Salem High Students & Parents Rally Around Fired Soccer Coach

So my very first Plymouth Canton Board of Trustees meeting was an interesting one to say the least. The room was overflowing, with folks standing out in the hallway. All of this was over the firing of Salem High School soccer coach, Scott Duhl.

From the looks of things, most or all of his players showed up to support him, and an equal number of parents were there as well. All had nice things to say about Mr. Duhl, both parents and players alike.

My first inclination was to quote many of the players and parents. There were certainly some juicy comments, and there were also hints as to the reason or reasons he was fired. This stuff makes for a great story, and it would be easy to write about the possible reasons folks stated for his firing, but to do that would be irresponsible at this point.

It could harm Mr. Duhl, and it could harm students. So instead of writing the juicy story, I will share a story about my days as a school board member, and how situations similar to this sometimes happen.

We once had a football coach, and he was pretty successful, and the players loved him. You always love a coach who is able to lead you to victory. You may hate the practices, you may disagree with playing time, and a whole host of things, but at the end of the game, if you are on the winning side, you tend to forget the things you hate about the guy.

Well this coach was known for some of his fiery halftime speeches. One Friday night, a couple of parents walked by the locker room, and the door had been left ajar. These parents overheard this coach, and suffice it to say, his fire and brimstone halftime speech had some very colorful words. The parents were offended by the cuss words the coach was using in front of his players.

The next morning I heard that a bunch of parents were demanding the coach be fired, and by the end of the day, I found out that he had resigned. During that day though, there were at least 5 different versions of what had caused the ruckus. This didn't surprise me in the least. I had seen this happen before.

In an emotional situation like this, every time the story is told, it changes. By the end of the day, the story does not even resemble the original story, and who knows if the original story is even accurate. When folks are left to guess why the coach got fired, only bad things can come of it.

So here is the deal. Our coach didn't say a thing that his players hadn't heard before. Heck, he didn't say a thing that these kids didn't hear every single day. As a parent, I'll be honest, I wasn't offended. My opinion was that if the players had no problems, I had no problems. It's football for gosh sakes. But that is just me.

However, when I put my school board hat on, things get different. The coach put the administration in a box. While his transgression wasn't totally egregious, it was a transgression all the same. He put the Athletic Director in a bad spot with his language. Like it or not the parents had a legitimate gripe, and the district had to act. The coach was offered a disciplinary plan, and he could have kept his job, but he refused, and gave his resignation. We wished him well.

The problem with the Salem High School soccer coach situation is complicated. Folks must understand that there are times when a district cannot publicly disclose the reasons for the firing. Legalities are involved, and for P-CCS to publicly disclose the reasons for the firing, they could expose themselves to a lawsuit. Heck, if his is an “at will” position, they don't even need a reason to fire him.

So one problem is that nobody actually knows why this coach was really fired. They have ideas, and they have rumors, but they don't have the official reason. If he used inappropriate language, he put the district in a tenuous position, and that rarely ends well. If it was because of a coaching decision, then you really have to feel for the guy, and it makes one question the disciplinary process of the school district.

Bottom line is that nobody knows but the administration, and the coach. I might add that Coach Duhl was at the board meeting, but he didn't speak. Personally, I have a problem with that. From an outsiders point of view, his presence looked to me like he had rallied his troops, so to speak, and when you do that, school board members begin to feel bullied, and then they tend to dig their heels in the sand, and that only ends one way. 

If I were in his position, I would have taken the high road, and stayed home. I actually observed him for awhile, and he basically just stood there looking rather angry. But again, I don't know the man, maybe that's just his demeanor.  Maybe he should have stepped up to the podium though, and communicated to the board of trustees the reasons given for his firing. Had he done that, at least none of us would be left wondering.

In a perfect world the Salem High School Principal would have written a letter to the parents of the players, and described as best as possible, the reason for the change in the coaching staff. Maybe if this had happened in a timely manner, some of the confusion, and some of the bad feelings could have been alleviated, and we wouldn't have had a standing room only meeting.

One thing is for sure. These things are never easy. Not for the players, not for the coach involved, and not for the board members who find themselves in the crossfire for a decision most likely made without their knowledge or approval.

When everything was said and done though, there was one thing that stuck out in my mind, and that was how polite, and how courteous the Salem High School students were. They applauded when their people were done speaking, but there were no catcalls, rudeness, or anything remotely close to bad behavior.

Even though their coach has been fired, and even though they are angry about that, these kids were well spoken, and very polite. That certainly speaks well for them, their parents, and yes, it also speaks well for their coach...