May 13, 2009

Ask Jim Flowers about major-college coaches running from job to job, pay raise to pay raise, and watch his round face curl into a frown.

"That really eats at me,'' he says in that Texas drawl of his. "They ought to be in it for the development of people, for the development of the program.''

Don't mistake Flowers' tone for old-school bitterness. He's just one of those jewels who showed he loved coaching Army softball by staying for 19 seasons. That Flowers, 66, lost more than he won (394-492-2) before retiring last month speaks to his impact beyond the standings.

You don't much see the likes of Flowers in the coaching ranks anymore. The Division I merry-go-round runs a steady pace of coaches moving on and administrations sending them along. The process is smeared with hard feelings.

For the complete article by Kevin Gleason of the Middletown (N.Y.) Times-Herald Record click here