Jeremy Mosier resigns as head coach at Davenport West

[adambadger]

After winning just two games in five years from 2010-2014, Jeremy Mosier has resigned as the head football coach at Davenport West Falcons in Class 4A District 8.

Record:
2014: 0-9
2013: 0-9
2012: 1-8
2011: 0-9
2010: 1-8
Final Record: 2-43.
*Note: Both of his victories were against Davenport North Wildcats.

According to Maxpreps.com, here is what I got:
Opponents have scored 1,906 points
Davenport West have scored 449 points
*11 Shutouts (meaning Falcons couldn't score)
*0 trips to the IAHSAA Class 4A State Playoffs
*They haven't made the playoffs since 1999

 

[iceland]

I can kind of understand why Davenport North struggles. They face similar poverty issues to schools like Waterloo East and DM North, they lack numbers, don't have a whole lot of parent support. I have been baffled by Dav. West the last decade or more. I know the school has gone downhill from what it was in the 70s or 80s, but it just seems like there is no reason they should be THAT bad. It's still a really big school, it isn't in bad part of town, they usually have a number of games on the schedule that aren't that tough. I know there are a number of other factors in the Davenport Public Schools, but it sure seems like West ought to be able to win 3-4 games from time to time.

 

[LukeFeddersen]

Give him credit for staying on for five years trying. He left a successful smaller school program and just couldn't turn the corner at West.

I just don't know the ceiling on what some of these public schools in Davenport can do. Central has been pretty consistent but again, with numbers and athletes wanting to play, how good can they be at their best?

 

[HaydenHawk8]

Agreed he left a successful program to try and resurrect his alma mater football program. Sadly it didn't happen. There is tons of talent walking the halls at majority of these schools, the problem is keeping them eligible and also getting them to go out in the first place.

Davenport Public schools have not had a lot to cheer about recently. Davenport Central finishes usually around .500 maybe a game or two under. The other two struggle to get wins. I think Davenport really screwed themselves when they went with 3 high schools. Spreads the talent out too far and now instead of having 1 or 2 programs, you now have 3 which makes it tougher. I don't know the solution either, but it just seems like your having success at one school, combine the other two into one program and see if it gets any better. Numbers shouldn't be an issue (West usually has around 50-60 players & North around 20-30).


Mosier was a hell of a coach and he just walked into a tough situation.

 

[ORSKY1]

Some of it is that kids want to go to winning program and get superior coaching. My wife spoke with 2 freshman, one a wrestler, the other a wrestler/football player who have applied to Bett for open enrollment. They aren't assured automatic opportunity for enrollment next year at Bett, but stated they have to qualify based on a points system. I would be in agreement with these kids as a parent. If I can get my kids into programs like Bett wrestling and football I would seek an opportunity for them to transfer. In fact if they don't qualify for open enrollment, then I would establish permanent residence. Most families don't have that opportunity I know. But I would do what it takes to get my kids a better opportunity for success. If you end up stuck at the original school with little success, its' hard to sell the benefits of team participation when you have no reasonable expectation of being able to win.

 

[EHS1505]

Originally posted by ORSKY1:

If you end up stuck at the original school with little success, its' hard to sell the benefits of team participation when you have no reasonable expectation of being able to win.

So... if you can't win... don't try?.... Seems like a great life lesson to teach our teenage kids...

 

[cidhawkeye]

What is the 'points system' that Bettendorf uses for OE?

 

[HaydenHawk8]

Originally posted by ORSKY1:

Some of it is that kids want to go to winning program and get superior coaching. My wife spoke with 2 freshman, one a wrestler, the other a wrestler/football player who have applied to Bett for open enrollment. They aren't assured automatic opportunity for enrollment next year at Bett, but stated they have to qualify based on a points system. I would be in agreement with these kids as a parent. If I can get my kids into programs like Bett wrestling and football I would seek an opportunity for them to transfer. In fact if they don't qualify for open enrollment, then I would establish permanent residence. Most families don't have that opportunity I know. But I would do what it takes to get my kids a better opportunity for success. If you end up stuck at the original school with little success, its' hard to sell the benefits of team participation when you have no reasonable expectation of being able to win.

This is an issue in the QC and its the reason why some of these public schools have not been able to get anything going. Bett, PV, NS, and other schools have had the kids open enroll into their district to play sports. So pretty much the public schools are struggling to retain kids at their schools.

I do not know an answer to fix it, but it seems to be a problem. I know there is a penalty if a student transfer to another school after their freshman year (90 days). I personally would like to see it changed to 180 days myself. I would also like to see it changed starting in 7th grade as opposed to 9th grade. If they transfer anywhere after 7th grade, they must sit an entire year. Have that student have to sit out an entire year of sports if they really want to transfer.

 

[EHS1505]

Addendum to my previous post... I'm actually not opposed to the theory of open enrolling for sports, but I don't find it acceptable to do it just because "you can't win". By all rights it seems like the Dav West coach was a GOOD coach. Coaching/academics/facilities should be what matters when determining whether to open enroll or not, otherwise we are just enabling our kids to think it's ok to just take the easiest road to success instead of working on it.

 

[ORSKY1]

Just for clarity, it's difficult to sell your kids on the benefit of team participation if they see that others are not committed to the same goal. I'll admit, if I thought my child had an opportunity for greater success, exposure and thus college interest and possibly tuition, then I would pursue that opportunity as long as the child is the one who started the conversation. There are a couple of suppositions to this statement however. Your kid must actually have the potential to grow with that successful program. Being in a program where the student can't compete athletically doesn't make any sense. If my child was at NS, Bett, Assump, or PV, I wouldn't be recommending changing schools. It they happened to be at North or West I probably would. Central for me is a coin flip. All of this is contingent also on the child being the one who initiates this conversation. I'm not interested in moving them if they are content where they are.

 

[setts1984]

while true winning programs generally put more kids into college... if your kid is good enough, the colleges will find them. Especially if yo can send them to the camps and the clinics, etc... Now, if you have a specific school in mind and some high school has a known in with a college staff... then, ok, that's a little different.

 

[On Wings of Eagles]

Well, maybe there should just be club sports or academies for the financial elites since there's no benefits to public school programs that don't do better than .500? Yes, life isn't fair so schools just have to do with what they've got including what people value in those programs. Special people (coaches) can overcome disadvantages but you don't see it happen often, hence "special" people are few and far between. A paradigm shift/change in mindset is what has to occur to have a chance. They have to be able to convince the prime candidates that there is value in their program and they have to speak the same currency... Time is a big constraint and can work for or against you.

Are there any successful inner city programs (any sport) with poor facilities and little support in major metropolitan areas around the country or is this unique to Iowa, a rural, flyover state? Sending kids from the inner city programs to academies isn't any different than those who open enroll out of an area to a private school in Iowa in my mind. Those left behind often feel they aren't important enough or valued to continue on without their best athletes/classmates. "We aren't good enough" so why try. That's a tough battle for any coach but a special person that can make connections might have a better chance. It's way too easy for most coaches to just not even apply for a position at a struggling program or to use it as a stepping stone leaving it a turnstile program. Administrators need to find a good fit and give them all the support they need to have a chance. Not easy with struggling communities in today's society that doesn't value public school programs in general. It's an all-day-long thing in and out of the classroom, home and at school.