Rate My Coaches

The coaches who teach our children to do the right thing inspire RateMyCoaches.com. Coach Cleveland Stroud is an amazing example. Here’s his story:

Coach Cleveland Stroud and the Bulldogs of Rockdale County High School had a fantastic season. They had a record of 25 wins and 5 losses and finished the season with a thrilling come-from-behind victory in the Georgia state basketball championship.

A few weeks after the season Coach Stroud was watching game tape  when he saw something disturbing. In the very first game of the tournament an ineligible player on his team entered the game for 45 seconds. Coach Stroud didn’t realize he was ineligible at the time but found out later.   

Coach Stroud knew exactly what he had to do. Coach Stroud stated ''Some people have said we should have just kept quiet about it, that it was just 45 seconds and the player wasn't an impact player.  But you got to do what's honest and right and what the rules say. I told my team that people forget the scores of basketball games; they don't ever forget what you're made of.''

The Georgia High School Association took away the title but the school principal and the people of the community supported Coach Stroud.

''There was never any question about what we had to do. We were wrong, and we had to turn ourselves in.'' Henry L. Gibbs, Principal, Rockdale County High School

''We have scandals in Washington and cheating on Wall Street,'' wrote Vicki and Bill Ball, in a letter to The Rockdale Citizen. ''Thank goodness we live in Rockdale County, where honor and integrity are alive and being practiced.''

Every school should have a coach, a principal and fans like Rockdale County High School. These are the people who inspire RateMyCoaches.com.