I haven't a single thread of sympathy for you, D.J.

Anyone who has a college education and still can't properly use punctuation in their writing, should really rethink the time they have spent. I understand that sometimes typos happen. I even understand that one person can't be expected to know everything, but you would think that someone who's a role model, a coach, a mentor for these students, these athletes, would at least have the decency to learn how to use the English language better.

Don't get me wrong, I feel your pain. You're coaching a bunch of kids who are out for the free ride. Dreamers, not performers, are when you're dealing with. These students don't give a crap about you, about the program. They think because they could hustle any fat kid at their local courts, they could play college ball. They can't even play crappy college ball. They have no discipline, no goals. All they have is the afternoon practices, showing off who can dunk better and make the longer shot.

Frankly, if you want to shape these kids up, make their lives a challenge. Make it tough for them to play anything but the bench. The ones that will want to play will meet your demands. But don't give up, that's only going to make you seem more like them. If the coach quits, then they might as well too.

Also, you ended a sentence with a preposition.

"Dreamers, not performers, are when you're dealing with"

DJ,
Yep. Welcome back home. Too bad you didn't get those promises in writing before you crossed the City Limit sign. Maybe the College office doesn't have a Fax machine yet. I'd type one descriptive sentence about this "town" if I could. But, I am not allowed to as it would be considered "profane" and I would be banned. Instead I'll just say to you - B.O.H.I.C.A. If you get my drift. So, good luck in your search for employment here. I must also say that I have not been blogging here too much because this site seems to have become a place for every religion touting,political know it all,racial slur throwing orator and grammar monitor in the entire U.S.A. DJ, I truly hope in spite of what has happened since you returned home doesn't end up causing you to define your ability as a Coach in a negative manner. It's them, not YOU. Good luck man. Happy Holidays to you and yours. Better and Bigger things are waiting for you.

Dear Coach Thomas,
I'm sorry that you were let go from Rainy River. I am currently a student there and though I never actually met you, you seemed like a nice person. I thought it was a raw deal the way you were let go...but didn't get the full story until reading your blogs. I thought you should know, all of the team members that I talked to liked you and your coaching style very much, and had only good things to say about you. They liked the way you challenged them and helped them improve. All of the b-ballers that I was friends with were upset when you were fired. Even though you didn't get the chance to finish the season, your coaching made a good impression on them, and I'm sure they learned a lot from you. I'm sorry that you received the welcome that you did, both at the college and on this blog. It upsets me to see people so close minded as to get angry and rude to someone who is obviously so excited to come back to this town. It was an honor to go to school with you, for the little bit that I did, and I wish you well at your next coaching job. I'm sure someone will recognize the talent you have.