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John Kitna Resigns at Lincoln High
DonaldJones
Member Posts: 70
I hate to see John Kitna Leave the area but that Man poured his heart and soul in that community and school. You could only do so much before sooner or later things begin to take its toll. I wish there was was more support for him and his staff. Hopefully they will be able to bring someone to keep things rolling.
Comments
I don't get how he couldn't keep it going. He had his son at QB for two more years and it wa becoming the destination spot for Tacoma area football players that didn't attend Bellarmine.
He did a ton for Lincoln, but he should be honest about leaving. Enough with the bullshit about The Lord telling him to take the new job in Texas. Tell the truth that it pays more, it has better support, and that it's better for his son to play in Texas. Not to mention it's a higher level down there and he wants a new challenge.
IMO, there's just not a comparison between Texas HS football and Washington HS football. In Washington, there's a lot of men amongst boys that you see. Not the case in Texas.
(1) “The dream would be to stay here, the comfortable thing would have been to stay here, the ideal thing would have been to stay here..."
(2) “It’s really hard to ask coaches to put in 25-30 hours a week after they work a 40-hour-a-week job,”
(3) "If you just want to show up for practice, OK, we’ll go through our two-hour practice and show up on Friday...We would be mediocre...I can’t stand average. I want to be able to compete at the highest level. I just don’t think we could sustain it as is, as it is currently constructed.”
(4) “If it was sustainable, we wouldn’t be having this conversation,”
(5) “Jordan (son/QB) was very involved in this decision. He had the most to give up. He’s brothers with these guys. … It’s a tough deal. I wish it was one year later..."
(6) “I wish I could stay here forever. But it’s not the reality...We invested a lot of time and energy and resources into these three years and it was wildly successful beyond anybody’s beliefs and dreams..."
And what if you're right...what if he did make a mistake and underestimated the challenge? What's so wrong about him changing his mind and his career? And isn't it a noble thing that he's taking folks with him and being loyal to them and helping someone else reap the benefits of his promotion?
I am also curious why assistant salaries is now an issue. Kitna had to donate a lot of money to get new uniforms and a weight room. He knows Lincoln has no money and is a run down school. Even the schools with money, such as Bellarmine, are paying the assistants peanuts. Only the top assistants get paid anything at all. My cousin is a coach on that staff and easily puts in 20+ hours a week for nothing but the opportunity.
The assistant coaches at Curtis, Lakes, Wilson, Foss, etc aren't making money either. Kitna says he would stay forever if it was sustainable, but I don't get why he thought it would be any different three years later? He's a smart guy. He didn't think, "Well maybe in a few years once we get going, we will have a lot more money for the assistants. Where was this money going to suddenly come from? Lincoln is a run down public school. Wasn't this always part of the challenge and why people were rooting so hard for Kitna? This was always going to be an issue and it was known from day one. High school assistant coaches don't make much money in Washington. Everyone knows this.
A quote from Kitna from the News Tribune:
“The dream would be to stay here, the comfortable thing would have been to stay here, the ideal thing would have been to stay here. But where God is leading me, I have to follow, and I’ve always said that.”
I know Kitna is a very openly religious man, but come on. Did God tell him he was no longer needed at Lincoln? What if an NFL team offered Urban Meyer $12 million and he said he left Ohio State because he always follows God?
Anyways, Kitna is a great coach. I do wish he was staying to become a legend in the town and he did a ton of good for Lincoln and the community. I completely understand why he was leaving. He had a lot of pressure on him at Lincoln to be the savior and I would imagine he's looking forward to being more of a football coach and less of an idol. It is also easier and more feasible to be a national program in Texas than at Lincoln. I wish him well in Texas and look forward to following his career.
He was not only a coach but like a father that had provide the bare necessities for those kids. I saw it first hand when i visited him last summer. Oh yea, half of them couldn't even read and write when he got there so include the title Teacher in addition to Coach and Father.
Plus you don't know what's going on in the Man's household. He has his own family with young kids. Reading between the lines it seems it was beginning to take it's toll on the people around him. So at the end of day you have put your family first and If God told him to that neither you or I have the right to judge.
My Kitna story:
I heard him speak back in the day when he was QB in Seattle. He told us that god told him that the Seahawks would win the Superbowl that year. He insisted that god spoke to him. We laughed in his face.
If I remember correctly, he and Huard battled all year for the job and they didn't even make the playoffs.
Either god trolled the shit out of him, or Kitna's a compulsive liar.
Perspective and life choices come into play. You have no idea the challenges put forth in areas of poverty, irresponsible parents and brutal home life.
If you are a multi millionaire and you have lived in a bubble and then you attempt the noble thing by doing good in the community imagine trying to keep the proper mindset each and everyday to do so.
Look at the coach in the documentary Undefeated. He bailed. Look at the what he went through with his family life.
If he feels God lead him to Texas, then by golly go to Texas.
I applaud John's efforts for trying and I don't pretend to know all the details of his decision but just say I want to go to Texas for a better situation.
I know this is tug tavern stuff but god cards are unacceptable.