Westshore high school athletic landscape
changing dramatically
By Zachary Dzurick
Sports
Published June 14, 2006

Click here for an archive of West Life Sports Editor Zachary Dzurick's "Red Right 88" weekly columns.

This year saw major changes in the Westshore community's high school athletic world with the split of the traditional Southwestern Conference roster of schools. Next year the changes may be more subtle but just as dramatic.

This athletic season began with a lot of promise for the Fairview High School athletic programs. The school joined a new conference with schools more of their enrollment size and the passage of the project Gemini promised improved athletic facilities. Most of the school’s teams responded with outstanding seasons. However a cloud now hovers over the school as budgets cuts eliminted 25 percent of the faculty, including some coaches their teaching jobs. The position of athletic director was also eliminated, the retiring athletic secretary will not be replaced and every program will lose at least one, some two, paid assistant coach positions. The outgoing athletic director Tom Faska will be on the job for about one more month and he had a lot of positions to fill including varsity head coaches in football, boys soccer, boys basketball, boys and girls cross country plus a plethora of coaching positions at the junior varsity, freshman and assistant levels.

“Because of teachers losing their jobs, we had over 20 open coaching positions throughout the district,“ Faska said. “Losing the caliber of coaches that we are losing is potentially devastating. It is very hard to replace dedicated and hard working coaches. We have our hands full. I will do my best to hire highly qualified people to continue to put competitive teams on the field, court, pool or mat.”

The district cuts took a huge toll on the athletic program. Boys soccer coach Jeff Kaufman, boys basketball coach Eric Smith and girls cross country coach Mark Tomecko all lost their teaching positions. All three were highly respected and successful. Smith accepted the head boys basketball position and a teaching job at Avon Lake. Kaufman has accepted a middle school teaching position at North Olmsted where he will be an assistant for the girls varsity soccer team. (see front page sidebar) Tomecko is still seeking a position.

Fairview superintendent Brion Deitsch said the staff reduction was a difficult decision. He acknowledges that many great teachers are being lost.

“Smith, Tomecko and Kaufmann are all quality coaches who did a quality job,” Deitsch said. “That is the problem with the system. All three were great teacher, so we lost six positions.”

All the cuts were made following the rules of the collective barganing agreement. Because of the recall list, if a position opened it is possible a teacher could return to Fairview even if they accepted a job somewhere else.

“If we were able to we would love to bring some teachers back,” Deitsch said.

While Faska was recovering from a triple bypass, it was announced that football coach Leo Spagnola would not return.

“That wasn’t my decision,” Faska said. “I thought Leo deserved another year and I had a plan to keep him.”

On the varsity level, former Westlake assistant coach Mark Ohradzansky has accepted the head football position, Smith’s former assistant Tim Hurley is expected to be approved by the school board as the boys basketball head coach and the soccer position remains open.

Other schools will be making changes as well.

As reported in the May 24 West Life, Olmsted Falls will have a new athletic director as Superintendent Todd Hoadley decided to reassign Paul Moses for philosophical differences. Hoadley will not comment on what those differences were.

During Moses' 13-year tenure, the Bulldogs won 45 SWC championships and compiled a 3.1 grade point average. Rocky River athletic director Wayne Rositano said that Moses leaving is a blow to athletics in the area.

"Paul has always been a leader in the SWC," Rositano said. "He has often been the voice of reason for the benefit of kids. It is a major loss for the area. I think the world of Paul."

Many coaches will also not be returning, some of their own choosing and others not.

Olmsted Falls girls basketball coach Wade Zwingler did not have his contract renewed as a teacher or coach. Zwingler believes the move was parent driven.

“Some parents have unrealistic expectations,” Zwingler said. “Unfortunately I think it goes back to AAU . . . I think some parents have a distorted view of what high school sports are about. In essence they are now tying the hands of the coach.”

Rocky River will lose three coaches all of their own volition. Girls soccer coach Brian Salco, softball coach Mike Patterson and baseball coach Matt McLaughlin resigned each to spend more time with their families and/or jobs. North Olmsted soccer coach Tom Greene stepped down as girls soccer coach to spend more time watching his daughter play for Bay. Westlake has already announced former North Olmsted head football coach Mark Hollars will replace Bob Thayer, who resigned after one year to become the athletic director at Lakewood High School.

Also retiring are North Olmsted tennis coach Harvey Schrager, Bay boys golf coach Steve Steinhibler, and Rocky River cross country coach Michael Foley.

One of the most curious coaching changes will take place at Bay High School. After three years as head basketball coach, Scott Sharp elected not to return. Sharp, who will remain at Bay High as a math teacher, has decided not to publicly comment on his decision. He did, however, state that he had intended to remain Bay's head basketball coach for many years and he would like to be a high school head basketball coach again. Sharp won three coach of the year awards last year. Despite losing most of the previous season's scoring and rebounds, his team finished 16-6.

His decision to step down means whoever takes the job will be coaching in the shadow of three former Bay High basketball coaches. Former coach of year Dave Peters and former coach Dick Scott also remain on the teaching staff at Bay. The new coach will not come from within as Sharp's entire staff has decided to resign their coaching positions in support of him.

Bay athletic director Kevin Liptrap was and remains a big supporter of Sharp.

"I support Scott Sharp 100 percent in his efforts in the past at Bay High School and will support all his efforts in the future at Bay High School," Liptrap said. "He is a man of character, integrity and good for our students and athletes at Bay High School."

Bay schools superintendent Clint Keener said the decision to step down was Sharp's alone.

"He was asked to stay and he choose not to," Keener said. "The principal recommended him as coach and I talked to him (about staying.)"

A Bay coach who wished to remain anonymous said there is a perception among coaches in the school district that Sharp was harassed by district officials on the behalf of a school board member who is the parent of a player who did not start. Several coaches confirmed that statement as being true. West Life has also learned that there have been two district wide coaches meetings where coaches have asked questions about the Sharp coaching resignation and offered support on Sharp’s behalf. While some coaches expressed concern about the situation and similar parental problems in other sports, sources indicated Liptrap is seen as supportive of coaches and coaches remain supportive of him.

Sharp would not comment. Keener said he saw any parental pressure as no different than other coaching situation.

"I have been a coach, athletic director, principal and superintendent and there was nothing unusual to me," he said."Scott had a great season and we are now scrambling to find someone."