To start or not to start, that was the question head coach Don Morel had to ask himself (or at least that is what most of the campus thought) about sophomore quarterback Ryan Hawkins after a mishap at Saturday’s game against Menlo that left Hawkins out of most of the game.
“It was a bad read on a play and I overreacted. I was upset and in the heat of the competition I said things that I shouldn’t have. I was definitely in the wrong,” said Hawkins.
“I took my helmet off and started pouting and he [Morel] said ‘then you’re done'”
Hawkins did not leave the field but was benched as sophomore James Free played for the remainder of the game. The next day, the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin reported on the incident and most of the campus buzzed on the happenings.
“I called him (Morel) on Monday and asked him what he wanted me to do, and he said, ‘Don’t you think we should talk?’ So, before practice, we met and he was really cool about it. He said he didn’t hold anything against me,” said Hawkins.
As it turns out, all came out well among the two parties. Although the apologies were made and the disagreement was resolved, the fact of the matter is that in the process of all this “things were blown way out of proportion,” as both Hawkins and Morel stated.
Hawkins was not just taken out of the game because of what he allegedly said, but because “he was struggling and needed to sit down for a bit and because of it he will be a better player,” said Morel.
Respect is the one thing a coach can hope to get from his athletes. You can pray for talent, and practice for skill, but when it comes to the basic prerequisite of respect, nothing can be substituted. Many people jumped to the conclusion that Hawkins’ overreaction was let slide because of circumstances. For example, did Hawkins get a second chance because he was the starting quarterback for the last home game of the season?
In life, you are hardly ever given a second chance by a boss and a coach is in almost every respect a boss with the athlete being the employee. When the big boss decides to sweep the problem under the rug, the employee better make sure it does not happen again.
Echelle Avelar, a sophomore journalism major, is sports editor of the Campus Times. She can be reached by e-mail at avelare@ulvacs.ulaverne.edu.
