High School football

High School football

Diocesan offical challenges Hake

FANFARE:

I would like to respond to the inappropriate and inaccurate statements made by Western Reserve football coach Andy Hake published in the May 17 The Vindicator and the May 18 Canton Repository.

Hake was quoted as saying “these private school institutions, they put their veil of whatever it is — Christianity or whatever it may be over the face of the public to justify their schools.

“Hey come here get this disciplined Catholic Education ... It’s all lies.’

Mr. Hake goes on to say, “You mean to tell me all those kids in Youngstown’s North and East side that are going to Ursuline, that’s their kind of clientele? That’s a joke. For the OHSAA to even say that Western Reserve and Cardinal Mooney [are] the same kind of open enrollment ... Let’s just cut to the chase Catholic Schools recruit. They recruit.”

I will agree with Mr. Hake on one point. Open enrollment at Ursuline and Cardinal Mooney is different than at Berlin Center Western Reserve. While some students attend Ursuline and Mooney on the Ohio Ed Choice Scholarship, the overwhelming majority of families who choose to enroll their children at Ursuline or Mooney must pay full tuition. They are making a financial commitment in their child’s education.

At Western Reserve they can attend for free. The bulk of the students at Ursuline and Mooney do not play sports; yet, their families choose to send them anyway. They send them for quality Catholic education. I am disappointed by Mr. Hake’s reference to clientele and asking why kids from the North and East Sides of Youngstown would choose Ursuline. Since Ursuline is located on the North side of Youngstown, it is only natural that families from those neighborhoods would choose to send their kids to a quality school near their house.

Ursuline and Mooney do not have clientele. They have students and families. These families choose Ursuline and Mooney for a variety of reasons. The majority want a positive experience that teaches the faith values they live at home and educates the whole child.

Neither school will apologize for having a strong athletic program. That stems from educating the whole child and is the result of hard work by players, coaches and families alike. Both schools have dedicated faculty and staffs who work tireless hours to support the students. Mr. Hake has a right to not like the competitive balance formula and to even advocate for a separation of private and public schools. The schools in the Diocese of Youngstown voted against the competitive balance formula, although I am sure for different reasons than Mr. Hake offers.

Western Reserve is an Open Enrollment School, yet Mr. Hake wants to deny other parents the same right to choose the best educational option for their children that parents at his school enjoy. As former athletic coach, I would advise Mr. Hake to remember that high school athletics is about the kids, and he has a responsibility to coach up and challenge his own players. They will never get better if they do not test themselves. The way for students to improve is put them in challenging situations not to shield them from competition.

Finally, Ursuline and Mooney, along with the other Diocese of Youngstown High Schools (Ashtabula St.. John’s, Canton Central Catholic, Louisville St. Thomas Aquinas and Warren JFK) are members in good standing of the OHSAA. We abide by the rules and procedures and have self-reported when mistakes were made.

We also have made the conscious decision to not report area open enrollment public schools who are actively recruiting students attending Diocese of Youngstown elementary Schools. If there has been any wrong doing by one of the above mentioned schools, call my office and we will look into and correct the situation.

RANDY RAIR

Assistant Superintendent Diocese of Youngstown Schools

High School Basketball

Pompelia deserved better from JFK

FANFARE;

I am a graduate of Warren John F. Kennedy class of 1997. I had the honor of working with Shawn Pompelia for four years within the Warren JFK boys basketball program.

I did it without compensation because I loved my alma mater and there was a need. What I found in return was Shawn became a valuable friend and mentor to me.

I cannot begin to express the sadness I feel for the way Shawn was treated are relieved of his duties in regards to his position as head basketball coach at JFK. Shawn’s late father, Dom Pompelia, and Shawn have been a part of the “Kennedy Family” for over 40 years.

The most troubling aspect is the lack of support and loyalty shown to Shawn from the “Kennedy Family.” The opinions of many long time Kennedy supporters were ignored by administrators, some of whom never attended catholic high schools.

These families were voiced over by a few disgruntled parents who have 40 minutes of service to JFK. Both Mr. Sinchak and Mr. Rair should be ashamed of their statements to the media. I feel their statements were passive aggressive, show JFK in a very poor light and were downright disrespectful to Shawn.

If the accusations were so serious, why were none of Shawn’s assistant coaches questioned? Practices were monitored by Dr. Lyons — what did he observe?

If there were these occurrences, why weren’t they addressed during the season, when they happened so we could move on. Shawn sat two players and endured a 50-point loss instead of caving on team rules of discipline and punctuality. That is leadership, and judging by the statements and letters published by the local papers, there are parents, former players, other members of the coaching staff and even opposing coaches that share this opinion.

My heart hurts not only for Shawn, but for the players who supported and followed Shawn even when their own administration and “select” parents were trying to destroy the team. By relieving Shawn of his coaching duties, you encouraged a few boys to continue to expect his parents to fix his problems rather than work harder and be good teammates.

Shawn’s tough love has made countless boys into men that take care of families and give back to society. That is what high school athletes should be about. I don’t have a son, but if I did I would hope that he would have a coach like Shawn to push him to be the best he could, and maybe push him farther than that.

For the first time since 1997, I am ashamed to be an alumnus of Warren John F. Kennedy Catholic High School. JFK deserves better and so does Coach Shawn Pompelia.

ANTHONY J. NATALE

Warren

(Class of 1997)