Reasons For Coach Quinn’s

Dismissal Are Ridiculous

To the Editor:

I was quite shocked to read of Coach John Quinn’s dismissal as coach of the NHS basketball team. I have known John personally for over 20 years, and I find the reasons given for his firing absolutely ridiculous. I have never known John to turn a blind eye or to tolerate the type of behavior that was alleged to have happened.

I personally have been involved coaching youth sports for 27+ years and in all that time, across different sports and coaching hundreds of boys and girls, I can honestly say I never had an issue with any of the players — if there was a problem, it was with the parents. While I was a resident of Newtown for 15 years, I coached a number of in-house and travel teams as well as the boy’s high school basketball team during their summer league down in Bridgeport for Coach Quinn in the early 2000s. I know Coach Quinn would not have put up with the alleged bullying, and as I see it, it is a sad sign of our times that he would be dismissed based on the complaints of bitter parents who felt that their child was not treated fairly by the staff. In the park and recreation leagues, your child is guaranteed an equal amount of playing time. But as they progress and get older, they earn that time with hard work and talent.

Because your child averaged 20 points a game in sixth grade, it doesn’t make him a starter at the high school level. Somehow, this escapes overbearing parents as they live vicariously through their children and are unable to deal with the reality that their son or daughter is no longer the star of the team. I feel badly for the lesson these children learn from their parents and fear they will be ill prepared to deal with life’s ups and downs in their later years because of it.

Bullying is a serious issue and something that should not be tolerated — ever —– and I know Coach Quinn feels the same way. For him to be let go and held accountable for something that I know he would not let happen is a real shame. It sets a bad precedent for Newtown that a handful of disgruntled and spiteful parents could railroad a coach with an excellent reputation and who has done so much for youth sports in the town off the sidelines.

Good luck to whoever takes his place, you are going to need it.

Dan O’Handley

15603 Aberfeld Road, Huntersville, NC                      June 22, 2012