Oakes

[footballchicken]

This topic might not last long - but what happened?

[Deuces24]

I was wondering the same exact thing. Anyone know?

[bbfever]

Was told they fired their girls head coach who was district coach of the year and had a pretty good season.

[EHS1998]

I found this on newsdakota.com. Doesnt give a lot of info but does speak to the topic.

Two Oakes Coaches Let Go By School Board
NewsDakota.com

Friday March 11

A pair of coaches at the Oakes High School were dealt a shocking blow on Tuesday afternoon after the school board met and decided to not renew their contracts for next year.

Head football coach Shawn Sagert finished his 6th season with the Tornadoes with a 3-5 record, and overall a 34-22 record.

Head girls basketball coach Mark Quenette also did not get a renewed contract. The Tornado girls team finished 3rd in the district tourney, where he was named District 1 Coach of the Year. Oakes was eliminated in the first round of the Region 1 tourney by Enderlin and finished with an 18-5 record on the year.

No prospects for the positions have been announced and nobody has been made available for comment right away. We will continue to have more as the story becomes available.

[luvmy3gbb1wr]

one of my daughters was told by an oakes gbb player that the coach did not fulfill the terms of his contract and

another said the parents didn't like him.......for what it is worth, it doesn't sound like the players are too sure about what is going on, which of course makes everyone wonder what the real story is.

[Sportsrube]

Was it just their coaching contracts that were not renewed or did they get nonrenewed as teachers too?

[Wild Wolves]

wierd
I thought Mandan made a mistake last year getting rid of Petersen. I think school boards and parent groups need to be held as accountable as they try to hold coaches. It is the hiring process that should be used to determine who you get as a coach not the season. I don't know these Oakes guys but this entire scenerio smells. Either the coaches, the board or the parent group stinks!

[EHS1998]

I have no idea about the particulars of the situation but I will say that Oakes had a very nice girls basketball team this year. 18 and 5 is a pretty good record in that District and Region. In another district, they may actually have competed for a championship. Again, there is probably much more to the story than any of us will ever know. I do know that Oakes has very high expectations for their sports programs and I think that generally is a good thing from a competitive standpoint. A school board who doesnt have aggressive goals and expectations of their coaches is usually one who doesnt often enjoy Region championships and state berths. Sure they want them but do they make the hard, tough and necessary decisions to get there? None of this is to say that sports are more important than academics, just that raising the bar is often a necessary step toward competing at a high level consistently.

[bball4]

Being a coach is difficult and pleasing everyone is nearly impossible IMO. Coaches put in a ton of hours and don't receive half the compensation they probably deserve (at least most coaches over all). It's also really easy to sit in the stands and point out what the coach should be doing (I think those are the same people who are yelling "THREE SECONDS" before the ball is even inbounded...).

I have no idea what happened. I do not personally know either of these coaches, but I did watch the Oakes girls bball team this year and last-- and I was impressed with their improvement and success this season. Great bunch of kids that worked very hard. BUT- Sometimes, it isn't about winning....

I do, however, respect the fact that the details haven't been released. At least the school board handled the situation professionally enough in that aspect and didn't put the players in a position to have to explain to everyone. "Not fulfilling his contract" is a good, safe answer for them.

[footballchicken]

Either that school board doesn't understand that this is High school athletics and not Professional - or they are doing everything they can to keep some information under the table that they do not want leaked out to the media.

[classybball]

Let's see....13 total girls out JV and Varsity combined??? No reason a school of Oakes' size should have such low numbers. So obvious there is some sort of problem. We need to be careful where we point the finger on this subject.

[EHS1998]

Let's see....13 total girls out JV and Varsity combined??? No reason a school of Oakes' size should have such low numbers. So obvious there is some sort of problem. We need to be careful where we point the finger on this subject.

Good point. And speculation is dangerous.

[Run4Fun2009]

Let's see....13 total girls out JV and Varsity combined??? No reason a school of Oakes' size should have such low numbers. So obvious there is some sort of problem. We need to be careful where we point the finger on this subject.

Good point. And speculation is dangerous.

So let's wait and see what happens. Information will get out...we just have to wait.

[Nodak Guy]

Something sounds fishy here, and I'm thinking it's the actions of the school board. I have no connection to Oakes at all, yet I took a few minutes to look at their school website in hopes of finding their meeting minutes. They aren't posted yet, but past minutes have been. According to the Feb.8th minutes, the next meeting was scheduled for March 8th at Noon. OK, so the meeting is at noon during a school day - a day in which the FB and GBB coach are both teaching and unable to attend a meeting that holds their future employment as a coach at stake? I have heard (but haven't seen it) that there was nothing on the agenda regarding athletic coaches contracts. Granted, most schools probably have a year-by-year contract so there isn't much the coaches can do, but it doesn't seem right.

A person, whether it's as a coach, teacher, aide, or bus driver should be given the right to come and answer any questions that the board might have. Think about it - we are talking about a town of 1000 people (just a guess) and it's the only school in town. It's not like we're talking about a metropolis where nobody knows each other. It's small town North Dakota where everyone shops at the same stores, fills their gas tanks at the same stations, and eat at the same restaurants after games. The board is doing something sneaky here and it's starting to reflect upon the school and the town as a whole.

I find it odd that both the FB and GBB coach were ousted in the same meeting on the same day. Is it possible that they were wanting to get rid of one coach and didn't want to make it only about one? What about the VB and BBB coaches? I don't think the VB or BBB had as much success as the GBB coach this year? I guess I don't know off the top of my head, but I don't recall them in any State Tournament. No talk about canning them in a noon meeting....sounds sneaky. FB had a down year (seems like a read 3-5), but his overall record looked good. Maybe they had some injuries this year or lost a lot to graduation, forcing the team to play people in positions that might not have suited them the best.

I'm guessing there is typical small town politics involved here, in which a few blow hards got together and talked to their best friends, who happen to be on the board. Sports is getting out of control. Coaches are putting in the time, as most sports have turned from a 3 month sport into a 12 month sport. Kids are also putting in more time than ever, and those that choose not to put in the time find their butts on the sidelines or bench. Parents are critical of every player on the team...except their own.....because their kid is perfect. Let your kids play the game, let the coaches coach their teams, and just sit back and let your kids learn the positive/negative lessons that come from sport.

Good luck to the Oakes coaches. It should be interesting to hear any explanation that they receive. Hopefully someone from Oakes can let us all know what the real story is.

[Runninganalyzer]

The football team indeed had a very key injury. Star running back Zetocha went down early in the season after rushing for about 150yds+ the first couple games and 5 picks as well they don't seem to have any problems with other coaches maybe all they want is to win 3 state championships in a row like there wrestling team has done the last 3 years

[classybball]

Just a few things I know or have looked up. First Oakes population is 2000 people.
And I took these enrollment numbers off of another post, so I can't say for certain they are actual.
Region 1- 30.1 per class

District 1- 24.9 per class

Wyndmere-Lidgerwood- 63 9-12 (L) = 15.75 pc, 97 7-12 (W) = 16.17 pc (31.9 per class)
North Sargent- 68 9-12 (17 per class)
Milnor- 104 7-12(17.3 per class)
Lisbon- 205 7-12(31.2 per class)
Oakes- 247 7-12(41.2 per class)
Hankinson- 143 7-12(23.8 per class)
Sargent Central- 96 7-12 (16 per class)
F-C-T- 61 7-12 (F), 64 7-12 (CT) (20.8 per class)

You don't see a possible coaching issue when your basketball program can only recruit 13 when you have a town population of 2000 with enrollment of 247? And just to clarify because I also went to their school website and looked, school board meetings each month are always scheduled at noon. Like I said before, we shouldn't cast stones and point fingers until we have facts.
And 13 players TOTAL is a pretty substantial FACT.As for their numbers in other athletic programs I would have to do some checking. But as a spectator of Region 1 athletics, I haven't seen a "numbers issue" with any sports team from Oakes other then their GBB and FB programs.

[Wild Wolves]

Oakes has had numbers issues in FB for over a decade I would guess.
Watched them play against Killdeer in an opening round play-off game and I think they had five coaches and five players on the sideline.

[Hinsa]

Please stop the speculation on this story. It is a very delicate situation, I am sure. When facts come out in the news, then go ahead and post them. But stop the supposing and speculating. It will only lead to the spreading of misinformation.

[footballchicken]

Spreading rumors is wrong........but speculating is so much fun

[witherspoon]

I can speculate all I want........Oakes will be in the top ten in class "b" wrestling in 2011 and 2012!!!

[EHS1998]

I can speculate all I want........Oakes will be in the top ten in class "b" wrestling in 2011 and 2012!!!

That is more fact than speculative.

[heimer]

For the person that said this was handled professionally: You have no clue. AD didn't even know. Happened at Noon the day after the regional tourney's opening round. No discussion, no letting the coach know beforehand. Underhanded as the day is long.

I'm not going to relay details, but you will soon know this involves the "good ole boys" system and a lame duck school board making moves on the way out. Wouldn't be surprised if the next board rehires these coaches....if they choose to stay.

[EHS1998]

The plot thickens. I was wondering about this, the Oakes AD is very good, something didnt seem right. Whether you agree with someone's coaching or not, everyone deserves due process and to be treated fairly. I hope they get this sorted out soon because this can't be a healthy situation for the kids.

[kboftw]

I'm not going to relay details, but you will soon know this involves the "good ole boys" system and a lame duck school board making moves on the way out.

I'm sure they were never meanin' no harm...

[ndfbfan70]

Just a few things I know or have looked up. First Oakes population is 2000 people.
And I took these enrollment numbers off of another post, so I can't say for certain they are actual.
Region 1- 30.1 per class

District 1- 24.9 per class

Wyndmere-Lidgerwood- 63 9-12 (L) = 15.75 pc, 97 7-12 (W) = 16.17 pc (31.9 per class)
North Sargent- 68 9-12 (17 per class)
Milnor- 104 7-12(17.3 per class)
Lisbon- 205 7-12(31.2 per class)
Oakes- 247 7-12(41.2 per class)
Hankinson- 143 7-12(23.8 per class)
Sargent Central- 96 7-12 (16 per class)
F-C-T- 61 7-12 (F), 64 7-12 (CT) (20.8 per class)

You don't see a possible coaching issue when your basketball program can only recruit 13 when you have a town population of 2000 with enrollment of 247? And just to clarify because I also went to their school website and looked, school board meetings each month are always scheduled at noon. Like I said before, we shouldn't cast stones and point fingers until we have facts.
And 13 players TOTAL is a pretty substantial FACT.As for their numbers in other athletic programs I would have to do some checking. But as a spectator of Region 1 athletics, I haven't seen a "numbers issue" with any sports team from Oakes other then their GBB and FB programs.

ummmm ya..... buuut their gbb team was 18-5 gbb coach was district coach of the year.
fb was down this year but still came close to the playoffs. i think 2 of the 3 years before they were beat out by a team in the state championship. i think their football coach was region COY in 2010. had to be close in the 2 previous years. we can also look at the records of the oakes fb teams before sagert got there. 3-5 would have been a wonderful yr. just sayin.....