An open letter to our site's visitors:
As many, if not all of you know, Coach Pop was advised Tuesday, April 28, that his contract as Menasha's head wrestling coach will not be renewed for the 2009-2010 season. The purpose of this email is to let all of you know what he was told, and to hopefully stop some of the rumors that are apparently out there.
First of all, Coach was not let go because he "did something wrong." Mr Spindler and Dr Haase told him that had they been able to find some cause to let him go, it would be easier to do, but the fact is that Coach's record is clean. Coach was not fired, nor was he asked to resign--his contract will simply not be renewed.
This being said, the reason they did give him for the non-renewal is that there is a teacher who expressed the desire and interest to be the head wrestling coach, and that he had expressed that desire when he was hired by the school district. That teacher will take over as head coach, as it is apparently district policy to allow teachers first dibs on coaching positions.
Obviously, this is very upsetting to many wrestlers, managers and their families. The long-term effects that this change in coaching staff will have on the team remains to be seen, but the immediate effects will be these:
- There will be no team trip to Nebraska this season, unless the new head coach decides to coordinate one.
- Our door will always be open to the wrestlers and managers, both current and former, who want to visit, ask questions, or set up time to go to the Grappling Club or Gold's to work out.
- There is the possibility that Coach could end up getting picked up by another school...but he will still remain supportive of all of the athletes who have become like family to us over the past many years, and he wishes you all the best.
- The team website will be taken down before the start of the 2009-10 school year; if someone else wants to take it over, please let me know and I will train you and hand over the access/passwords. I will also no longer be doing the emailing, manager training/coordinating, or any of the other things that I've enjoyed doing over the past 5 seasons.
We're sorry that this is coming out in the form of an email; had we known about this prior to banquet, we could have handled all this and our good-byes/good lucks more personally. We'll still be around, though, and welcome anyone who wants to stop by, call, or email questions/comments any time.
If, after reading this, you are still upset, hurting, and feel the need to question the powers that be, please contact Mr Spindler, Dr Haase, and your school board representatives with your concerns. We believe that they need to hear from the people directly affected by this decision how their actions will affect the future of Menasha wrestling.
Thank you for all the support and friendship over the past years. Best of luck to all of you in your future endeavors on and off the mat.
di