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I didn't know the Gary Westside Flash was a or thee track coach at K-Central. Remember him and others sprinting on the straight aways on the west side of Read from January on as we practiced hoops.

For me it is hard to believe that competitive athletes (mentally) would walk away from finishing up their commitment and opportunity to place first in their conference meet to by leaving early to get ready for Prom.

I understand (Per Charm) that Prom is a big deal.

The bigger problem is that track or any athletics is a fraction as challenging as everyday life. So quitting something as simple and selfish as competing in sports is a pretty sad commentary on the state of these kids and their families.

I understand that Prom could have been scheduled months ago for a different time. But the underlying issues still exist.

Girls take longer to get ready for prom. And nails are really, really important.

Think about it if you were her date, would you rather she showed up sweaty from the track meet, or all scrubbed up real nice with glossy nails and all put together for you?

Reason #136 why yours truly never coached Spring sports.

Had a similar situation play out when I was a sophomore in high school. Our first year baseball coach (who was really really good IMO) decided to schedule practice on the day of prom. It had been a scheduled day off, but we lost a league game the day before that we had no business losing. The day after prom we had a double header scheduled at Pennfield and both were important league games, hence he scheduled practice right after school but before prom. 6 of the 14 guys on the team skipped practice because they had to "pick up their tuxes, roses, and their transportation". Coach sat those 6 the next day at the double header and brought up two guys from the JV team and we played with 10. I believe we split the doubleheader...but the team chemistry wasn't the same after that and despite having plenty of talent to win, we lost in districts. Our coach decided not to come back the following year. Basically our season got sabotaged because 6 guys thought prom was more important than a 90 minute practice. SMH

(I know...cool story)