An Open Letter to Osborne High School

Dear Osborne Family,

    When I was hired to be your head baseball coach for 2016, my plan was to be there for a while. Long enough to build the program into something you could be proud of.

    To the incredibly hard-working players and extremely supportive parents, it wasn’t my decision to not come back. I was told on the last day of school that a decision would be made by the principal and athletic director. They were going to call me on the following Monday or Tuesday. To this day, I have not received a phone call. I found out through the Cobb County School’s website that I had been replaced.

    You deserve to be treated so much better. Four different coaches in the last 4 years! Really? My mom taught me, “if you don’t have anything nice to say about somebody, don’t say anything at all.” That being said, I have a long list of things to say about the people in charge of running the Osborne athletic program, but I’m not saying anything.

    I will say this though. I loved my Osborne family! The players, the parents, my graphic arts students, and the teachers that helped me and supported me from the day I started there. My first opportunity to be a high school head baseball coach was very memorable to me.

    For those who don’t know, Osborne won only one game each of the last two years before I was hired. No one can remember the last time they had a region victory (5 or 6 years). The players were starving to learn how to win after struggling for so long.

    That’s what I miss most about my one year coaching the Cardinals. We developed a special bond, a family atmosphere. Something that a lot of baseball coaches may never experience.

    We celebrated when we won our first game on the second game of the season. The players felt that we set a record when we won our third game of the season early in the year. A three game win streak, an article about us in the newspaper, and a win when we run-ruled another opponent, made the baseball players feel like celebrities at the school! It was fun!

    I will never forget the players showing up in my classroom to tell me this was their year. They were so confident. We all couldn’t wait to get to the practice field. I didn’t put the state tournament games on the schedule for show. They honestly felt they were good enough to play post-season baseball!

    All of you made me proud. We ended up not winning a region game, but I was told by all the opposing coaches that we competed like no other Osborne team in the past. We had only 13 players, no junior varsity program, and played in what was considered one of the toughest baseball regions in the highest classification in Georgia.

    To sum up the 2016 Osborne Cardinals baseball season, we played with class, we appreciated the game, we hustled at all times, we improved on our fundamentals with hard work, and we pushed each other to be the best we could be. The players didn’t realize it, but they pushed me and made me the best coach I could be.

    I want to thank all the parents of these outstanding young men. I started coaching baseball in 1982, and this past season was one of the most memorable. Thank you, parents, for all your hard work and tremendous support. You were great!

    Watching the 2017 season from a distance is hard for me. Players quitting in protest, good players transferring, getting run-ruled almost every game, and having an 0-18 record.It saddens me. It’s just not fair. Like I said, the school deserves better.

    Maybe this is a blessing in disguise. I honestly believe that everything happens for a reason.I am now working independently to help not only Osborne baseball, but schools like Campbell and Pebblebrook too.

    Please contact me anytime. Go to www.fowlkesbaseball.com  and let me know what you think. I want to help. After working with the players and parents at both Osborne and Campbell, I’m very passionate about building stronger baseball programs in the area!

    I look forward to hearing from you and good luck the rest of the season!

                                                                                    Sincerely,

                                                                                    Jimmy Fowlkes