The Poosey Digest: Not a bad record

Greetings from Poosey.

Ed Barnes was probably the most legendary basketball coach in our little town’s history. Born in Poosey, raised here, then returned as a fresh-faced 21-year first-year teacher and never left until he retired. Ed taught the sons and even the grandsons of his former players and he’d mastered the difficult art of producing a pretty good ball club whether he had the talent that year or not. A good coach and a fine guy.

But the player that filled him with the most pride was his own son, Bobby. Bobby not only broke his own dad’s scoring records but he went on to become a coach in his own right. In fact, four of Ed Barnes’ players followed his lead and joined the ranks of high school basketball coaches. At one time back in the 1980’s Ed coached against three of his former players in a single season, including Bobby.

Bobby’s team beat Poosey that year. The other two former players beat him. In fact, most other teams gave the Poosey Carps a good stomping that season.

Ed spent an entire basketball season listening to such lines as "Well, I guess you coached ‘em too good, Ed!" "They must have learned all your secrets!" and "Don’t you wish you’d have benched those boys back when you had ‘em on the team?" Ed laughed about it, proudly crossing the scorer’s table after each game and congratulating his former players, but those who knew Ed best were aware that losing wasn’t on his top 10 list of favorite pastime activities. It bothered Ed. He secretly wondered if maybe he was slipping.

I often think of our renowned coach when I watch the nightly news.

It’s getting to be a bothersome world – the power structures of the Middle East being set on their collective ears by the new wave of democratic reform, America’s dominance of world influence dwindling as formerly second world nations are on the ascendancy, China is now the largest consumer of automobiles. Maybe it’s time to take a clue from an old coach and ask ourselves a question: Just who taught the rest of the world these things"

Who’s been the leading exporter of democratic ideals? What nation has taught the rest of the world how to not only thrive with a system of relatively free capitalism but consume enough to keep a free economy pumping? We have coached the world well and now we lose an occasional match.

After Ed retired he hooked up with a local university and started conducting coaching clinics. He found that his most valuable talent was not in day to day routine of coach, but coming up with ideas about how to win. He was an idea factory. The U.S. still holds claim to such a title. It’s been the combustive combination of innovative ideas and a society free enough to promote them that made the 20th century ours. There’s not another nation in the world that has that blend… yet. Many nations are now clamoring for democracy, but few have the resources to make themselves a real power. China will never be able to completely stand on its own as long as it depends on other freer nations to provide an atmosphere where a young man or woman is free to dream, plan, and live without fear of censor. The U.S. remains the one nation in the world where creativity remains relatively unhindered and where the resources are abundant.

Of course, like a team that becomes lazy in the fourth quarter, we can blow that lead in a minute. Just a few lapses in funding education, a few more restrictions on the number of talented immigrants who are allowed to study and stay with us, a few seasons of politicians more concerned with their future than the team’s, and we won’t even make it to the overtime.

I went to Ed’s funeral and it was interesting. Many of his former ballplayers were there and a half dozen got up to speak when the preacher opened the floor to anyone with a memory or story to share.

There was hardly a man who rose to speak about the win/loss records.

Not a single score was quoted all day long. Every former player (and one cheerleader) spoke instead of Ed’s character – the way he put his arm around a boy who’d missed the decisive shot and personally walked him to the locker after the game, the way a kid without the cash for a class ring would mysteriously have the money show up in his locker, of the way Ed would do anything to keep from running up the score on a weak opponent. It was Ed’s character, not his record, that had a lasting influence upon the rest of his world.

Not a bad record for any coach – or any nation.

You ever in Poosey, stop by. We may not answer the door but you’ll enjoy the trip.