CARDINAL WRESTLING
ALUMNI DAY
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2012
Morning:
9:00 am Alumni Registration
10:00 am Alumni Dual Meet vs. Cardinal �Young Pups�

Afternoon:
2:30 PM Alumni Golf Registration
Katy Golf Course
$40/person includes 9 holes and cart

Evening:
7:00 PM Alumni Social Hour at The Kitchen Pass

Note: If you are interested in wrestling in the Alumni Dual meet you need to contact Coach Renfro at the following:

Email: joer@labette.edu

Phone: 1-620-421-6700 extension 1026

I wish I could go play golf!

No they won't Cokeley, but you're welcome to show up and run your mouth.

pulled

Pulled

Pulled

You're backing yourself into a dark corner you don't want any part of. This is a thread about the Labette Alumni events and has nothing to do with the NEO job. Respect it!

Looks like I missed all the fireworks. Is Will coming down for the alumni? If so I will be in charge of the red carpet.

I guess I missed all the fireworks also. I posted the info on the alumni dual for all LCC alumni that might be interested in attending. I also posted the info for all those wrestling people that LOVE this great sport and have positive comments to say in support of wrestling and want to see it grow in this part of the country. Like actually adding a new program where more kids from southeast Kansas might have the opportunity to attend college and continue wrestling. I can't tolerate negativity and I am glad I didn't read the "pulled" posts. But if anyone is interested we do have an open Takedown Tournament" at LCC on Saturday, October 27. Maybe we will see some of you there. I would love to talk face to face with those that have issues with our program. See you along the wrestling tournament trail.

Mess with the Bird you get the Beak!

1982 Women's Sports Alumni

A week from today we get to see the 12/13 Cards strap em on. Hope they have a lot of alums there to make for some great matches. A week later the takedown tourney. Yep, the season finally here!

I am not concerned about any beaks and I am not being backed into a corner. I am not stupid nor am I scared of the bullying tactics some of you chose to attempt to use. Was my comment sarcastic, it was but it had a point! It is a BAD DECISION to keep Coach Renfro in his position if he is leaving for a competing entity. Now get over it and read below to understand why this is so!
It is laughable that all of the diehard alumni are jumping on me when my stance is to protect your beloved program. There have been rumors circulating throughout the Kansas wrestling community for several weeks now. The fact is that Coach Joe Renfro has verbally accepted the head coaching position at Northeastern Oklahoma JC. The fact is he has notified the legend, Jody Thompson, and the administration at Labette that these are his intentions. The rumors are that Coach Renfro has expressed his intentions to his team as well. Where there rumors get cloudy is whether or not he explicitly expressed that he would like for many of his wrestlers to follow him to NEO. Either way what these facts add up to is a prima fascia case example of conflict of interest. Coach Renfro will coach these wrestlers to best of his ability, no doubt, as he seeks another national title. There is NO question that his heart would be into winning this season. Where the conflict comes in is the future of this storied program. Will wrestlers follow him? Without a doubt! Will he be recruiting for LCC this season? I don�t see it! Knowing he will be at NEO next year puts him in an awkward position. I don�t care how great of a coach you are, and there is no doubt that he is a great coach, you cannot recruit and promote to the fullest of your capabilities for two competing programs at the same time. It is IMPOSSIBLE! I don�t know who makes the decision to keep him but it is bad business! Wrestlers will leave and he will not recruit for LCCC. This damages the program. To what extent there is no way of knowing. The right answer is to give Coach Renfro a big party, thank him for all he has done for LCC and escort him to the door with only his personal belongings. There are hundreds of coaches looking for head coaching positions. Get the best one in there PRONTO and he will have a chance to bond with the existing team and save as many wrestlers as possible and he will give 100% of his effort to winning as well as to the future of LCC wrestling. I am sure many of you have been in this situation, I know I have. A valuable employee has found greener pastures. You have options: 1) THE BEST ANSWER! Find out what he needs to stay. I assume in this case it is pay, better facilities, dorms, better scholarships to work with, or just the promise to throw some money at a National Championship program. 2) THE WRONG ANSWER! Keep him, maybe win a championship this year but throw away at least the next two or three seasons. 3) THE RIGHT ANSWER IF THE BEST CANNOT BE ACHIEVED! Thank him, celebrate his accomplishments, and wish him luck as you immediately show him the door with his box of personal belongings. After that you can cry about what has happened or you can put your energy towards finding a better coach. Honestly, the winning attitude will look at a departure as an opportunity to IMPROVE! I don�t care who you are, there is someone out there that is better.
I pulled my comment out of respect for the Thompsons and not for any other reason. All of the Redbird nation can waste your energy threatening me and being stupid or you can do everything you can to the train back on its tracks. Right now it is a messy situation in Parsons, KS and it doesn�t have anything to do with my comment about setting up an information table! Raise some money and keep Joe or start the search NOW for the new Cardinal Wrestling Era.

Good luck to the Cardinals!

There are many people who know more about the program than I. But for what its worth from a parent that has a son on the team for the past year and a half, it sounds to me that during the season at least, recruitng isn't even a blip on their radar.

Everything I hear points toward a single minded purpose and that is winning the national championship with the current team, the current year. From what I gather, the recruiting happens in the Spring and by then I assume a new coach would be in place to do his own recruiting.

Unless, and I would wish this to be the case, the administration takes the path you mentioned above... the best route and that is to find a way to keep the current staff in place.

Regardless, the season is here. Go Cardinals!

Sounds like Mr. Cokely needs to express his own personal opinion to LCC's President George Knox & the board of trustees. I'm sure they would put you on the agenda as you know what is best for LCC and listen to you.

I would think you would be too busy working on your Master's degree at University of Wisconsin-Madison & "being a Badger" than worrying about a Community College Wrestling program & Community College Alumni.

Sorry Will if you think we've been "bullying you" but alumni has had sayings since the beginning of time such as the Birds always TCOB.

Will, It's comical that you come on here as a provocateur with multiple snide comments on at least two threads and then claim to be bullied. There is a difference between "letting someone know" and "bullying". Now you know!

Now...on to your points that you attempted to make.

"Will his wrestlers follow him? Without a doubt!"...I'm pretty sure any athlete on scholarship needs a release from the school to transfer and compete for any other school or they lose a year of eligibility.

Second point..."Will he be recruiting for LCC this season? I don�t see it!"....Joe has always done minimal recruiting prior to the end of season and if you know anything about Junior College you'd realize that most of the blue chippers are signed in the summer months after they realize they won't be scoring high enough on the ACT/SAT. Is this an issue? I would agree that it is a minor issue for recruiting a handful of kids (this is Junior College).

Third point...."There are hundreds of coaches looking for head coaching positions."...and very few of them will be right for this position. A stepping stone coach is far more detrimental to our program than Renfro leaving. I prefer to replace Joe with someone with an understanding of the Cardinal program.


Fourth point..."THE WRONG ANSWER! Keep him, maybe win a championship this year but throw away at least the next two or three seasons." This is Junior College pal...the turnover from year to year is unreal. Last year Labette had four national finalists and they were all in high school the fall before. Actually, Page was playing football at Butler. I know at least three of them signed in the summer.

There aren't many outstanding candidates out there that aren't currently coaching a team. My hope is that the administration brings in a new hire immediately following the national tournament and pick things up from there.

My son is in his 2nd year at Labette. He, his teammates and their coaches are all working towards another National Title. They know their coach is leaving after this year, but they know that until then Coach Renfro is 100% for them and about them. Let's do it again Cardinals...HBM!

Confirmed eight alumni ready to wrestle tomorrow morning at Labette. The list includes: Dustin may, Izaak Winter, Ed Shuss, Ray Hall, Ricky Jaramillo, John Walsh, Willie Weber, and Ben Hohensee. We hope to see a few more show up and put on the old shoes to make it more interesting. Every wrestler on our team will be included in the festivities in a 1-1-1 match against a teammate. It should be a great day for Cardinal Wrestling! It will be great to have as many back to Parsons as possible.