Post by Banana Cat on May 16, 2012 1:59:54 GMT -5
tribune-democrat.com
Ex-coach ran out of patience with Generals
Eric Knopsnyder / tribdem.com
JOHNSTOWN — Quenteen Robinson has been a part of every indoor football team in Johnstown’s history.
He’s seen the Jackals, J-Dogs and Riverhawks fail, for one reason or another, in his hometown.
But he said Monday he’s never seen a situation as dire as the one the Johnstown Generals face.
“Yeah, this is definitely as bad as I’ve seen it,” said Robinson, who resigned as head coach of the UIFL team after the Generals’ home game with the Western Pennsylvania Sting was canceled for the second consecutive weekend.
Despite the team’s struggles, owner Jeff Bollinger and the Cambria County War Memorial Arena agreed to a deal on Monday allowing the team to finish the season, but hours later the UIFL suspended the Generals (2-5) for not living up to league standards.
As much as Robinson has tried to make arena football work in Johnstown, he’s finally run out of patience with a franchise that has been in such dire financial straits that it hasn’t paid players or coaches in weeks. And he’s not sure if the sport will ever work here.
“I would love for it to, but I think that’s it,” Robinson said. “I know that’s it for me. I’m not going to be a part of none of that again. If it were a local owner that were proven, I definitely would want to be involved.”
Bollinger has vowed to have a team playing in the arena even if it’s not in the UIFL, which means he will be looking to hire a new coach.
“We have a few candidates,” Bollinger said hours before the league’s suspension. “Some guys with indoor experience. We’ll disclose that in a couple of days. I’ll be more than happy to speak about that once it becomes available.”
League suspends Generals
The Generals’ original schedule has them off this week before hosting the Sting on May 26 and the Erie Explosion on June 2.
Bollinger said earlier Monday that he will take over as general manager for Colleen Flowers.
Like Robinson, Flowers resigned over the weekend.
“With all of the craziness, she decided it was better for her to step aside,” Bollinger said.
Bollinger said he is hoping that the core of his team will stick around despite the fact that he hasn’t been able to pay them for weeks.
“Obviously, this week I’m going to have to communicate heavily with all 18 of them, if I can get ahold of them all and try to figure out who’s here and who’s not,” he said.
“We have a lot of talented guys that want to come in and play football. They understand the situation and are willing to come play. I really want to give the guys who have been here the opportunity to play first. There are going to be limitations to what I can do, letting them come back. I want to be honest with them, but I can’t go any deeper in debt. I have to be careful what I do.”
Bollinger said he’d understand if the players don’t want to suit up for the Generals again.
“If they don’t come back, I don’t blame them,” he said. “A lot of these guys, they stepped up for me. It means a lot to me that those guys care that much about the team that they were willing to come play for no money up to this week other than their first week’s pay.”
Robinson, who said he still hopes to be receive back pay for his efforts this season, said Bollinger’s heart is in the right place, but that the Westmoreland County contractor has struggled with the financial end of ownership.
“Jeff, I think that he does want it to work,” Robinson said.
“He hasn’t been able to do the things that’s needed. He knows what needs to be done, and he has a passion for football, but the things that were needed to run the team, we weren’t able to get the things done. I don’t have a problem with him personally. ... I just don’t think he makes the best decisions.”
Robinson said that the Generals’ off-the-field problems began to affect the team on the field as well.
“We probably haven’t practiced as a full team in maybe a month and half,” Robinson said.
“As we stopped practicing, the communication and the continuity, it just wasn’t a team. It takes the fire out of everybody, even the coach.
“Why watch film for eight hours when six of the guys aren’t going to be there?”
Eric Knopsnyder / tribdem.com
JOHNSTOWN — Quenteen Robinson has been a part of every indoor football team in Johnstown’s history.
He’s seen the Jackals, J-Dogs and Riverhawks fail, for one reason or another, in his hometown.
But he said Monday he’s never seen a situation as dire as the one the Johnstown Generals face.
“Yeah, this is definitely as bad as I’ve seen it,” said Robinson, who resigned as head coach of the UIFL team after the Generals’ home game with the Western Pennsylvania Sting was canceled for the second consecutive weekend.
Despite the team’s struggles, owner Jeff Bollinger and the Cambria County War Memorial Arena agreed to a deal on Monday allowing the team to finish the season, but hours later the UIFL suspended the Generals (2-5) for not living up to league standards.
As much as Robinson has tried to make arena football work in Johnstown, he’s finally run out of patience with a franchise that has been in such dire financial straits that it hasn’t paid players or coaches in weeks. And he’s not sure if the sport will ever work here.
“I would love for it to, but I think that’s it,” Robinson said. “I know that’s it for me. I’m not going to be a part of none of that again. If it were a local owner that were proven, I definitely would want to be involved.”
Bollinger has vowed to have a team playing in the arena even if it’s not in the UIFL, which means he will be looking to hire a new coach.
“We have a few candidates,” Bollinger said hours before the league’s suspension. “Some guys with indoor experience. We’ll disclose that in a couple of days. I’ll be more than happy to speak about that once it becomes available.”
League suspends Generals
The Generals’ original schedule has them off this week before hosting the Sting on May 26 and the Erie Explosion on June 2.
Bollinger said earlier Monday that he will take over as general manager for Colleen Flowers.
Like Robinson, Flowers resigned over the weekend.
“With all of the craziness, she decided it was better for her to step aside,” Bollinger said.
Bollinger said he is hoping that the core of his team will stick around despite the fact that he hasn’t been able to pay them for weeks.
“Obviously, this week I’m going to have to communicate heavily with all 18 of them, if I can get ahold of them all and try to figure out who’s here and who’s not,” he said.
“We have a lot of talented guys that want to come in and play football. They understand the situation and are willing to come play. I really want to give the guys who have been here the opportunity to play first. There are going to be limitations to what I can do, letting them come back. I want to be honest with them, but I can’t go any deeper in debt. I have to be careful what I do.”
Bollinger said he’d understand if the players don’t want to suit up for the Generals again.
“If they don’t come back, I don’t blame them,” he said. “A lot of these guys, they stepped up for me. It means a lot to me that those guys care that much about the team that they were willing to come play for no money up to this week other than their first week’s pay.”
Robinson, who said he still hopes to be receive back pay for his efforts this season, said Bollinger’s heart is in the right place, but that the Westmoreland County contractor has struggled with the financial end of ownership.
“Jeff, I think that he does want it to work,” Robinson said.
“He hasn’t been able to do the things that’s needed. He knows what needs to be done, and he has a passion for football, but the things that were needed to run the team, we weren’t able to get the things done. I don’t have a problem with him personally. ... I just don’t think he makes the best decisions.”
Robinson said that the Generals’ off-the-field problems began to affect the team on the field as well.
“We probably haven’t practiced as a full team in maybe a month and half,” Robinson said.
“As we stopped practicing, the communication and the continuity, it just wasn’t a team. It takes the fire out of everybody, even the coach.
“Why watch film for eight hours when six of the guys aren’t going to be there?”