Archive [February 1999]

 

 

 

After the Richmond (Calif.) High School coach padlocked the gym door and put the benches in the library when his winning team did not meet his academic standards, there was a huge public controversy. I was honored that the coach agreed to an interview — one of the most inspiring I have ever experienced:

Rush: Hey, Coach!

Carter: Yes, sir.

Rush: Thank you for carving a little bit of time out for us here. I know you’ve got to be just jammed with all these requests. So we appreciate it.

Carter: Sir, like I say, if it’s for our kids, everything is worth it.

Rush: Well, that’s an interesting philosophy. “If it’s for the kids, everything is worth it.” What do you do? Is it correct what I’ve read, that you’re only a part-time coach?

Carter: Yes, sir. I’m self-employed.

Rush: Doing what? 

Carter: My family owns a sporting goods store, sir.

Rush: So you’ve had a lifelong interest in sports?

Carter: Yes, sir.

Rush: Participated in it yourself?

Carter: Yes, sir.

Rush: And do you think you’ve learned a lot of life lessons as a participant in sports?

Carter: Yes, sir. Sports taught me how to compete on the court, and taught me how to compete, sir, in life. Sports and life run parallel with one another.

Rush: What sports did you play?

Carter: Basketball. I’m an alumnus of Richmond High School, sir. I’m the all-time leading scorer at our school.

Rush: No kidding! Is it unusual in California, or in this school district, for the head basketball coach to be part-time?

Carter: Normally, yes it is. Mostly the coaches are staff people. On campus.

Rush: They’re teachers, and they teach courses such as Phys Ed.

Carter: Yes, sir.

Rush: Well, my guess is that you’re pretty surprised by all this attention.

Carter: Yes, I am, sir.

Rush: You had the California governor at the game last night. You’ve been on “The Today Show.” I think my readers would love to know why you are surprised at the reaction to your decision to bench your winning team because some of the players are not performing up to your standards. Why are you surprised?

Carter: Well, our kids are like all young men. And they just weren’t performing like I know they could. We had signed a contract, and the contract basically covered their conduct, their homework, their classwork, their test scores, and their class participation. If the kids are doing those things right, we know their grades are going to be decent.

Rush: The grades are what’s important to you?

Carter: Yes, sir. Our young men, sir, playing on this team, may be focused on basketball. But if you look at the statistics, I think it’s one in every 500,000 people get a chance to play professional sports. I don’t like those odds for our kids.

Rush: No, they’re not good odds. And I’ll tell you what impressed me, Coach, about what you did. You had this state requirement that they maintain a 2.0 grade point average. But you got with them and said, “I think you guys can do a 2.3. I think you can do better than average.” What made you select the 2.3?

Carter: Well, sir, average is just not good enough. Period. And I think you constantly have to be working towards raising the bar. I tell our kids all the time: “If you get one percent better a day, within 100 days you’re 100 percent better.” It’s just a real simple philosophy, sir.

Rush: And obviously these kids bought into it.

Carter: Yes, sir. And our kids love and respect me, and our kids know that I love and respect them. So it’s mutual respect on both sides.

Rush: When you say that average is just average, and everybody can be better than average, do you have a philosophy that says kids need to be pushed, they need to be shown what they’re capable of — because left alone they may not discover it?

Carter: Yes, sir. And you know, in every young man or young lady’s life, there need to be mentors, and they need to see it. I believe if you see it, you can be it. Last night the governor came to our game. And everybody was talking about the basketball team, the basketball team — “Can these young men be professional basketball players?” And I told the governor, “Governor, now that we get a chance to see you — maybe one of our athletes may become governor one day.”

Rush: Right! Rather than always having the NBA as the focus, maybe he can inspire them to want to do what he does.

Carter: Yes, sir. It’s okay to be like Michael Jordan, but it’s also okay to be like the person who pays him.

Rush: Let me tell you how I first heard about you, Coach. I was just hosting my program, and I got a call from somebody who had seen you on “The Today Show.” He got the details wrong. He explained things to me incorrectly. But he was critical of what you had done, because he thought you were “punishing” the whole team when only a few had failed to meet the standards. Now I instinctively disagreed with him, and supported what you were doing, because of an experience I had playing high school football. Are you surprised that your approach is so controversial? And what about the kids who were performing up to your standards? Were they resentful of you at all for punishing them by locking the gym?

 

 

Carter: First of all, let’s put this in context. Our team is rated number two in Northern California, sir. And we’re off to our best start in the school’s history. So when our kids were not performing like they could in the classroom and as young men, but they were performing on the court, I decided to take the court away from them. What I’m saying to you is this. What you do a lot of, you do well. And what you do well, you do a lot of. So we took those ten hours that we would normally practice that week, and spent those ten hours in the library with tutors and the other coaches. These young men did their homework, and the players who were attending class and turning in all their homework and whose test scores were good, sir, were helping the ones who didn’t. It directly affected me, because my son is a starting point guard on our basketball team.

Rush: Was he doing better than the 2.0?

Carter: Yes. My son has a 3.7.

Rush: So he had to sit down like everybody else.

Carter: Yes, sir. I could have been a selfish parent and said, “Listen, my kid is doing well, forget everybody else.” But I didn’t take this job for that. I took the job because I thought I could show these young men a way that they could be productive in their lives.

Rush: Let me very briefly give you my high school football story, so as to illustrate why I instinctively agreed with what you did. I was a sophomore, and I was on the “Kamikaze Squad.” We went up against the varsity on certain days of the week. I was 16; those guys were 17, 18. They were bigger than I was. I was an offensive tackle. And on this particular day, the defensive tackle opposite me was knocking me on my butt. The coach blew a whistle, walked up to this guy, whispered something in his ear, blew the whistle again, and this guy fired out at me like he hadn’t all day, and knocked me ten feet back. The coach blew the whistle, stopped practice, and said because I wasn’t performing, the whole team — this was 40 guys — had to run ten minutes of sprints right in the middle of practice. Well, the whole team saw to it that I started doing my job right after that, so that they wouldn’t be punished for my lackadaisical play.

Carter: Okay.

Rush: They got mad at me, and it was somewhat intimidating. But boy, it taught me a lot, too, and it made me a better player. I’m sure that’s what you were trying to do with the people who were excelling in classroom. You were trying to get them to share their experiences with those who weren’t.

Carter: Yes, sir. Basically it was this, sir. We have won 14 basketball games as a team. We’re family. I’m family oriented. I come from a family of nine — I have seven sisters. I have a simple concept. Our plays on our team are named after my seven sisters. So everything I do is just real simple, sir.

Rush: Can you give an example?

Carter: Well, our defensive seven fits the personalities of my sisters. I have a sister named Cookie. Cookie will get in your face at all times and let you know: “I am in the room!” So we named the defense “Cookie.” We have another defense called “Debra.” She’s a homebody, takes care of her kids, is a super mom. So when we want to stay at home and be patient, and make the other team make mistakes, we run “Debra.” So when I call out my sisters’ names, our kids instinctively know what to do.

Rush: Now is this a close-knit community? Do they know your sisters? Do they know the people personally that these defenses have been named after?

Carter: The players know. And the fans will be calling out their names in the stands — “You need to bring in Cookie! You need to bring in Diane!” And my sisters come to the game.

Rush: This is tremendous. The reason I wanted to talk to you, Coach, and I’m not blowing smoke, I’m telling you the honest-to-God truth: What you do with your coaching and life philosophy is exactly what I try to do on my radio program and in my newsletter all the time. I try to devote my public life to excellence — the pursuit of it, the people who teach it and inspire it, and the people who aren’t afraid of it. And that’s really what your story is all about. It’s what your philosophy is. You’re inspirational. You motivate. You’re all about excellence. And you’re not afraid to tell people that they have what it takes to try to be excellent. But yet there are parents out there who all too frequently get in coaches’ ways, be it in Little League, high school, whatever. Did you have any trouble with parents when you padlocked that gym?

Carter: Yes, sir. A couple. Several of our players probably will be playing at the next level, in college. So a couple of parents were confounded: “Well, if we’re not playing, maybe my kid will not receive this athletic scholarship.” And I said one thing to them. I said: “If they don’t go to school, they won’t get one anyway.”

Rush: Did it work?

Carter: It worked. It was simple.

Rush: Was it really? I know parents. Did they really see it your way so quickly?

Carter: No, not that quickly. But like I said, once people stood back and really analyzed what I was trying to do — see, it was not a punishment.

 

 

Rush: Right.

Carter: That’s what everybody keeps saying: I punished the kids. I’ve never punished the kids. No. We have three levels of basketball. We have the varsity, junior varsity, and freshman basketball team. We’re a family.

Rush: You coach them all?

Carter: No, sir. I only coach the varsity. But I’m the head coach, and I oversee that program.

Rush: Oh, okay. I see.

Carter: The district gave me the head job to oversee that program. So when our freshmen are not performing, I talk to everybody. We all hurt. And what happened, sir, is I canceled all those practices and all basketball-related activities for that week, so we could concentrate on being a good student, being a good person, and overall just getting back on track. Because they had started establishing bad habits. So what we wanted to do was remind them. We wanted to replace the bad habits with good habits. That was my only goal, sir.

Rush: You are not afraid of really pushing them?

Carter: No, sir.

Rush: Why don’t you worry about that?

Carter: Because I know these young men. When I selected my basketball team, sir, I looked for young men with character. Now, there are better basketball players on our campus, but I chose the kids with character.

Rush: Character! Now, I don’t want to go overboard here, but I’m having a little bit of trouble containing myself. The more I hear, the more amazed I am. Now, you proposed that the players sign a contract at the beginning of the season. Why did you want to do that? And did you have any trouble with the administration in trying to get that done?

Carter: No, sir. Because we sat down with our kids. It’s not just something I had. Our kids had input on our contract also. They decided they wanted to raise the bar. I told them, “Look, I think you guys are special. And I think we can do this as a team.” Then they raised the bar themselves. And the governor came in, at our game last night, and raised the bar even higher.

Rush: What did he do?

Carter: He wanted to challenge us to raise our grade point average to a 2.8 at the end of the year. He made it a personal challenge.

Rush: Did you welcome that?

Carter: Yes, sir. Our kids welcomed it. But I don’t have the resources, nor the talent, sir, to sit there and monitor those kids. Because I have to make a living, you know? I need help from someone who has that expertise, because I’m not an educator per se.

Rush: Oh, yes, you are. You may not say you are, but you are.

Carter: Okay. What I’m saying is, the governor raised the bar, but we need resources to get to that level, and I don’t know if we can accomplish it that quickly. But we’re going to give it a try, sir.

Rush: What do you need?

Carter: We need tutors. We need mentors for our young men. I don’t know if they have fathers in their homes. Over 50 percent I know don’t have male figures in their homes.

Rush: But we can assume from what we know already that these kids are not routinely in trouble.

Carter: That’s right, sir. But still, Richmond is an inner-city school. And we have inner-city problems. I’m dealing with 45 kids under my umbrella. It takes a lot of effort, sir. And you know, with a 15-, 16-, 17-year-old young man, his interests change almost daily.

Rush: Hormones change almost daily.

Carter: Yes, sir. So we’re just trying to keep those young men focused. And if someone out there in America has a better way of getting it done, hey, please let them contact me at Richmond High School. I would like to know.

Rush: A number of people who read this, I’m certain, are going to want to know what they could do to help, given that you’ve mentioned this. Are there any specifics that somebody might be able to do?

Carter: Yes, sir. Well, two things. You know, all organizations need money. If there’s somebody out there who has the ability to fundraise, I would like them to contact me. If someone has a special gift in tutoring, or some new learning technique, I need to find out about that.

Rush: Did you expect that coaching would become what it has become when you agreed to do it? Did you think that in addition to coaching basketball, you would be as deeply involved in preparing these men for life as you are?

Carter: No, sir. I didn’t have that experience growing up. It’s almost like you have to be a teacher, a parent, a psychologist.

Rush: So you saw something that needed to be done, and just rolled up your sleeves and are doing it.

Carter: Yes, sir. I’m a simple person, sir. And I wouldn’t have anybody else do something that I wouldn’t do. That’s the way I was raised. And it’s just family, sir. What I’m trying to communicate to these young men is: Listen; if you have a family base, and it is strong, a lot can happen.

Rush: They apparently love you, Coach. They listen to you and they obviously want to please you. Do most of them please you?

Carter: Yes, sir.

Rush: Are you proud of them?

Carter: Yes, sir. I’m extremely proud of them. But like I say, the governor came in and raised the bar. So now we’ve got to find people and resources to do that. So now I’m looking for help.

 

 

Rush: Because of the governor raising the bar to get them to a 2.8 average. Now to me, one of the resources might be that they have to study a little bit longer or harder. Do they not have the materials to study? Is that what they’re missing?

Carter: Sir, I’m not on campus all the time. And I’m not a teacher. So I don’t know. But it will not be from the lack of effort. Now some kids just achieve more than others academically. Some kids are just C students. And some kids are B students. Some kids will achieve more. But if it’s in them, I would like to get it out of them, sir.

Rush: And you will. That’s what amazes me. You obviously have found a way to do it. Who was it that inspired you as a young man and as a coach, and who to this day does?

Carter: It’s my family. My family is a closely-knit family. My older brother — there’s a ten year difference in our ages — was my idol. I used to pray to God when I was a little boy: “God, let me grow up one day to be like him.” So everything I needed was in our family.

Rush: You know, this is as powerful an interview as I’ve ever done in this newsletter. I want you to know that. And I appreciate your time. And I want you to be prepared, because I do think that after people read this, they’re going to reach out and try to help you. So how do people get hold of you out there?

Carter: They could call me at Richmond High School. And that number is 510-237-8770.

Rush: We’ll try not to give too many busy signals, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you do hear from some people. And we’ll stay in touch, too. It’s been a real pleasure to talk to you. It’s been a learning experience. And I must tell you, and I mean this bottom of my heart, people like me and others who are going read this are going to thank God there are people like you doing what you’re doing, caring as much as you do, and going about it the way you do. You really are a treasure, and we all wish you the best.

 

 

Carter: I Want to say this in closing, sir. My Mom, and my parents, sir, are my heroes. My family. They have nurtured me through life, and I’m still learning. If I can do anything to share that with anybody else, I will. And I would like to say one other thing. People have called me a hero, sir. But the true heroes are our boys. Our 45 kids we have in our program. Those young men are the true heroes. And I’ll know how good a coach I was, sir, ten years from now, when those young men go out in life and become good, productive people. That’s when I’ll measure if I was a good coach or not.

Rush: You’ve done a lot of interviews. Have you gotten any criticism from people that has hurt you or surprised you?

Carter: Well, sir. People are going to be people. And they’re entitled to their opinion. If they have an opinion, they can write to me about it.

Rush: As I’ve observed culture in America — and this is one of the reasons I’m so happy you’re doing what you’re doing — I run into people all the time who think that we’ve got to coddle kids, that we’re pushing them too hard. That to deny them to play basketball, to throw the padlock on that gym, and to keep them out of there, why, that’s unnecessarily cruel to these kids. Have you had anybody tell you that they think you’re doing the wrong thing?

Carter: Oh, yes, sir. It’s about 75/25.

Rush: On the plus side.

Carter: Yes. 75 percent think it’s the right thing to do. About 25 percent of the people don’t. But it’s okay.

Rush: They’re entitled to their opinion, I understand that. But I think it’s a good thing that you’re not going to listen to them, because you know what’s right, and you’re not afraid to do what’s right. So you just keep on. Don’t listen to them.

Carter: Sir, I really appreciate that. And thank you.

Rush: You’re doing the right thing. I tell you what. More people need to take a lesson from what you’re doing and raise their kids, teach their kids, or deal with people in general the way you’re dealing with these kids. That would do far more than anything any politician could ever do. People talk about grassroots and community involvement. Well, you epitomize it. You illustrate exactly what it is that makes people’s lives worthwhile. It’s people in a community who love each other, who are working for the improvement of everybody in the community, doing it personally, and not doing it for money, and not doing it for any credit. You’re just doing it because it’s the right thing to do. So, more power to you. And I hope that we’re able to take your story to hundreds of thousands of people so that they can learn from it and begin to live their lives your way. Because yours is the right way.

Carter: Thank you very much, sir.

 

You can reach Coach Ken Carter at: Richmond High School

2324 MacDonald Ave, Richmond CA 94804

E-mail: ptsports@packbell.net