Little 500 coaches face participation ban

The IU Student Foundation has ruled to bar alumni from coaching in the pit on race day of the Little 500.\nIU Foundation President and CEO Curt Simic recently sent a letter to alumni coaches notifying them of the decision.\n"One concern I have revolves around the expanding number of non-student coaches we see taking 'full control' of various teams," Simic wrote. "Of course, (in specific cases), that has been a good thing. In others, it has been less so."\nSome current coaches want to know if the ruling is a punishment for a problem that might not currently exist.\n"If they sent this out to every coach, then which coaches are taking full control?" Kappa Alpha Theta coach Tom Schwoegler said. "Courtney Bishop did, but he's not around anymore, so what's the problem?"\nMany believe Bishop, who received a lifetime ban in December 2005 for allegedly giving riders scholarships to participate in the race, is the cause of this rule change.\n"They tried to solve one specific problem -- Courtney Bishop," Schwoegler said. "When did this become a problem? Why not last year (for the rule change)? Courtney Bishop is going to sue them until he gets the same rights as all other coaches."\nUnder the new coaching format, one or two credit hour classes will be offered through the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation to "provide theory as well as develop a Little 500-specific knowledge base." These new coaches would be helped along by former coaches, riders and other people who have been associated with the Little 500.\nIUSF Director Rob Rhamy and Little 500 Race Coordinator Lucas Calhoun said they were approached by two alumni coaches with the thought of eliminating alumni coaches. To fill the void, undergraduate IU students would coach Little 500 teams.\n"The main reason why is that they feel that some coaches are coming to it for the wrong reason," Calhoun said. "They're not in it to help the student. They're in it for their own ego."\nCutters coach Jim Kirkham, one of the two coaches who presented the idea to IUSF, said the move would focus the race more on the riders.\n"I think it's a rider's race and all the attention should be on the guys that pedal the bikes," Kirkham said. "No one other than that should get the spotlight."\nRhamy said replacing alumni coaches with IU students would provide undergraduate students valuable leadership opportunities.\nCoaches create practice schedules and build strategy before the race, and they advise riders and dictate the schedule of riders during the race. If alumni coaches are eliminated, they would not be able to coach teams during the race from the pit area, forcing them to stand behind a fence that separates the track from the grandstand.\nLittle 500 champion Alpha Tau Omega and Kappa Delta coach Norm Houze believes alumni coaches provide experienced instruction that students cannot.\n"I think what we have here is that it is focused on the kids," Houze said. "I mean, we don't have a student coaching the IU basketball team, do we? You still have to have adults to help these people in college get through, and that's how I would look at it."\nSchwoegler and Houze said they believe IUSF will face difficulties to fill coaching vacancies.\nSchwoegler said he was disappointed with the IUSF for not seeking the input of other coaches.\n"This is not about where a coach stands; it is about who decides who officially coaches an individual Little 500 team," he said. "Given the way this has been presented I think they will be hard-pressed to get a lot of help from the alumni coaches (for the new structure)."\nCalhoun said the IUSF is always open to comments from students, coaches and others who want to improve the Little 500.\n"We are definitely open to any student and coach's input about this decision and anything else than can help improve the race in any way," he said.\nBut Kirkham said the teams who are truly motivated would likely still continue to use alumni coaches -- though they would not be able to coach from the pit on race day.\n"It all comes down to self-motivation," Kirkham said, adding that teams without coaches won't be affected. "I guess it wouldn't even change it. They don't have a coach now; they won't have a coach then."\nHe added that early in Little 500 history, neither coaches nor riders were permitted on the track when another rider was on the track. They had to sit in the grandstand. \n"On race day I would stand behind a chain link fence," Kirkham said.\nBut that distance is too far for Schwoegler.\n"Jon Purvis told me that it would just be moving us two feet behind the fence, but that is probably the longest two feet in Little 500 history," he said.