Kent Miskin, you need to apologize.

http://www.challismessenger.com/index.php?accnum=story-7-20080117

Mr. fireman himself, Kent Miskin of Terreton Idaho wrote the letter to the editor in the link above.

First, I haven't seen Challis play in about 5 years and even then I saw a girls JV game (maybe C-Team) as it was the only game going on at the time. I know the boys' basketball coach but haven't seen her or actually talked to her in about 15 years. I did listen to the boys team though.

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Kent, while I realize you are a fireman -- thanks for your service -- based on googling you; it is apparent that your arrogance should stay within the little fire-department/region deal you have going on there. Your letter is ignorant of the facts and blatant slander against a person you do not even know.

The Challis basketball team's coach did not "humiliate, embarrass, degrade or tear down her team." It's too bad you haven't lived long enough to see true championship teams being built from the ground up...as you state you haven't seen anything "in your life." Push-ups are not unheard of. It happened 3 times in my career and I remember every single play, every name of the members of the other team I had to watch for and every play set I was supposed to stop. It has been many years, but that's the point: To remember. We took championships all three of those years including an undefeated season.

I've seen girls teams doing push-ups during the quarter, boys teams doing push-ups before games, during the games, at half-time and after the game, all for various reasons. There have been a lot of jumping-jacks, wall-sits, crunches and sit-ups and a few guys sitting on the bench with their hands up because they constantly forget. It's called strategy and there isn't anything wrong with it; especially in this case. I've even seen the technique while coaching college basketball. Kent Miskin, you need to get out more. I've played in almost 800 refereed games, and coached hundreds more in the past 25 years. You've obviously only seen or been around a few in a single area, for very small towns and very few, if any, have been championship teams or have had the chance to be championship teams.

It's also apparent that you really don't remember basketball practices, half-time speeches, quarter speeches...maybe you don't remember much about your coaches at all. They repeat themselves incessantly. She didn't need to tell them what to do again, she didn't need to help; she couldn't. She can only talk for so long. The boys had decided push-ups were the way to go and that's what they did. I'd like to point out that West Jefferson was winning and you yourself say that basketball isn't Challis' strongest sport this year...yet you only scored 4 times that quarter and even one of those was a last second give-me. Something was working (even if it was against West Jefferson's bench and with the final score being 45-92 no starters should have been playing at all). The kids knew it, the coach knew it and in due time most the fans knew it. Odd how you were left out...maybe it was because you didn't need to know? It was definitely because no one needs to ask you and no one who knows what actually happened cares what you think.

As for your claim about being relaxed and on and on…how about being acutely focused and using muscle memory to return to the basics. If push-ups are used in practice the memory is there. You may be right about working people in your little world needing to be relaxed but these are teenage boys. A cute blonde in the stands is enough to throw them for a loop.

While I think that Challis' basketball coach is enough of an adult to ignore you, you really need to apologize to the Challis basketball team, to the town and the administration (that you so craftily drug into your letter as if to add to your imagined backlash against the coach that was going to take place). You can't attack their coach without attacking them. Maybe you'll take the time to get educated next time you see the Challis team and talk to the players and find out for yourself. Be sure to tell them your name is Kent Miskin of Terreton Idaho with the West Jefferson basketball team. I'd leave out the fireman part...you'll embarrass your co-workers.

It's completely inappropriate for ignorant people to call a coach out in a letter to the editor in her home town. Kent Miskin of Terreton Idaho, you're published on the world wide web twice now, once as being an uninformed narcissist who thinks his opinion matters and once for being rebuked by someone who is sick of idiots like you thinking that you and your opinion matter. Go put out fires and stop trying to start them.

And fireman Kent, no one wants brownie points...it's testosterone filled basketball, not the girl scouts. Is that statement because the coach is a woman? Shame on you.

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02-05-08