particular day, Coach Williams came up to Coach Thompson and asked him if he was interested in playing the following high-powere- Ifel COACH FRED THOMSPON, Roys second year head mentor, loves his job and would rather make championship teams than make milfons of dollars. Taking a view on Title IX Coach Jack Hannum will have to cope with more improved and capable offenses next season, Coach Roger Reid will be spending hours drilling his players with the new and most eltcctive presses. Coach Bob Steele will try to develop a w inning w resiling squad w ith just a few returning letterman, and Coach Fred Lange will continue to work diligently in bringing the AAU program up to par at least in swimming. Coach John Flint has established a winning note track and field scene, but he will be finding it probably even more difficult next season. Coach Ken Hicks is coaching w hat the Office of Civil Rights calls a sport, oh, but does he have a surprise for them! He'll continue to prove it each year. Coach Holley Mooney will try to keep her gymnasts happy for five months and Coach Margo Jones will embark on what looks to be another successful girls sports season. All these Clearfield High men and women's coaches have several formidable and could be difficult tasks for the coming season. But then again, they all have one thing in common, they must all cope with the upbringing of Title IX. Every athletic coach and even Principal Gayle Stevenson, have varied opinions on Title IX, but one thing is for sure, the law is here to say. Title IX is now in force, not so much in Region Two as it is in Region One, but it stands looming. Region One has generally accepted the Title IX format and the protest has been minor, but there are people who are against this law and probably will never see the light to it's total meaning. on-th- non-conta- Title IX and many other small things are brought out in this law. Health Education classes may not be separated by sex except in the case of discussions or presentations about human sexuality. Physical Education classes to my surprise, may not be conducted separately on the basis of sex. There are two exceptions that can divide classes in high school. The first being based on the skill of students and again students may be separated based upon whether they are playing contact sports. Contact sports include football, basketball, wrestling, rugby, ice hockey, and boxing. The Health, Education, and Welfare Department has specifically declared that baseball and softball are not contact sports. Does Coach Ken Hicks have a comment for these guys? Now locker rooms, shower rooms, and dressing rooms must be comparable for both sexes. Past practices of building larger areas for boys and smaller areas for girls is not acceptable, so says the new law From now on, all boys and girls' gym signs must come down and now only boys and girls' signs can designate locker, rest rooms, and shower rooms. From the start of next year on, at least when the new law is passed, Dave Steele, the math instructor has to open every one of his intramural sports programs to all sexes. Not that he hasn't opened these small-timcompetitions to everyone in the past, but all contests ust be open to both girls and boys. Only separate play can be conducted in the contact sports. Cheerleader groups, pep clubs, marching groups, and others are now open to both sexes. This seems to be a lesser problem with boys and girls being involved in all of these clubs except possibly the pep club. Equal opportunity to participate in competitive sports must be provided to members of both sexes says the law. Some ol the factors to be considered are 1) effective accommodation of the interests and abilities of members of both sexes in sports and levels ol competition, 2) equipment and supplies provided, 3 travel, meals, or per diem allowance provided. 4i opportunities to receive coaching. 5i availability of locker and shower rooms, practice times, use of facilities, etc., fi) availability ol training services and equipment and medical attention when needed, 7i fair and equal el forts to provide publicity tor mtei school competitive programs lor both sexes . e Where are the funds to come from? must be treated with care Title IX, the law that prohibits any discrimination by sex in education, can be seen only as a touchy and could be destructive bomb. Although this law is meant to bring aftout the eventual uplifting of girls' athletics, it will always be present as the thing to bring down the total high school sports program. It must be treated with care! The above is a pretty strong statement and Title IX does not specifically state that it is (or the upbringing of girls sports. But we all know that the Title IX law is not going to help anyone but the girls and that isn't all that bad in itself tllieials state that Title IX is a law that vv ill give girls in the high schools a chance for some good competitive competition and this is a just and good thing. It's all the other things is this law that send scary chills up my spine and up the spines ol men and women coaches alike, at Clearfield I have to totally agree with Coach Mooney, who the other day stated that she saw good things in the law, but said if it wasn't handled right, the roof would cave in on everyone. We both agreed that the boys had built a program lor over 50 years and thal the girls couldn't start something over night. Title IX. in nty opinion, has its good and bad points. A quality and competitive girl's sports league I am for. but when it begins to phase out other long and standing boys sports. I am totally against it and so is every other mens and most women coaches A slow and steady climb for girls sports is the only fair and justifiable way it can bo achieved What Title IX involves This new law, with its final regulations becoming effective on July 21, l!)75, involves several topics. Health Education, Physical Education, Cheerleaders, Pep Clubs, Marching Pints. Inlerschool Competitive Sports, Intramural sports, t Title IX goes about to state that necessarv funds must b provided lor both competitive programs, however ncithc equa! aggregate nm equal per capita expenditure for bovV girls teams is required The requirements of the compehtiv sport or activity and the numbers involved have much tori with the cost ol the given sport The rule to follow is to nice the needs and interests of studcn's iriegardless ol sex V adequate expenditures for the competitive spors pn,r.. ill tile schools The new law il passed in Region lwo also .states lint th. general rule is thal coaches, teachers, trains s etc., must receive equal pay lor equal time TheMipervisors past nn, tiers ol differential pay by sex o, t) sporl ls now questioned by the Olhce ol c,v,l Rights Knlorcon.cn Division ,n Denver The latest that pav mav be base, on time spent and or the nun. be, ot sp, K coa'ched Th, factors such as pressure. n,a,or versus , spectator sports versus non spectator spoils etc ' acceptable criteria for dilleienu.x in pay Coach Margo Jones. Clearl, eld's volleyball, basketball and track coach, was mentioned Iasi week as a likelv plicant lor a coaching position at Wiber State Condi I has y et to apply though, but still looks to he a g,H She is a good Iriend to Coach Joy Wood .,! Weber Stale "'d her feelings are mixed over applying for the job Coach Jones does have feelings on Title I ,nd she that ,1 could blow up in everyone s tace ,1 ,t ,s I hnnrileri light It has. been stated in the past that non con.pl,;,,,,.,. ttllt Idle IX carriers with it the potential to,- oSS o u lunds in all areas. One non complying sdl(10 may jeopardize all the ledeial funds the distnei , Jllst those associated with a given school Think about it for a minute, what can all o this be 111 year. During his mission to the east, Thompson dreamed of playing collegge baseball somewhere and traveling all over the country, having the school pay for your travel and room and board. Now it was becoming a reality. He worked dilligently to qualify for the team. The first road trip they made, was to Las Vegas and California, other members of the team included Roger Reid, Clearfields head basketball coach; Steve Gardner, Bonnevilles head baseball coach; Ray Meibos, now an assistant to the Davis Darts and many other local present day coaches, as a sophomore, the team went above .5000 but failed to make the playoffs. He hit .310 his first year back. Win Big Sky Championship Coach Thompsons junior year with the Wildcats was the most rewarding baseball year he has enjoyed to this point. The team stung the conference and won the Big Sky Championship, with propotential players like Reid and Gardner, the team was hard to beat, thompson played ferst base and was a starter in many games. The team advanced Jo the regional playoffs in Denver, the first night of action, Wever played five innings of a game with Denver before it was called because of rain. Play resumed the following day and it was the most rewarding day in baseball for Coach Thompson. It was described as a miraclew by many local papers as the team played from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. All straight through hours of baseball. In that span, Weber won three games and won the regional championship. They beat Denver Colorado State 5 and Denver again He had 14 at bats in just one day of action. 7-- 21-1- 4-- He had his worst hitting year as a junior but he will always remember the celebration after winning the regional. They threw the coach in the swimming pool and were rather elated. Coach Williams retired after that successful year and Blaine Sylvester took over from that point on. His senior season, Weber took second in the league. After Coach Thompson graduated from Weber State, he stuck around for another season and student-coache- d with Coach Sylvester. It was an important year for me in gaining valuable experience. we won the championship again that season and went back to Colorado but got beat, said foach Thompson. Bees win , too'. "ling 4-- A all-sta- rs . 6-- 5 Box Elder whacks Royals Box Elder gained a valuable Region One decision over Roy last Friday to league pad their lead in the nitty-grittwin and race. The Bees recorded a many still wonder how the Royals let this one slip away from them. y 6-- 5 , ' Williams Gave Thompson Start Coach Thompson admits that Coach Williams, his Weber State mentor, was the most instrumental in keeping his interest high in baseball as a youth. He suggested that I try out and he gave me confidence. He was the kind of guy who would not give up on you as long as you were willing to burn your guts trying, the guy in front of me wasnt hitting too well and neither was I. Still he kept giving us chances. It was playing under Coach Williams, that I decided I wanted to coach for a living. Coach Thompson has strong feelings toward the sport of baseball, and feels you cant fool high schools, they recognize if youre trying to sell your program and they act accordingly. Baseball is not a minor sport and it takes all the skill in the world, too many still think that baseball is minor. I could be out there all day on the diamond and so could a lot of others. Baseball is the sport of the spring and you cant put that past any good fan,' stated Coach Thompson, we have good oaches here in Region One and they are the ones along with others who have made baseball what it is today. They have been concerned enough and because of this concern, we have state tournaments where the entire group can play together for a week, just like basketball and football at the U of U. Now we can play in a beautiful park, a clean cut infield, and even have fopcorn sold in the stands. That means a lot to me and will someday mean a lot to the kids who played in the tournaments. Thompson will coach All Stars Roys Thompson has been selected to coach the all-stNorth in the annual North-Sout- h game that is going to be played on June 7 at John Affleck Park in Ogden. You cant beat high school baseball for more thrilling experiences. On a good sun shining day, the setting cant be beat, said Coach Thompson. He is presently working with the 12 other coaches in Region One and Region Tvo to team. try and select an all-stAfter graduating in 1970, Coach Thompson applied at T.H. Bell for a head coaching job in football and baseball. I really enjoy any sport that is in season. In football you get more of a chance to coach the kids while in basketball you just sort of let them go, stated Thompson. While at T.H. Bell, Coach Thompson guided two teams to Weber County baseball championships and had a 16-- 2 record in 3 years of coaching baseball. The only year Thompson didnt win the crown was the season that Roy Junior claimed the title with the same players that he is coaching at this time. Those were 3 really enjoyable years with T.H. Bell. But even before I applied at the junior highs, I really wanted to coach in high school. I applied at Roy High my first year at Bell and kept in constant touch with Dr. White. Every chance I would get. Id run over to Roy adn ask how things were going. Finally a job opening arose with the Royals three years ago and Coach Thompson was given jobs as an assistant infootballand baseball. Only last year did he take oyer as head coach of the Royals. Its been a good experience for me to come into winning traditions and work under excellent coaches like Ernest Jacklin and Ted Smith. The past two years, Coach Thompson has has acted as a defensive coordinator with the Royal defense and has worked under Coach Smith is helping with sophomore basketball team. He recorded a 17-- 1 record on the cage court with the Royal first year cagers this past season. We had an excellent cross-sectio- n of good speed, good size, and excellent quickness this past football season. To top it off, we had a barrel full of good kids. On the cage court, I really have all the respect in the world for Coach Smith and the job he has done with the Royals. Coach Thompson went on to say that a big portion of Roys success has come from the Roy Recreation program and their leader, Frank Tremea. He was quick to say that Roy has two excellent junior highs and some excellent coaches to top that off. Taking on this season, Coach Thompson declares that this 1976 team is as good as any team in the league. He sayd that his team members have got to be on their toes in every minute of every ball game. It takes 20 kids out there not just the nine who start. One point that I try to instill into my teams is that they must learn to leave opposing players and umpires alone from negative comments and outbursts. I have tried to cut most of tis out of my teams in the past. You need kids to worry about playing their guts out, not yelling at umpSres. And again I see a team that is more prepared to win from practices as the team to beat. Those that are prepared on the practice field are the winning teams. A key thing I learned in junior high was that once you make a team mad by yelling bad comments or leaving bad impressions, they are bound to beat the next few times you meet. It always happens. Thompson proposes to good friend While playing a softball game on fourth street at one time, Coach Thompson met his future wife. They had gone to junior high and high school together and never dated once. They were married in August of 1970 befor ecoach Thompson went to Europe. Now the family has two children, Erik and Jennifer. Coach Thompson spends ample time playing softball during the summer months. He plays with a good amateur softball team that is funded by Shaw Construction. (Part 2 of this featured head coach will appear in next week's Sun Chronicle issue.) and at two difRoy was up ferent times in the contest. However, the Box Elder team must have been 0 3-- 1 aware that Coach Fred Thompson had never pulled out a victory over them and they did their best to keep the our speed has spoken tor itself in past record clean. games. Lack of plate power or in other words, . Coach Thompson went on to point out the lack of hitting caused the Royals to that Clearfield was leading Region Two lose. "You need hits to win baseball because they were hitting torridly. The said Coach Thompson. Falcons as games, a team were batting .320 as Teams that are hitting well are of last Tuesday. leading the leagues and Box Elder got Only two Roy High batters are hitting hits when they needed them. The thing over .300, Claude Payne, Orlando that has been keeping us in this race and Jimmy McMahon lead has been some steady defense and some Gallegos Roy in batting averages with .466, .333, good pitching every now and then. Even and .316 marks, respectively. ; |