Marion Football

[BIGRED]

Jack Ginn is out at Marion. 

[stu_bean]

Quite a bit of celebration I'm sure is in order there

[SwvaOG]

He was my coach in college.....wasn't my favorite.....no connection with him at all.  That was just my experience.  Some of the others liked him.

[Wildcat/Chanticleer]

4 hours ago, SwvaOG said:

He was my coach in college.....wasn't my favorite.....no connection with him at all.  That was just my experience.  Some of the others liked him.

I played  ball with Jack at Richlands years ago. Heck  of a kicker . I’m not sure what happened at Marion.  The kids played hard but seemed to be fighting a up hill battle in most games . 

[rjhall71]

5 hours ago, SwvaOG said:

He was my coach in college.....wasn't my favorite.....no connection with him at all.  That was just my experience.  Some of the others liked him.

I never did agree with much of anything he did as a coach but this was a problem with him the whole time at Marion. He just couldn't connect with the boys. 

[tornado99]

Is there a gap between old-school coaching methods and philosophies and the current way of doing things?

I have no knowledge, specifically, but when I hear this, it’s what I think about.

[rjhall71]

6 minutes ago, tornado99 said:

Is there a gap between old-school coaching methods and philosophies and the current way of doing things?

I have no knowledge, specifically, but when I hear this, it’s what I think about.

I think there is and that is what he struggled with IMO. I honestly believe he somewhat cared about the kids but his refusal to change things that weren't working was a big deal with the kids, coaching staff, and the fans. 

[TnT+h]

Who is next ? Someone on staff? OC or DC , I don’t know any one there. It’s a big school for SwVA , should get some numbers anyway!!!!

[TnT+h]

I have followed coach Ginn career from afar and he has been successful and well thought of at his stops( except Marion) best wishes going forward!!!

[rjhall71]

1 hour ago, TnT+h said:

I have followed coach Ginn career from afar and he has been successful and well thought of at his stops( except Marion) best wishes going forward!!!

He may have been liked at all his other stops, and that could be debated. What can't be debated is that he made very foolish decisions that were evident at every game he coached. I wish the man no bad luck, but he needs to reevaluate his style and approach with all involved if he wants to coach in SWVA and be successful. 

[Union_Fan]

6 hours ago, tornado99 said:

Is there a gap between old-school coaching methods and philosophies and the current way of doing things?

I have no knowledge, specifically, but when I hear this, it’s what I think about.

Simple answer...YES!

30+ years ago a coach was a drill sergeant and kids responded to that.

Now, a coach has to be a mother, father, big brother, therapist, etc...

They also have to be tactful with their words. Threatening, cussing and berating a player simply doesn't work. The kid will quit or refuse to take part altogether. They have other options.

Also, many years ago a coach was seen as the ultimate authority on their respective sport. Players trusted that they knew what they were doing and had all the right answers.

Now, the world is so connected with information readily available that kids can easily tell if their coach is an idiot or not. Once they lose faith in their coach's ability, it's all down hill from there.

[Plywood_King]

I'm confident Jack Ginn is a great person. With that being said, the general vibe off of Ginn the entire time that he was at Marion was that the community was blessed to have such a tenured coach leading their children. As a result, his unwillingness to try anything different, no matter how unsuccessful his strategy was, rubbed a lot of people, myself included, the wrong way. What I can say is that whoever inherits the team is going to get a hard working team, which Ginn taught them. Marion is still a ways away from having a winning team, but nobody will dispute that with all their struggles the last couple of years, Marion has played hard, often giving the better teams in the region more of a fight than any one expected. 

Either way, I just hope the decision wasn't health related. As I said before, I didn't agree with his coaching philosophy, but he did put a strong investment in being a personal mentor to his players. 

[redtiger]

8 hours ago, Plywood_King said:

I'm confident Jack Ginn is a great person. With that being said, the general vibe off of Ginn the entire time that he was at Marion was that the community was blessed to have such a tenured coach leading their children. As a result, his unwillingness to try anything different, no matter how unsuccessful his strategy was, rubbed a lot of people, myself included, the wrong way. What I can say is that whoever inherits the team is going to get a hard working team, which Ginn taught them. Marion is still a ways away from having a winning team, but nobody will dispute that with all their struggles the last couple of years, Marion has played hard, often giving the better teams in the region more of a fight than any one expected. 

Either way, I just hope the decision wasn't health related. As I said before, I didn't agree with his coaching philosophy, but he did put a strong investment in being a personal mentor to his players. 

Very physical team(by current standards) and they played hard every time I saw them.

[tornado99]

11 hours ago, Union_Fan said:

Simple answer...YES!

30+ years ago a coach was a drill sergeant and kids responded to that.

Now, a coach has to be a mother, father, big brother, therapist, etc...

They also have to be tactful with their words. Threatening, cussing and berating a player simply doesn't work. The kid will quit or refuse to take part altogether. They have other options.

Also, many years ago a coach was seen as the ultimate authority on their respective sport. Players trusted that they knew what they were doing and had all the right answers.

Now, the world is so connected with information readily available that kids can easily tell if their coach is an idiot or not. Once they lose faith in their coach's ability, it's all down hill from there.

Well said. Balancing the relationships with the parents is an additional challenge. 
Overall, like most changes, the pendulum has swung too far in the other direction and is probably best somewhere in the middle.

[1inStripes]

13 hours ago, Plywood_King said:

I'm confident Jack Ginn is a great person. With that being said, the general vibe off of Ginn the entire time that he was at Marion was that the community was blessed to have such a tenured coach leading their children. As a result, his unwillingness to try anything different, no matter how unsuccessful his strategy was, rubbed a lot of people, myself included, the wrong way. What I can say is that whoever inherits the team is going to get a hard working team, which Ginn taught them. Marion is still a ways away from having a winning team, but nobody will dispute that with all their struggles the last couple of years, Marion has played hard, often giving the better teams in the region more of a fight than any one expected. 

Either way, I just hope the decision wasn't health related. As I said before, I didn't agree with his coaching philosophy, but he did put a strong investment in being a personal mentor to his players. 

Sounds like he done a pretty good job coaching them up if those are the characteristics of his football teams.  Especially ones that arent abundantly talented, and maybe he related better to the players than most give credit for if they were working that hard for him.

[Real Sasquatch]

People don't coach to win the approval of the fans, they coach to make a difference in kids lives.   The hell with what anybody thinks of them ...They should all be commended, if you like them or not .

[Bluefield researcher]

The people that you have to "please" are the people with money. The people that buy the ads. The people that subsidize uniforms. The people that provide meals for the players. The people who finance the elections of the county board members. If they don't like the coach they take their ball and go home.

[redtiger]

On 4/3/2025 at 5:38 PM, Real Sasquatch said:

People don't coach to win the approval of the fans, they coach to make a difference in kids lives.   The hell with what anybody thinks of them ...They should all be commended, if you like them or not .

Unfortunately that will get them fired

[Plywood_King]

I know that every time somebody loses their job it devolves into a "people are too soft" these days conversation, but let's call it what it is, Marion was far from a talent juggernaut under Ginn, but he produced statistically the worst team in school history last year with a senior heavy team and a lot of returning starters, and his track record up until that point did little to prove that it was a fluke. Seemingly every time someone played Marion the last several seasons, the opposing team's fans were on here talking about what poor coaching decisions Ginn was making. If any thing, I think it's a compliment to the mental toughness of the players and the lack of "daddy ball" influence that the players continued to play hard for him through it all. But at the end of the day, the football gate is the single most important revenue source for an athletic department, and with all three County high school finally starting to receive long overdue facilities upgrades, the financial factors are going to come in to play across the County. I hate it for Ginn as a person, and I don't want to speculate the particulars as to how this decision was made, but I think it was the right decision for every one involved. 

[goose111874]

On 4/2/2025 at 10:12 PM, Union_Fan said:

Simple answer...YES!

30+ years ago a coach was a drill sergeant and kids responded to that.

Now, a coach has to be a mother, father, big brother, therapist, etc...

They also have to be tactful with their words. Threatening, cussing and berating a player simply doesn't work. The kid will quit or refuse to take part altogether. They have other options.

Also, many years ago a coach was seen as the ultimate authority on their respective sport. Players trusted that they knew what they were doing and had all the right answers.

Now, the world is so connected with information readily available that kids can easily tell if their coach is an idiot or not. Once they lose faith in their coach's ability, it's all down hill from there.

My peanut football coach was harder on us than the varsity kids now because they’ll just quit if you discipline them.  Guess that’s why PV and Appy won about 14 titles and Union ZERO!!!

[tornado99]

I’m speaking in generalities when commenting on this post, and not this particular situation. (Good luck to Coach Ginn and Marion Football.). 
That said, there’s no question that the role of a coach has changed and it’s hard to compare eras. Discipline is still important, but I think it now takes a backseat to talent acquisition and retention. 
Honestly, although not proven, besides the Jones Brothers era, I say if Graham wasn’t competing in a higher weight class, PV has a tougher row to hoe. In recent years, the Bears have 0 titles thanks to Appomattox and Graham.

[Union_Fan]

15 hours ago, goose111874 said:

My peanut football coach was harder on us than the varsity kids now because they’ll just quit if you discipline them.  Guess that’s why PV and Appy won about 14 titles and Union ZERO!!!

I know that kids are different now than they used to be 30+ years, but so is everything else.

Sometimes, I wonder if current coaching tactics would have worked on kids 30 years ago or if current kids would have thrived in programs 30 years ago given their options at the time.

Is this an apples/oranges argument? Probably.

I still say coaching/play calling are to blame for Union's playoff woes more than the kids.

[swvafbrespect]

I have said this before kids have not changed....parenting and society has. Whether it is 10 years ago or 30 whatever a parent allows the teenagers to do and if the school coach doesn't get admin support a certain style of coaching does not matter. For the programs that have accountability and discipline they probably have strong admin support and the parents understand the coaches program and support the said coach. 

[tornado99]

12 hours ago, swvafbrespect said:

I have said this before kids have not changed....parenting and society has. Whether it is 10 years ago or 30 whatever a parent allows the teenagers to do and if the school coach doesn't get admin support a certain style of coaching does not matter. For the programs that have accountability and discipline they probably have strong admin support and the parents understand the coaches program and support the said coach. 

I agree with this sentiment overall. I think this definitely applies in the long-term. I think what we see as a society is seeking immediate returns, sometimes rightfully so. After all, kids only have a short window if that’s the goal.  Things get more complicated when there is a generational talent involved. That skews the results greatly from the average (as well as the expectations). I think throughout our area we have seen many coaches come and go. The great coaches consistently maximize talent and overcome deficiencies. 
It’s important to find the right person and for us fans to keep it in proper perspective. Hopefully, most of us are aware of talent in our communities. However, the older I get I can see the main, but not sole factor, is consistent talent which has only been multiplied through holdbacks and the transfer portal. The primary attribute for state championships seems to be speed. The most successful consistently have it. (Bluefield, Graham, Powell Valley, Appalachia, Gate City.) The others have a great year or two and sometimes acquire the deficiencies (Richlands, Tazewell, Clintwood, and recent contenders Honaker and Lebanon). I can’t speak to pre-1970s as the game has changed. Giles may fall into category 2 (King and Milton?), but I also think the single wing contributed to that success. Have these schools had great coaches? Sure. Might that be partly due to riches of talent compared to peers? I’m beginning to think more so.

[swvafbrespect]

I agree and will add. We have witnessed many great coaches in our area. I will not name in respect to leaving one out. But if we asked ourselves to be true would one of our great coaches accomplish multiple state championships, if they would have been at a school at the bottom of the district?I think not but No doubt they still would have been a difference maker but the rich talent pool certainly contributed to the success.