Posted: June 22, 2009

There are some weak reasons being bandied about regarding the decision to not renew Brookfield East girls soccer coach Bill Armstrong's contract last week.

I would like to touch on all of them, but I am writing a column, not a novel.

Armstrong says Athletic Director Corey Golla told him the team had "underperformed" and had a "sub-par" season, and that it was "a good time to do something."

Let's take just a quick glance at the numbers.

The Lady Spartans were 14-4-4, ranked second in state for most of the year behind Divine Savior Holy Angels, which this year won its second straight state championship. East finished behind the Dashers (7-0) in the Greater Metro Conference with a 6-1 record and won the regional title.

But the Lady Spartans also lost to Brookfield Central, 4-2, in a shootout after playing a 1-1 tie in double overtime in the sectional semifinal, and Central went on to upset top-seeded Homestead to qualify for the state tournament.

Problem number one.

The Lady Spartans easily handled the third-place Lady Lancers, 4-1, in their regular season encounter, and they were expected to beat Central and meet Homestead in the title game.

"Some people jumped to conclusions and said he was let go because we lost to Central," East senior and star player Bianca Gaspardo said. "That's ridiculous."

Is it?

Andy Orgovan, whose daughter, Lizzy, was a senior defender on this year's team, thinks there might be something to the conjecture.

"Because of the neighborhood rivalry, the loss to Central might have been the coup de gras," Orgovan said. "In my opinion, even though East had some of the most talented individuals, they didn't play as a mature team all the time. Sometimes they did, but at times they didn't.

"In the past, they had less talented teams that conducted themselves with more maturity, and they were still successful. The bottom line is how many times you win a state championship when everyone says you should have."

Armstrong knows what Orgovan is talking about.

"If I have one regret, it was only going to the state tournament one time," said Armstrong, who lost to DSHA, 3-2, in double overtime last year.

It is hard to find fault with Armstrong's record unless you have unreasonable expectations.

"Corey told me that there was absolutely no problem (out of the ordinary) from parents," Armstrong said. "And I was pleased with that."

So let's look at the second - and real - reason Armstrong says he was given for the nonrenewal.

The administration wants a coach who could better monitor and - here's the fun part - control the student-athletes.

"This administration is run like a concentration camp," Orgovan said. "In this day and age, you have to decide whether to be too strict or not strict enough. It's part of today's society.

"But that doesn't mean hang common sense on the door knob. If you are looking and searching long enough, you will find something. Now we're asking our coaches to be parents to someone else's children? To even get to that point is unbelievable."

To blame Armstrong, who cared more about the "student" part of student-athlete title, for some of the athletic code violations or senior skip day vacations is a joke.

But, as administrators try to rein in athletic code violations, look for the next coach to come from inside the school. The feeling is that teachers on staff will have their finger on the student pulse more firmly than someone outside the school. Unfortunately, they won't be able to hire the best coaching candidate for the position.

They just let him go.

 

Read Tom "Sky" Skibosh's blog at BrookfieldNOW.com.