Posted on 12/10/2001 9:27:10 AM PST by RippleFire
Fired coach: I was accused of running up score By Marcus Nelson, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Friday, December 7, 2001 LAKE WORTH -- Wellington High School girls basketball coach Teresa Krellner said the school's principal fired her Tuesday after accusing her of running up the score against Santaluces. The Wolverines defeated the Chiefs 67-11 on Monday and Krellner was dismissed the following morning by Wellington Principal Rod Montgomery, Krellner said Thursday night. "He said he felt like it was an embarrassment to his school," Krellner said. "I was told I was being fired because I deliberately ran up the score in the game. He thought it was an embarrassment that at the end of the game players were laughing on the court." Montgomery would not disclose the reason Krellner was fired. "Issues that we have with personnel we don't discuss with the press," Montgomery said during Wellington's game at Lake Worth on Thursday night. "The bottom line is we thought the program could be taken to another level." Krellner was 41-16 in three seasons as head coach and the Wolverines are 5-1 this season. "Obviously doing it once the season has started is not ideal, but it's a decision that was made and we're going to live with it," Montgomery said. "Hopefully everyone will rebound." Krellner also attended Wednesday's game, where she was hugged by several players and greeted by parents angry about the firing. Players said they were notified of the decision by Wellington Athletic Director William Dupere. "We were all called out of class and (Dupere) said that coach 'Tree' was not going to be our coach," senior forward Mary Carter said. "He told us it had to do with the game on Monday. There were three or four girls crying and we all thought about quitting." Parents of the players were upset with Krellner's dismissal. "This woman has been a role model and is beyond reproach," said Barry Schnittman, the father of guard Cari Schnittman. Krellner said she told Montgomery she took several steps to keep the score down against Santaluces, which is 0-5 this season. "I tried to explain that we didn't run up the score and we called off our press in the first quarter," Krellner said. "I told our girls that we could not fast break. I did everything short of what I thought would be humiliating to the other team." Krellner said the starters played sparingly in only the first and third quarters before she let them back in with 1:45 remaining. Even then, Krellner said, the players were not in their regular positions. Krellner said that was why the players were laughing. Wellington players said they did not run up the score. "The people that scored in that game don't get to play that much," Carter said. "We don't believe in running up the score." Santaluces coach Bruce Wasserman does not believe Krellner ran up the score. "I did not leave the gym that night thinking that they had run the score up on us," Wasserman said. "We're not a competitive team. I've been on both ends of games like that and there's not much you can do." Krellner said she called Wasserman to make sure he wasn't upset about the game. Vic Navarro, who was an assistant on the Wellington boys team, was named the coach of the girls team and the Wolverines beat Lake Worth 40-25 Thursday.
The best coaches I ever watched used to work on lopsided games to make sure the game was well in hand. Then they implemented Plan - B to make sure the scrubs got plenty of playing time, as well as making sure those that rarely had the chance to score did get that chance. I used to do the same thing, although I don't count myself as among the best coaches.
It looks to me as though this coach did all those things. You can't put the third string in and tell them not to try. My guess is the one that did the firing needs to be fired.
I'm afraid this may be even more interesting than you might think...
There's an excellent probability what we have here is:
1) A black, male principle.
2) Whose terminated a white lesbian girl's BB coach.
Yea.
~& as such; the fecal matter hasn't even begun to hit the metalic impeller, yet.
...whadda ya think of that? :o)
But, as these things go, if the principal had a personal beef with this coach, any pre-text would be sufficient for dismissal. I've seen it happen.
That's true. I've done high school basketball on radio for many years and I once saw a junior varsity game prior to a broadcast of mine where one team led 97-11 with one minute to go and set up a play to get a three-point shot for their starting two-guard. It was successful and the team hit triple digits. I lost all respect for that program for doing that.
This is the same sort of thing that Spurrier gets accused of and it's the same problem. A team's backups and scrubs work hard in practice to learn the same plays that the starters know. It is unfair to put them in, then tell them not to try. Heck, it's a chance to get them playing time in a game situation.
I DO NOT KNOW THAT IT'S RELEVANT, but yes, Principal Rod Montgomery is a African-American male. They've got NINE Assistant Principals. http://www.palmbeach.k12.fl.us/WellingtonHS/main.htm
"This is the same sort of thing that Spurrier gets accused of and it's the same problem. A team's backups and scrubs work hard in practice to learn the same plays that the starters know. It is unfair to put them in, then tell them not to try. Heck, it's a chance to get them playing time in a game situation."
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.