Beijing Reflections from Jim Millman, ED USA Boxing

[boxmel]

Reflections From Beijing
by USA Boxing CEO, Jim Millman / August 27, 2008

As disappointing as the Beijing Olympics was for USA Boxing, it did provide valuable insight into some of the improvements that our organization needs to make to be a world-class competitor once again.

As I've stated before, first and foremost is the need to attract a greater number of superior athletes to our sport from other sports. By deepening our talent pool, we rely less on a handful of top medal contenders, and rely more on a strength in numbers approach to the Games. As example, our two most direct rivals in these Games - - Russia and Cuba - - would likely describe Beijing as disappointing for them, as Russia captured 2 gold medals out of 11 qualified Olympians, while Cuba won not a single gold medal from any of its 9 qualifiers. Yet Russia's depth of talent helped produce 3 medals in all, while Cuba took home a whopping 8.

On the U.S. Team, only five boxers qualified on their first try at the World Championships in Chicago, and with Luis Yanez missing a month of practice entering the Games, Demetrius Andrade sidelined for most of June with an injured jaw, and Gary Russell failing to make weight before the Olympics began, the US lack of talent depth was too much to overcome.

The second improvement we need to make is to strike a more integrated balance between the National Team coaches and each athlete's individual coach relative to the Team's preparations for the Games. Too frequently, our boxers were torn between the instructions they were getting from Dan Campbell and his staff, and the individual coaches who were in attendance. By unifying the efforts of our national staff with the individual coaches, everyone gets on the same page, and the two coaching resources build on each other, versus often working at cross-purposes.

Third - - and this is a challenge that we will be working to solve - - is the discrepancy between the obvious values and benefits of the Olympic Resident Program, and the need to recognize that boxers are individuals, and not all may respond to the exact same regimen of preparation, training, discipline, and schedule.

DEONTAY DELIVERS
Evidence of the value of attracting outstanding athletes from other sports to boxing is the bronze medal resting around the neck of Deontay Wilder.

No U.S. Boxer improved faster and more dramatically than the former Alabama all-state basketball and baseball star, who soaked up the conditioning, coaching, sports medicine, and psychology of the Resident Program like a sponge. And kudos to Deontay's coach, Jay Deas, who recognized how valuable the Resident Program could be to Deontay, and supported it despite having some degree of reservation about it.

THE CLASS OF RAU'SHEE

My lasting positive impression of the USA Boxing Team in Beijing will be as much about Rau'shee Warren as it will be about Deontay Wilder.

No athlete in Beijing could have been more disappointed than Rau'shee, yet he conducted himself with a dignity and style throughout the Games that illustrated everything that the Olympic Movement represents. Instead of heading home immediately, as a few of his teammates did, Rau'shee stayed in Beijing throughout, and was a constant fixture at the Team's training workouts, supporting the boxers still in contention. Instead of remaining in Beijing and essentially abandoning his teammates, as many of the other U.S. Team members did, Rau'shee attended every U.S. bout, encouraging and cheering for the boxers he lived and trained with for a year. There is a saying about the true measure of a man being whether you would want him in battle with you - - there's no better athlete on the 2008 US Olympic Boxing Team to share a foxhole with than the great Rau'shee Warren.

IS THERE ANY SPORT MORE COMPETITIVE THAN BOXING?

Ukraine, Thailand, England, Russia, China, Italy, the Dominican Republic, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan. Nine different countries sharing 11 gold medals, with 9 more countries winning one or more medals. Amazing. I don't think any sport compares to boxing in terms of world-class competitiveness.

THE CASE FOR VIDEO SCORING

NBC's Teddy Atlas, Bob Popa, and Jim Grey were highly critical of the judging in Beijing - - and with good reason. Despite the best intentions of AIBA, the Olympic-style scoring system needs revamping. First, boxing is the only Olympic sport in which the judges' views are frequently blocked by the referee and the boxers themselves. Even the ring ropes can impede a judge's view. Second, the technical scoring system can't accurately monitor rapid-fire combinations, or fierce exchanges. Although the US boxers' hand-speed suffers as a result, many countries in Beijing were vocal about the inconsistency and inaccuracy of the scoring of many of the bouts. USA Boxing is aggressively testing slo-motion video judging as a significantly more accurate method to count scoring blows.

(1) Interesting - I wonder where this is being tested and by who and if USA Boxing will have to clout to have AIBA change and IOC approve? (2)

No country can easily convince boxers who have pro potential to remain with their National Team when the sport's judging system, according to NBC, may be the least accurate of any Olympic sport.

And since when is NBC THE authority on ANY scoring, let alone boxing?

[zorndeslammes]

On one hand, Mel, I agree with you. I generally could care less about what Bob Papa or Teddy Atlas want from a sport they only involve themselves in once every 4 years. However I think there need to be some adjustments. I wish I offered some suggestions, but I think removing open scoring (or perhaps only allowing it to be available to TV viewers) would be a good start.

[Kolya]

Jim Millman needs to shut up with this "we need better athletes" crap. Guys aren't going to start boxing and give up on football and basketball, which they've played their whole lives, to fight. Not to mention that most of the top boxers started boxing as kids or teens; before obvious athletic ability will necessarily make it self known.

[therealPunchDrunk]

It is also a complete misun derstanding. The athletes are there, it's a question of developing them correctly.

[boxmel]

but I think removing open scoring (or perhaps only allowing it to be available to TV viewers) would be a good start.

Zorn, I definitely agree with you on this one. 8) And, yes, I think Millman doesn't understand amateur boxing at all.

[Gray-Fox]

Teddy Atlas has forgotten more about boxing than boxmel will ever know. He is right, the Olympic scoring system is an utter joke.

[Gray-Fox]

Jim Millman needs to shut up with this "we need better athletes" crap. Guys aren't going to start boxing and give up on football and basketball, which they've played their whole lives, to fight. Not to mention that most of the top boxers started boxing as kids or teens; before obvious athletic ability will necessarily make it self known.

The fact that the USA concentrates so much on "athletes" highlights part of their problem. Boxing is a sport as much about skills as it is athleticism. Team USA fight like a bunch of mini-Floyd Mayweathers' but with half of the actual skills and smarts that he shows. The last few American teams have, in large part, been more about style than substance.

Also, how often do the USA get to compete in Europe and Asia? I feel more competition there would help them against the styles that they face in the Olympics, as it is becoming ever more clear that those continents are the ones to be wary of...that said I think they're helped along by a LOT of corruption.

[bigpicture]

In reference to Mr. Millman's comments:

[quote]"first and foremost is the need to attract a greater number of superior athletes to our sport from other sports. By deepening our talent pool, we rely less on a handful of top medal contenders, and rely more on a strength in numbers approach to the Games."[/quote]
There is no shortage of talent or lack of depth. The talent and bodies ARE there, in depth and in droves. The fact that YOU cannot see that is indicative of the problem: a failure of leadership. The failure this year was simply one of preparation, nothing else (and proper preparation was impossible, not because of the athletes, but because of the coach and your management skills). YOU certainly should have seen that it was not working at the Worlds or in England. Yet, you chose to allow Campbell to blame the athletes and their families and their coaches. YOU could have stopped that. YOU could have looked at the other areas that you are now pointing at and acted to do the right thing when it would have helped. NOW is too late.

YOU personally and organizationally failed these great athletes. When did the sudden revelation about the failure of the resident program, as it was constituted, with Campbell running it get realized? Certainly not in Beijing. YOU WERE TOLD OVER AND OVER WHAT WAS HAPPENING AND FAILED AS A LEADER TO RESPOND. A lack of Olympic qualifiers in two spots when we had athletes that should have filled those, should have told you. A lack of competitive drive and communication skills on the part of the coach should have told you. A lack of conditioning should have told you. The failure of Campbell's ability to even communicate with the athletes should have told you. A lack of preparation for the scope of the Olympic environment was clear for months. A lack of preparation for the political environment (which is a real coachable skill, if the coach understands and deals with it) was clear. Those failures are a failure of leadership They are your personal failures as the leader of USA Boxing.

[quote]"On the U.S. Team, only five boxers qualified on their first try at the World Championships in Chicago, and with Luis Yanez missing a month of practice entering the Games, Demetrius Andrade sidelined for most of June with an injured jaw, and Gary Russell failing to make weight before the Olympics began, the US lack of talent depth was too much to overcome."[/quote]The list of failures is so fundamental it is repetitive, The talent WAS there and the coach ignored it (and so did YOU Mr. Millman). Only five in the first round demonstrates the failure to coach. Campbell was horribly inept an lacking in management skills necessary to coach and even communicate with the athletes. He ALWAYS confronted instead of coaching the talent he had. He alienated their support system (thus undermining himself and the organization). The disruptions he created by failing to anticipate the needs of the talent he chose was another failure. Failing to create continuity and a supportive transition by outlawing the personal coaches was a coaching and institutional failure, not an athletic failure. Campbell specifically worked to keep some people off the team diluting the talent pool that he had. He alienated the ample talent he had. His inability to see the part HE played in the problems were clear. Weight, for example, is a coaches' responsibility to coach, MONITOR, counsel and adjust. Your job was to see what he could not in terms of his limitations and take actions to improve him as a manager or limit his ability to damage the team.

[quote]"The second improvement we need to make is to strike a more integrated balance between the National Team coaches......By unifying the efforts of our national staff with the individual coaches, everyone gets on the same page, and the two coaching resources build on each other, versus often working at cross-purposes."[/quote]
And pray tell, how did YOU (Mr. Millman) miss this for the last year plus as you sat there and watched it go on? The is a clear failure of management of YOUR employee, Mr. Campbell. In any other organization, steps would have been take months before to resolve these obvious issues and conflicts as they arose. YOU chose to ignore them. YOUR board chose to ignore them. This is an utter failure of management. To claim that you recognize it NOW is too pitiful an excuse for a 3rd grader. Sadly so.

[quote]"Third - - and this is a challenge that we will be working to solve - - is the discrepancy between the obvious values and benefits of the Olympic Resident Program, and the need to recognize that boxers are individuals, and not all may respond to the exact same regimen of preparation, training, discipline, and schedule."[/quote]

Every team is a team of individuals. Boxing and tennis most of all. Match ups are won by individuals in every sport. The individuals strengths and weaknesses add up to the team strength or weakness. Absent a manager capable of understanding how to get the best from each member individually, the team fails. Absent the ability to see, analyze and plan ways to compensate for situations specific with each individual team member, there is no TEAM. There is a bunch of undeveloped individuals limiting each others efforts by their individual weaknesses. It is the aggregate of individual coaching that makes teams successful. I ask: How can you coach individuals, if you can't or won't talk to them?

Team success is all about enrolling the members in a common goal of expectation and action; of preparing them to believe they can be better and more effective by association and causing them to act toward that goal. The clear failure of USA Boxing to understand this and to act to enroll the participants effectively is a failure of management. YOU CANNOT DISRESPECT THE FAMILIES OF PEOPLE AND EXPECT TO HAVE THEIR RESPECT back (and coaches are family, too). Enrollment is about finding common ground for common good. YOUR SYSTEM FAILED TO DO THAT AT ALL. 'MY WAY OR THE HIGHWAY" was the mantra of Campbell. "This is easy. I was in Vietnam." shows his ignorance, arrogance and disrespect for the needs of those he was honored with the trusteeship of developing.

The formula is:
This is the standard of the competition we must exceed.
This is the standard we prepare to perform at, which is supperior to the competivie standard.
These are the individuals people and situations that we must overcome to compete at this level.
These are the current individual abilities of each element of our teams' success (the team members skills).
These are the gaps between our current INDIVIDUAL members performance and where they have to be individually, if we expect to win.
These are the steps we are taking right NOW to close the gap from where we are to where we intend to be to win. The earlier we take them, the more ingrained they become, the more competitive we will be, and we will be that sooner by acting NOW.

Individual assessments and gap analysis are fundamental to the process. You MUST have an individual CAPABLE OF MAKING EFFECTIVE JUDGMENTS and creating the plan, then monitoring and executing the plan to get there. YOU did NOT have that with Campbell (who you inherited). Yet, ou did not show that you could manage him or the process in your own position of authority.

YOUR personal failure was in NOT recognizing his shortcomings. And THAT is YOUR job. You were hired as the ultimate team leader for USA Boxing, it's coach, if you will. Your failure is a failure of leadership and that translates into a failure of effectiveness at managing the variables the team needed from YOU. Unless YOU understand that and decide to change yourself the system cannot change and we will be the same in 4 more years. I challenge you to commit yourself to making EFFECTIVE change you mission.

The good news is that because boxing is an individual sport, it can be changed quickly. The talent IS there. Eliminate the confusion Campbell and your processes caused and enroll the athletes properly and in a year, we can be back on top. Get a coach that can coach for God's sake. Make sure his assistants can coach. Make sure he can communicate with the personal coaches and earn their support, not their enmity. He has to be able to communicate and has to LIKE the athletes. His ego has to be sublimated to the goals, not personal power. It will seem to reverse itself overnight, if you lead properly.

THIS IS YOUR CHALLENGE. TODAY IS YOUR DAY TO START TO LEAD.
IF YOU CAN'T DO THESE THINGS, PLEASE QUIT AND ALLOW SOMEBODY THAT CAN THE CHANCE.

Thank you for your time,
Big

[JMac]

Well said Big.

[squarering]

WOW! I think that sums it up.

[lukerunion]

I think the last paragraph which was left out is kind of important from Jim's article:

Mike Moran, former USOC Director of Communications, reminded us in one of his extremely interesting blogs about Beijing that the Olympic creed is about competing and not necessarily winning, and that it is the journey and not the destination that fulfills the human spirit. In that vein, let me recognize all of the United States Olympic boxers, coaches, staff, and training partners for their dedication, hard work and tireless effort in representing the United States to the best of their ability. It was a journey to be learned from, and not ever to be forgotten.

[boxmel]

Mike Moran, former USOC Director of Communications, reminded us in one of his extremely interesting blogs about Beijing that the Olympic creed is about competing and not necessarily winning, and that it is the journey and not the destination that fulfills the human spirit. In that vein, let me recognize all of the United States Olympic boxers, coaches, staff, and training partners for their dedication, hard work and tireless effort in representing the United States to the best of their ability. It was a journey to be learned from, and not ever to be forgotten.

Yes - it was a learning experience for a throw-away team and a journey that started off badly and never got better. Moran's statement doesn't make USAB exempt from soul-searching and, possibly, making needed changes. As one of the athlete reps, Luke (are you still?), it's up to you and your peers to take the blinders off and see what needs to be done and do something about making it happen.

[BXINGFAN]

Campbell and Millman should read the USOC ethics link before blaming athletes and i agree with boxmel.. this team was just a guinea pig for their program. this could have waited until after the games not during an olympic year. now we will never really know what these young men would have accomplished.

http://www.usoc.org/content/index/955

[lukerunion]

Yes I'm still a rep and active with the AAC and Officials Committee.

Many of our meetings and recommendations are in alignment with comments on this board. An AAC website should be up soon with a link to the USAB homepage, like the officials homepage. We want to include meeting minutes, etc... so everyone know what is being discussed, and make everything as TRANSPARENT as possible.

We make recommendations, and have 2 voices on the BOD. Many of our recommendations have been responded to positively, but require time and manpower to put into effect. Some of them, such as revisiting Olympic Trials/Selections need more input and thought, but should be decided before 2011.

One item I worked on with the officials committee with Brent Venegas, was the new athlete passbooks have pages in the back with diagrams of fouls. As an athlete, I never learned all the fouls when I started boxing. Now we have a starting point of athlete education. Some ideas the committee would like to see in place is a poster with sponsor logos? put up in every gym, that explains rules of scoring, fouls, judging, etc. This is something that we believe would be an easy teaching tool and last a long time in some gyms. However, cost effective ideas like these are stalled until we have more definitive rules from AIBA.

Both committees I am on pushed for computer scoring machines in every LBC. Streamlining the system at the local level is the goal, but we can't do that until we know what the changes to the system will be. I hope I can continue to be involved with more input and that more athletes continue to become active with the AAC, like our new members we got this spring.

[lukerunion]

Additionally, about the entire Olympics, it is easy to have 20/20 hindsight. Despite the problems, many still expected medals from our athletes. And it is easy to point the finger at the mistakes of others. I am not sure what positive change can result from harboring negative feelings about people who want to harbinger a world class program. Boxing, like all things in life, require timing. Next time I hope it will be right. It has to be.

[kidscoach]

Number one, the fouls should be taught to each athlete by the COACH. It wouldn't do any good to put the fouls in the passbooks, because the athletes generally do not possess the passbooks, most coaches handle them. Now, a nice rulebook with all that in it would be good, such that every athlete should receive an official USA Boxing rulebook with their membership. What a novel idea-give the athletes a copy of all the rules. This could be required reading with informal testing in each gym. Then all of the coaches would have to know the rules too or look silly in front of their athletes.

[lukerunion]

Most coaches teach boxing - not fouls. The fouls themselves typically result in clinches or wrestling that could be considered a sloppy bout or when one athlete is more tired than another. Sometimes, however, the athletes is warned and doesn't understand what he was warned for.

If USAB printed 25,000 rulesbooks for every registered athlete, it would be a waste of trees and money. Most coaches, but not all coaches, hold onto their athlete's passbook. The passbook is the only item issued by USAB to every athlete that they do get a chance to see before every bout - when they present it at the weighin/doctor. So in this line they have an opportunity to review their bout history and refresh their knowledge of fouls, in theory. I know when I competed I looked through my book before bouts and reminisced over past RSCs I earned, and the ones I didn't lose, but there weren't enough rounds to win.

NOT ONLY fouls are in the passbook now - it also includes contestant guidelines, info on scoring and nonscoring blows, cautions, 8 counts, attire, etc. YOU SHOULD TAKE A LOOK AT IT BEFORE YOU CRITICIZE IT. Even if nobody ever reads it, I think its a good idea because the information is there - directly from the rulebook.

[boxmel]

Most coaches teach boxing - not fouls. The fouls themselves typically result in clinches or wrestling that could be considered a sloppy bout or when one athlete is more tired than another.

Luke, are you aware that most fouls are learned in the gym? Slapping is #1, holding and low head are the next two. If the coaches don't correct these fouls during sparring, the boxers will slap, hold and duck their heads in competition - and wonder why they get cautioned/warned. I have seen plenty of gyms in my area with posters of the fouls on the wall. We give mini clinics to gyms where the basic rules are spelled out, fouls are demonstrated, and scoring blows are explained. Doesn't do a bit of good if the COACHES don't follow through and teach their athletes correctly. I think it's a great idea what you did with the new passbooks. Do I think it will make a difference? Nope. I agree with kidscoach on this one. 8)

[bigpicture]

"about the entire Olympics, it is easy to have 20/20 hindsight. Despite the problems, many still expected medals from our athletes. And it is easy to point the finger at the mistakes of others. I am not sure what positive change can result from harboring negative feelings about people who want to harbinger a world class program."

I'm sorry. But, I think you have it wrong on two counts. First, hindsight wasn't needed. The course was clearly visible for months. The discussion was out there for over a year that a train wreck was coming and nothing effective was done by the responsible parties to move in the right direction. I wrote my first post about this just as the games started because I was fed up with apologists for mediocre and ineffective judgement and behaviors. I have and will challenge these organization to recognize their failures and not just to say they have learned from them, but to ACT in a different and better way.

Second, this is not about feelings towards people. It is about performance of responsibilities and management of the organizations and attitudes toward the the ethics they profess and the goals they ask regular people to fund. Specific people asked for the responsibility and trust of the legacy of great boxing in the USA. They failed to perform on that trust responsibly in my view. It is their effectiveness that is being criticized. Not their niceness or lack thereof.

They wanted to be examples of excellence. Now it is time assess the examples they presented. Unfortunately, it is NOT a pretty picture.

I know that some egos are being bruised. But an accurate assessment of current reality is critical to growth and change and goal achievment. And, I also know that the failure of both USA Boxing and the US Olympic Committee caused a lot more pain for a lot more people (boxers, coaches, families, friends and fans) than those responsible will ever suffer from the likes of me if the truth is the measure of the commentary. I think we owe something to the thousands that are and have been and will be injured if change is not enacted. That is more important to us all than a few bruised egos.

Who will speak for those already injured by this arrogant neglect of responsibility? Already, the 'feel good' and 'be nice' comments are trying to maintain the status quo, appealing to forgive mediocrity, and incompetence; and that must not be allowed to happen. Who will accept the challenge of growing an ethical, competitive, embracing and fair competitive example for the world to see?

If all we worry about is the feelings of people that should rightly be reassessing themselves and be reassessed for their actions to avoid the cost of their mistakes reoccurring, who will act? How will the thousands of 12 year olds view their prospects in the confusing mess that we leave as a legacy if we do not act? How can we ask for their respect if we do not decide we have to change to earn that respect?

So, that is the choice: nice or effective?
Forgiving and tolerate ineptness or be self critical, competitive and able to succeed?
Preparing our young people to be fair, but competitive by example or ask them to do as we say, not as we do?
Which do you want?

Choose and live with your choice.

Big

[lukerunion]

Mel,

I agree with you that it won't make a difference that there are pictures of fouls in the passbook, by themselves. However, now, if coaches and clinicians include this as a teaching tool - it becomes effective. Now there is some ammunition to use in the battle. It is something they can show every athlete and say, here is how usa boxing teaches officials to officiate. here is how usa boxing wants judges to score. this is what you should avoid to be successful at the next level. Nothing will ever change the individuality of boxing gyms/personalities/training styles, etc. But we can mainstream the information and the communication. If we do this, and everyone is on the same page, we will see dramatic improvements in all facets of amateur boxing. Cooperation - and addressing where it is needed - is what will breed this. It wouldn't be a bad idea, now, that most new passbooks are printed and being distributed since older versions have been depleted, to send a memo to registration chairs/LBC presidents, or every gym, that the photos are there and can be used as a tool.

bigpicture,

nobody is saying that your frustrations aren't justified. but alluding that new management failed the first time and to get rid of them is like saying to throw in the towel when it isn't necessary. it would be justified if they didn't see their own shortcomings, but they do. additionally, there are exciting arrangements being worked on that haven't been implemented yet, such as the Golden Boy/USAB agreement announced earlier this year. Grant money has been given to LBCs. What is sad is that of 50+ lbcs, less than half applied. LBCs with strong leadership and organization will reap the benefits. I totally agree with bruising egos. EGO may be the sole factor that blinded the organization for how many years, before I even became a member. I see a bright future. Change has to occur, but i strongly believe it is from within the existing organization, and not from the new additions. More importantly, I read posts like yours, that are justified, but like a revolving door. they lack a citation of specific error, and a tangible recommendation for positive change. nobody says errors weren't made. but how can everyone on this forum, sit around for countless hours and now make real recommendations? everyone knows whats wrong - what are the changes though you want to see? i'm going to make a new thread just for this.

[boxmel]

nobody is saying that your frustrations aren't justified. but alluding that new management failed the first time and to get rid of them is like saying to throw in the towel when it isn't necessary.

But it's a point of view and a valid one since there hasn't been anything forthcoming from the new management as to what changes can and are being made. There is a lot of rhetoric being spewed but nothing concrete.

such as the Golden Boy/USAB agreement announced earlier this year.

What exactly does that agreement entail? What exactly is Oscar going to do for and with USA Boxing? Details, please.

Grant money has been given to LBCs. What is sad is that of 50+ lbcs, less than half applied.

When, where and how was the announcement made that the grant money was available? I know it was discussed at the annual meeting last year and that's the last I heard about it. I'm in the biggest LBC in the U.S. and no mention has been made about whether or not we applied for any money and, if so, what for - but, then again, we only meet once a year.

LBCs with strong leadership and organization will reap the benefits

.
And what's your guesstimate of how many of our LBCs fall into that category?

Change has to occur, but i strongly believe it is from within the existing organization, and not from the new additions.

And what are YOUR suggestions for change?

More importantly, I read posts like yours, that are justified, but like a revolving door. they lack a citation of specific error, and a tangible recommendation for positive change.

Luke, others have made tangible recommendations. We have all cited specific errors: picking the team too early; selection of a "defensive" and an "offensive" coach; dissension within the team; lack of respect for Dan Campbell; the residency program being forced upon the team in Houston, lack of meaningful international competition, blah, blah, blah. Those are very valid concerns. My recommendations? Choose the team in the Olympic year so there are no weight problems to worry about; have international competition lined up with strong competition - Russia, Cuba, the Stans; find a head coach who is respected - all of this has been discussed by other than me over the past month or so.

nobody says errors weren't made. but how can everyone on this forum, sit around for countless hours and now make real recommendations?

Maybe you should reread all the discussions - plenty of recommendations have been made.

everyone knows whats wrong - what are the changes though you want to see? i'm going to make a new thread just for this.

Plenty of changes have been suggested. All you need to do is read.

[bigpicture]

You must have missed the other post I wrote just as the games began. I did make specific notations of error. I also keep saying that the leadership should assess itself. Unfortunately, all they say publicly is: "OOPS".... And, "it's a start..."

So, to reiterate, here are some of the specific failings of leadership. In the case of Mr Millman, it is mostly that he failed to manage the personnel to do their jobs. Not just Dan Campbell but others too. He allowed flagrant and repeated violations of prescribed procedures. (Either of these constitutes malfeasance, in my view.)
1. Changing of bout sheets after the public draw and making those changes in private without any pre announcement or supervision.
2. Moving boxers out of their prescribed brackets in the middle of tournaments without the precidents required by the rules.
3. Failing to ensure the boxers right under the rules and procedures in place that he is hired to enforce. (i.e. kicking at least two boxers out of camp without a hearing.)
4. Allowing Campbell and others who should be impartial to lobby against certain boxer publicly potentially affecting the judging and the outcome of bouts. ("He's a liar." "He can't beat....etc.) instead of allowing the bouts to decide who could win.
5. Failing to realize that instead of enrolling the personal coaches to advance the team, he allowed Campbell to bully and threaten coaches and parents to advance his personal authority....

IN the case of others, specifically Campbell, clearly it appears that they not just overstepped their job discription, they ignored it and did so with arrogance.

Nice and "give it time" won't cut it this time. When the CEO says (to paraphrase him) "We need more bodies". I ask: "How the H do you expect to get more people to enroll and participate if all they see is the horrible performance that your program creates?" I also am appalled that he fails to see that he HAS great boxers in good quantities and depth, if they were developed. Why would I stick around if I am 15 is I hear him saying: "What talent we have isn't good enough we have to replace them;' when it is his job to make them good enough?" People enroll in programs that will strengthen them personally. All Jim Millman did in that regard was make sure it will be harder to accomplish getting anybody to want to participate.

The fact that they are raising money and that he is good at it is nice, but not relevant to winning. What more could it do? They said they had what they needed at the Springs: the best housing, conditioning coaches, best nutritionist, best strength trainers and so on...AND I BELIEVE THEM. That is indicative of the problem. They wasted that and hurt the futures of some great athletes and hundreds of other dedicated participants in the program through their own failings. Period.

New initiatives are great. But you still have to run the basics of the business. You can't ignore the basics. That is his failing. Period.

IN short: I am sorry to say that Mr Millman failed to do the job of the Chief Executive Officer. It is that simple. (That is also a failure of the USOC and USAB Boards in allowing somebody without the skills to do the job to have the job.) He failed to observe that the staff was running amuck. He either permitted Campbell to operate without any guidance or he condoned acts that I believe go against the very nature of coaching and the rules he was bound to enforce. That he is NEW is not an excuse at his level. He is REQUIRED to set the tone.

I will leave Dan Campbell out of more of this for now , but you can see from my other post which is quoted below my problems with him.

Big

From "and ye shall reap what ye sow.."
"First, the USOC. They have known for years that USA Boxing was in big trouble. Through Executive Directors after Executive Director to CEO jim Millman, in last eight years they sat in the USA Boxing Board of Directors meetings and monitoring and endorsed the actions of USA Boxing.

Granted, they took actions. They sanctioned, they cut funds, they complained. But, what they did was ultimately ineffective. It was a failure of leadership and commitment. They must bear some responsibility for the outcome they helped create.

For over a year, they sat by and watched as dozens of knowledgeable participants pleaded that there was a train wreck coming. Parents, personal coaches, athletes, ministers and even professional promoters and managers all warned of the impending collapse of the USA Boxing program for months. They heard it both in public forums and in private warnings. They had every opportunity to examine these complaints and accusations and act. They did nothing effective. Their passiveness permitted the USA Boxing situation to exist. It is through their support (while ignoring other great boxing programs) that forces the best boxers to deal with the arrogant, ignorance and political chummery that defines the failure of USA Boxing and this year’s Olympic effort.

Then the real problem. USA Boxing and their failure of leadership, failure of management, and the worst failure of coaching in the history of US Olympic Boxing.

They demanded that boxers go into a resident program in Colorado. There they had complete control, the best nutritionists, the best facilities, the best physical trainers in multiple areas of development: speed, stamina, nutrition and more. So, how can they possibly justify the poorly conditioned athletes that arrived in Beijing.

The recently installed CEO must accept the blame for the steps he did not take. Granted, he inherited Dan Campbell as the coach when he arrived. But for over a year he has heard the same public and private warnings. He watched when we got destroyed in a meet in Great Britain a few months ago and did nothing. He watched the mixed results from the other preliminary international events and did nothing. He allowed Campbell to exile the best and brightest athletes, personal coaches and parents. He ignored the possibility that the brackets in the US Olympic Trials and US National Championships were manipulated to enable favored athletes to end up on the team. He allowed Campbell to publicly lobby to keep specific athletes off the team, even those who had defeated the Olympians. He ignore information from experienced and highly qualified coaches that the team was being ill prepared: that Campbell was ignoring policy and required procedures for discipline and management of the team; that Campbell could not relate or communicate with the team; that Campbell lacked the National and International experience and successes necessary to prepare the team; that Campbell had other skeletons in the closet that may or may not be impacting the team. He DID NOTHING. He did not examine or investigate. His mantra was: “Dan is the best coach we have, it’s his team.” when clearly the facts were not there to support that and the issues were too significant to ignore under any conditions.

He and he alone had the responsibility to set the management of the entire organization right: to establish integrity, set the tone for finding the facts, examining the ramifications of what was discovered and for acting in the best interests of the team, the program and the future of the sport. Any experienced manager could see these issues as needing immediate attention and potentially disastrous management flaws. He failed, period.

Then, the greatest measurement of failure in US Boxing history: Dan Campbell. He told everybody this was his team. And ultimately and unfortunately, it was. A coach’s role is not only to coach, but to establish the integrity and leadership tone of the team.

As we got closer to Beijing, the cracks began to show. Of the eleven weight classes, he could only coach eight boxers into the trip to Beijing. In Beijing, each night, more of Dan’s team is eliminated. We hear about confusion, lack of communication between coaches and boxers and we see poorly conditioned and poorly motivate boxers who are all capable of so much more, being sent down session after session. A coach HAS to be about integrity, communication, management of the athlete and total trust; particularly in boxing. In each of these areas, he is a total failure.

In Colorado, at training camp, Campbell was seen to be the most distant, hands off, and blame deflecting individual ever given this level of responsibility. He blamed everybody but himself for the situations as they became public. And there were more situations than ever reached the public. “This kids a liar”... “that kid ignored me”......”we told him to lose weight”....”he got robbed”.... etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. His actions and excuses are not hard to trace.

Even casual observers hear that over the last two years he privately maneuvered and lobbied to keep to keep specific boxers OFF the team, instead of setting the competitive tone and integrity that the boxers deserved: allowing the best boxers to earn their spots. Then, strange alterations of the draws and/or brackets in two major tournaments occurred and he said nothing. While according to at least one coach, this practice seems to be considered normal at USA Boxing, it can’t improve the competitive environment or strengthen the boxers desire to improve to win. “It’s just more of USA Boxing’s typical BS.”

Campbell also ignored procedures and policies by removing individuals without proper hearings. He threatened to strip medals from those he bullied if they did not shut up. He sought to intimidate boxers. How can two kids be charged with a curfew infraction at 11:00 PM and be packed and be at the airport and on an airplane by 7:00AM if they got a mandatory hearing to determine their fate? How could they be let back in weeks later without a hearing?

Some dared to speak out. When that happened, USA Boxing closed ranks behind their Dan. They ignored it.

Coaches knew. Boxers came home heavier than when they went into training camp. They were at 75% of the conditioning they took to Colorado. There were almost NO distance runs, no stamina training, in Colorado. No substantial consuling and no management of the athletes training behaviors and progress. There was no effort to improve or enhance the possibilities of each boxer. Everybody in Colorado, including Campbell knew about weight problems early on and failed to take adequate steps when they should have been taken, in the gym, in preparation and for months before leaving for Beijing. Dan is famous for coming into the workouts, writing a set of practice drills on a bulletin board while assistants with even less experience then he has ran the drills and while he sat in a chair with the boxers schooling themselves and each other.

When they complained, he outlawed the best personal coaches instead of listening and considering their issues and suggestions. He told at least one personal coach that “This is MY team and I’ll do it MY way. YOU don’t even come around here to watch. I’ll have you barred from the complex.” He sought to intimidate or punish boxers for listening to their personal coaches. He didn’t want them asking him why what he demanded they do was different so that they could understand why he wanted something different from the coaches that made them successful.

Then he chose two assistants that also had no substantial National or International competitive experience training boxers. This is not to fault them. They didn’t have the experience to know what was needed and they worked for him. They could still mature into important coaching assets in the future, if they learn from this. Even so, he should not have done it and USA Boxing should not have allowed it.

The boxers knew. Over half of the team is on record as NOT trusting him. Who can win with a coach that they can’t trust? Every boxer saw how he dealt with their peers and how USA Boxing supported him. There were whispers about Dan’s personal behavior on trips caused many involved to lose respect for him. Even if there was nothing illegal about his personal habits, it impacted the morale of the team and their respect for him as a mentor. If that many boxers went public in the face of the power and control Dan had over their lives and careers, how bad must it have been? And how many others stayed silent rather than be branded as a liar by a person of authority and power? Seeing how he bullied others, some chose silence and it played out in Beijing.

Campbell kept playing one boxer off of another to manipulate the outcome he wanted. To keep people in the program, Campbell suggested he would send them to box in the second or third hemispheric qualifier when the Trials’ winner would fail to qualify for Beijing at an early one. “The Trials winners are only guaranteed a trip to the first qualifier, if he looks bad there, we’ll send you to the next one” he told them. Then he broke that promise. He abandoned policy and procedures to intimidate boxers by actions he took against others. His enforcement of rules was erratic and unbalanced, favoring certain boxers and pressuring others. The boxers never knew what to expect from him. Who can follow and inconsistent coach?

Back to USA Boxings management and leadership failures. They are responsible for the behavior of Campbell, as their employee. This litany of issues ignores the other rumors about his personal habits that USA Boxing certainly had to hear. Even if untrue, they needed to be investigated and perhaps a meeting with Dan to alter them should have happened. Nobody knows if any of that happened. But with just what related to boxing specifically, USA Boxing failed to manage, set the leadership tone and procedure apparatus to manage Campbell, their employee properly.

And, as said, this is the greatest moment that Dan and USA Boxing could muster being the people they are. Olympic Committee, it’s your job to FIX IT!

There are at least a dozen great Level 4 coaches that could have made you proud. There are thousands of athletes that depend on you to set a tone of fairness, discipline and ethical striving for greatness. Stand up and make it right.

[lukerunion]

Mel, bigpicture,

I am saying that you can't blame someone for something they inherited. I've read most of the posts and hear what your saying. I am not sure if you understand the scope that people who work at USAB deal with. It is a large organization with a lot of events in addition to everyday registration activities. An overworked staff I believe. I think a lot of what I read here is a desire for an overnight change. Nothing is going to drastically happen over night. What we could expect soon is a 4 year plan for 2012. Goals that the entire organization can focus on. Getting everyone on the same page. I don't think being positive is being nice but I hold my breath before I speak about situations or hearsay that I don't know both sides of the story. And there are always 2 or more sides to every story in boxing. Nature of the beast.

I hear you saying tangible things that need to be changed. I don't hear tangible solutions. How should the Olympic Coach be selected? Are you saying the National Director of Coaching should not assume the role of Olympic Coach? Would you allow the Olympic Coach to be voted on by a body of their coach peers? Or selected by a committee, consisting of who? Should coaches be ranked based on their athletes, and/or other factors? These are what I consider possible solutions. How soon out should the Olympic Coach be decided before the team? I believe a lot of the problems with the residency problem come from a boxing culture where coaches breed fear in their boxers - not to talk or listen to other coaches - so nobody "steals" their boxer. No matter what, personal coaches will not be allowed to work the corners in the olympics - but I agree it would be possible to get them to the OTC or Chicago!? to work with athletes. How do we select an individual next time that everyone is willing to give their athlete to, in order to reap the benefits of the OTC. In theory - the OTC should be a priviledge to train at, where there is no excuse definable by sports science to improve our athletes bodies and ability, PHYSICALLY. But MENTALLY, what are the procedures to get our heads right, so we can walk in with an open mind? I never even heard about changing the draw sheets or anything like that... i thought it was based on the performance of the us nationals at the trials.

About agreements with Golden Boy... why should details be released if they are probably still being worked out? What does that do besides add fodder to the fire on this message board. I imagine that the #1 successful professional company would assist with greater exposure, possibly finance events, or possible do something like Oscar wanted to do a few years ago - an international tournament with a host of countries - but A2P wouldn't give him permission because GB wanted the telecast rights in exchange for financing the entire event and giving a portion of proceeds - %100 profit to USAB. Whatever the agreement ends up being, I can't imagine a scenario where ODLH hurts USAB. We'll have to wait and see. By the way, has anyone read Oscar's new book, American Son? The chapter about his Olympic Experience is pretty interesting and I'd like to know your thoughts.

How many LBCs are well organized you ask mel? I can't answer. The struggle is that it is a volunteer organization at the grassroots level. If Jim Millman can get corporate money to local levels, what if every region had a local office with 2 paid employees and a college intern? would that relieve a burden on volunteers? Its just my imagination but i think support can help lbcs where they need it most. on the grant, I think the announcement was sent to all presidents. Some people responded they wouldn't know what to do with the money. 10k was dispersed for any necessary reason to 10 lbc, of which 19/57 applied. One lbc responded they didnt know what they would do with the money so they didnt apply. why was it a problem if you weren't personally informed? talk to your president i guess is all i can say. I think SOCAL might have got the grant - you might not even know about it.

in short - i think that the discourse I am trying to encourage is not what I'm seeing. let me ask you this question, what are the changes you make in the next four years if you are the CEO. how do you fix usa boxing? just wondering... should we go back to the board of governors? i dont think so... but what do you think? who should have been the olympic coach if not dan?
if we had got 3 gold medals, 1 silver, and 2 bronze medals, how would your criticisms change? what would you still change and why, or would you retract comments made before the olympics started?

[bigpicture]

"I am saying that you can't blame someone for something they inherited."

I'm not. I am challenging what he did since then. I noted that he inherited Campbell. He was still the boss. He permitted what went on after he got there. Reframing the debate won't change that.

" I've read most of the posts and hear what your saying. I am not sure if you understand the scope that people who work at USAB deal with. It is a large organization with a lot of events in addition to everyday registration activities. An overworked staff I believe."

What organization is any different? None of this is an excuse for poor leadership. I am NOT condemning the rank and file at all. They are the only reason the organization can be saved. their commitment is what I am trying to get you to realize is being wasted by the poor leadership.

" I think a lot of what I read here is a desire for an overnight change."
No, it is a rejection of 8+ years of NO effective change. You keep talking about the organization I keep talking about the boxing and the administration of the boxing program. I am supportive of ancillary programs and any proactive economic growth. But, first the boxing has to be fixed. The attitude about what the organization is about and who is served by it has to be the focus. Side diversions like how much we can milk Golden Boy for is a distant secondary concern, and it will serve the interests of Golden Boy.

I would rather focus on policies to limit the interference of professional promoters, and under the table financing, etc than how much more money Goldn Boy can cough up. In that regard, I would do what other sports have done. Set regulations for access that are enforced.

I would rather focus on enforcement of existing rules fairly toward ALL boxers, coaches and officials.


"Nothing is going to drastically happen over night. What we could expect soon is a 4 year plan for 2012. Goals that the entire organization can focus on. Getting everyone on the same page. I don't think being positive is being nice but I hold my breath before I speak about situations or hearsay that I don't know both sides of the story. And there are always 2 or more sides to every story in boxing. Nature of the beast."

I must take exception with this. This is an argument of deflection of responsibility and apologizing for something that could really be fixed in a year. This coach was terrible. Not all coaches are like that. Getting rid if his mediocre approach to conditioning, technique and execution would raise the competitive performance by quantum measures. That would be a drastic realizable and beneficial change. Why can't you see that? Why do you ignore that this is the measure of the success of the organization and empowers it to claim that it is valuable and encourages enrollment by future stars?

"I hear you saying tangible things that need to be changed. I don't hear tangible solutions."
Actually, you ignore several tangible solutions that I propose. Fire Campbell. Demote and focus Millman on fundraising. Hire a leader that demands integrity and unbiased execution of the rolls and responsibilities. Hire a coaching staff that creates winners. Make a coaching team out of them and use all of them to analyze the performance and boxers.


"How should the Olympic Coach be selected? Are you saying the National Director of Coaching should not assume the role of Olympic Coach?"
NOt unless he is an active coach rather than an administrator.


"Would you allow the Olympic Coach to be voted on by a body of their coach peers? Or selected by a committee, consisting of who? Should coaches be ranked based on their athletes, and/or other factors? These are what I consider possible solutions."

Nominating pool of say 10 possibles by the level 4 coaches and clinicians and past Olympic Coaches. Vetted by the board via a review committee including the Director of Coaching.

The final group of some manageable number, 3 or less, should be voted on by the level 4s and the board and Director of coaching, perhaps.

The assistants should come from the coaches of the winning boxers.


"How soon out should the Olympic Coach be decided before the team? I believe a lot of the problems with the residency problem come from a boxing culture where coaches breed fear in their boxers - not to talk or listen to other coaches - so nobody "steals" their boxer.

How soon, is not something I am competent to suggest.
I think you have part of it backwards. The personal coaches did not bully the Olympic coach, or hide from helping them. It went the other way with him alienating them. The fear factor could have been overcome by enrolling the coaches with the Olympic coach, not turning them away.


"No matter what, personal coaches will not be allowed to work the corners in the olympics - but I agree it would be possible to get them to the OTC or Chicago!? to work with athletes."
I agree, that is specifically why they need to work hand in hand with the Olympic coaches and help the athlete gain a relationship with the coaches and the coaches with them that includes a real working relationship, not distrust.



"How do we select an individual next time that everyone is willing to give their athlete to, in order to reap the benefits of the OTC. In theory - the OTC should be a priviledge to train at, where there is no excuse definable by sports science to improve our athletes bodies and ability, PHYSICALLY. But MENTALLY, what are the procedures to get our heads right, so we can walk in with an open mind?"
That is EXACTLY the issue. the Olympic coach and the personal coach MUST manage the transition as a team. The personal coach must feel and be a part of the process. It can be done. I would be happy to explore this once we are moving in the right direction (since only then can it matter).


"I never even heard about changing the draw sheets or anything like that... i thought it was based on the performance of the us nationals at the trials."
It should have been based on that. But one of my big problems with the integrity of the organization is that a lot of people knew about these practices and did nothing at the time, when it could have added integrity to the process.


"About agreements with Golden Boy... why should details be released if they are probably still being worked out? What does that do besides add fodder to the fire on this message board. I imagine that the #1 successful professional company would assist with greater exposure, possibly finance events, or possible do something like Oscar wanted to do a few years ago - an international tournament with a host of countries - but A2P wouldn't give him permission because GB wanted the telecast rights in exchange for financing the entire event and giving a portion of proceeds - %100 profit to USAB. Whatever the agreement ends up being, I can't imagine a scenario where ODLH hurts USAB. We'll have to wait and see. By the way, has anyone read Oscar's new book, American Son? The chapter about his Olympic Experience is pretty interesting and I'd like to know your thoughts."


I believe that this could be potentially good, IF and on IF the other issues of integrity are addressed. I also believe that we have to move to reform how professional promoters and investors prepay for later contracts under the table because of the convoluted pro/am divide that exists in boxing and not in say basketball. We have to reform the financial side of amateur boxing and inappropriate interference from outsiders.

'How many LBCs are well organized you ask mel? I can't answer. The struggle is that it is a volunteer organization at the grassroots level. If Jim Millman can get corporate money to local levels, what if every region had a local office with 2 paid employees and a college intern? would that relieve a burden on volunteers? Its just my imagination but i think support can help lbcs where they need it most. on the grant, I think the announcement was sent to all presidents. Some people responded they wouldn't know what to do with the money. 10k was dispersed for any necessary reason to 10 lbc, of which 19/57 applied. One lbc responded they didnt know what they would do with the money so they didnt apply. why was it a problem if you weren't personally informed? talk to your president i guess is all i can say. I think SOCAL might have got the grant - you might not even know about it. '
Another worthwhile topic.

"in short - i think that the discourse I am trying to encourage is not what I'm seeing. let me ask you this question, what are the changes you make in the next four years if you are the CEO. how do you fix usa boxing? just wondering... should we go back to the board of governors? i dont think so... but what do you think?

"who should have been the olympic coach if not dan?"
There are at least a dozen coaches that are more qualified by temperment, work ethic, competence and focus than Mr Campbell displays.

"if we had got 3 gold medals, 1 silver, and 2 bronze medals, how would your criticisms change?"
NOt at all. I said this prior to the games, as did many others,


"what would you still change and why, or would you retract comments made before the olympics started?"
I continue to focus on the violations of the boxers rights, grievance procedures, late payment of stipends, lobbing verbally to influence the outcome against certain boxers instead of letting the competition play out. Altering the progress of boxers within tournaments without reason. Those are real and cultural poison. Allowing them to happen is the basis for my criticism of Mr Millman. Mr. Campbell, I view as simply totally incompetent in virtually every aspect of relationship management developing a competitive standard.


Best regards,
Big

[boxmel]

Mel, I agree with you that it won't make a difference that there are pictures of fouls in the passbook, by themselves. However, now, if coaches and clinicians include this as a teaching tool - it becomes effective.

Clinicians have always taught fouls in clinics; coaches have always had the rule book to advise them.

But we can mainstream the information and the communication. If we do this, and everyone is on the same page, we will see dramatic improvements in all facets of amateur boxing.

If you are saying that the rule book and clinics have not accomplished mainstreaming, maybe the new, improved passbooks will take their place?

Mel, bigpicture, I am saying that you can't blame someone for something they inherited.

No - but you can put the onus on them to make a change, even if it means separating that person from the organization.

I am not sure if you understand the scope that people who work at USAB deal with. It is a large organization with a lot of events in addition to everyday registration activities. An overworked staff I believe

I think I probably understand more than you. There are 19 staff members currently on the payroll in Colorado Springs. There haven't been "a lot of events" in the past two years, or more. "Every day registration activities" don't need all 19 people and the 6 people in the Membership Services Department should be enough to handle those duties. They also get volunteer help from USA Boxing members to help in various areas.

What we could expect soon is a 4 year plan for 2012. Goals that the entire organization can focus on.

What happened to the "4 year plan" for 2008?

Getting everyone on the same page. I don't think being positive is being nice but I hold my breath before I speak about situations or hearsay that I don't know both sides of the story. And there are always 2 or more sides to every story in boxing. Nature of the beast.

Then, as a representative for the athletes in USA Boxing, you need to find out all sides of any story that affects the athletes. Holding your breath doesn't promote change.

How should the Olympic Coach be selected? Are you saying the National Director of Coaching should not assume the role of Olympic Coach?

The International Committee used to take the nominations/selections of the Coaches Committee to determine the Olympic Coach. And are you aware that, per the Ted Stevens Act, employees of USA Boxing CAN NOT be registered members of the organization? And considering this edict, how can you have a head coach work corners who is not a registered member? Hmmmmm.

I believe a lot of the problems with the residency problem come from a boxing culture where coaches breed fear in their boxers - not to talk or listen to other coaches - so nobody "steals" their boxer.

How would you feel if, once you won the Olympic Trials, you were informed that you would be placed in a residency program for a year or you would be dropped from the team? Why wasn't this known prior to the qualifying process? Prior knowledge would have done a lot toward smoothing the way. And are you really saying that the fear of the residency program was because the personal coaches were afraid that Campbell would "steal" their boxers? Well - he did for a year, cut out the personal coaches, and caused a hugh schism.

but I agree it would be possible to get them to the OTC or Chicago!? to work with athletes.

Luke, think what would happen logistically if AIBA allowed every personal coach for every boxer in the World Champinships. It's the same reason why the IOC determines the number of people in each sports delegation.

About agreements with Golden Boy... why should details be released if they are probably still being worked out? What does that do besides add fodder to the fire on this message board.

It adds more fodder by NOT releasing any details. Oscar has never offered to help in the many years he's been asked. Now that he's a force in pro promoting all of a sudden he's willing to.......do what? Have first right of refusal on our boxers turning pro? At least A2P was actually giving USA Boxing real money without any strings.

I imagine that the #1 successful professional company would assist with greater exposure, possibly finance events, or possible do something like Oscar wanted to do a few years ago - an international tournament with a host of countries -

Actually, from what I heard, the Events Dept. couldn't get their act together and blew it.

I can't imagine a scenario where ODLH hurts USAB.

I don't think he will, either - but I'm somewhat sceptical about how he's going to help.

How many LBCs are well organized you ask mel? I can't answer. The struggle is that it is a volunteer organization at the grassroots level. If Jim Millman can get corporate money to local levels, what if every region had a local office with 2 paid employees and a college intern? would that relieve a burden on volunteers?

No. LBC volunteers handle registration and officiating. How would 2 paid employees and a college intern help? What would they do? My LBC has at least 12 people who handle registration in our large area and one COO, with others who can step in. Do we need to pay two non-members to do these tasks? No.

Its just my imagination but i think support can help lbcs where they need it most.

Has anyone done a study on what support the LBCs need the most? Where they feel paid staff would benefit them? If so, I'd like to see the results.

on the grant, I think the announcement was sent to all presidents. Some people responded they wouldn't know what to do with the money.

That's interesting. When Millman gave his presentation in Mesquite last year, he stated there were three areas that the additional $1,700 could be applied to by the LBCs: (1) Computer support, i.e., program for registration; purchase of ESS, (2) Safety equipment and (3) Hiring help (I'm not at home where I can verify this, but I'm pretty close to the three areas that were offered). So I guess those LBC's that responded they didn't know what to do weren't interested in any of the options?

why was it a problem if you weren't personally informed? talk to your president i guess is all i can say. I think SOCAL might have got the grant - you might not even know about it.

Sorry - my point was there is no communication in our LBC, as well as others. If communication is not there, input can't be given.

should we go back to the board of governors? i dont think so...

Why don't YOU think so?

if we had got 3 gold medals, 1 silver, and 2 bronze medals, how would your criticisms change?

But we didn't and that's the entire point of all our discussions. Are you aware, BTW, that we are given "medal markers" by the USOC that our funding is tied to? It would be interesting to know if we met our markers this Olympics and, if not, how much funding will be cut.