Justin-Siena baseball's mini-controversy far off point

There are lots of nice people who aren't suited to coaching high school athletics.

Just because a guy was a baseball star in his playing days doesn't mean he can organize a practice, keep up with modern coaching techniques or is possessor of communication skills.

Your best friend might be a sociable fellow with a variety of interests and considerable intellect. That wouldn't, however, have anything to do with his ability to run a high school baseball program.

It's important to note these truths before wading into the mini-controversy surrounding the Justin-Siena High baseball program in Napa.

Justin-Siena just rehired head baseball coach Allen Rossi. Rossi returns after Scott Wright's five-year tenure running the Braves' program ended with the former Vintage High and Cal State Fullerton baseball star being fired this spring.

There is debate swirling around the Justin-Siena and Napa Valley baseball communities over Wright's dismissal. It's like every controversy that follows a coaching change at any high school.

Wright's supporters are upset over the way he was just sent packing despite his being a good friend and with a storied baseball background.

Others who follow Justin baseball are jumping for joy over Wright's departure and the return of the highly-successful and respected Rossi. All they know of Wright is what they know of him as a baseball coach.

The bickering goes on because no one wants to address what led to the coaching change. Folks fear that pointing out a coach's shortcomings are personal attacks on the coach as a human being. So, they argue about that which they don't understand.

The quality of community journalism has digressed to the point that coverage of Wright's termination shed no light on the details. It seemed as though the school had nothing but the highest regard for the former coach's work. The coach, himself, said simply that their were differences of opinion.

Coaches are fired over small differences of opinion.

If readers care enough to comment on newspaper stories in support of the old coach or the new coach, it's incumbent upon the media to try to find out why Wright might've been terminated.

Shedding some light on why the coaching change was made will be the only way to quiet Wright's critics and those who will now set about trying to undermine Rossi.

My son was a freshman left-handed pitcher at Justin-Siena in the spring. He started and ended the season on Wright's varsity team, enjoying the middle of the year playing for a coach he really liked named Mark McLeod.

I've spoken to Wright two or three times in the last three years. Once my kids reach high school, I expect their coaches to be diligent and communicative. So, I didn't talk to Wright this spring. I talked to my son about how to wade through the ups and downs of his first high school baseball season.

The folks who are bickering on the Napa Valley Register web site about Wright being treated unfairly or about the need to move forward with no further talk of what Wright did to lose his job can keep bickering -- or they can read on for a better understanding of the painful process of firing a high school coach.

My son called home in the middle of one of his varsity baseball practices. He said he didn't want to waste another practice watching his varsity teammates playing Wiffle ball instead of doing indoor baseball drills at a rainy-day practice.

Yes, Justin-Siena's baseball practice turned ito a backyard Wiffle ball game on rainy days. If someone would like to defend a varsity baseball coach who allows Wiffle ball games to account for a practice session, more power to them.

My kid wouldn't have been outside playing Wiffle ball at home, he'd have been doing homework to keep pace at the highly academic private school. So, I drove to Justin-Siena to pick him up. He wound up staying at practice to run relay races at the end of practice with his teammates.(Relay races aren't conditioning drills.)

High school baseball players playing Wiffle ball during varsity baseball practice doesn't make the coach a bad guy. Parents like me just expect more from a baseball coach, that's all.

Pitchers need to having a throwing schedule to include their game appearances and work between game appearances. Watch a practice at school with a quality program and you'll see kids throwing in the bullpen under the watchful eye of a pitching coach at practice. Even if it's wet outside, an indoor pitchers' mound allows for young pitchers to get their work in.

Justin-Siena pitchers didn't have a throwing program.

When my son's pitching, and his coach is calling his pitches, I would expect the coach to know that he's a fastball-curveball pitcher with a still-developing change-up. I'd expect the coach to know he's a freshman who throws a lot of pitches and goes deep in the count even when he's at his best. Last spring, my son was playing for a coach who clearly didn't take time to understand his pitchers.

It's impossible to find a college or professional hitting instructor who thinks pitching machines help hitters prepare for game situations. So, Justin-Siena's coach and his staff missed the mark by having the kids hit off machines almost exclusively. Live batting practice came on the field, with players standing around waiting their turn to hit.

The game has changed. First-rate coaches run practices built around fast-paced drills that balance work on hitting and the nuances of defense. Justin-Siena's coaching staff didn't run practices that quality coaching staffs run throughout Northern California.

Hey, it's not easy to run a first-rate, 2011-style high school baseball practice. Parents with sons who are serious about the game expect first-rate, new era workouts.

There are reasons to question how the 2010-2011 Justin baseball team was coached. None of those reasons have a thing to do with Scott Wright's character or his standing the community.

At mid-season, my son pitched a complete game and threw just over 100 pitches in a complete game JV win on a Wednesday. He was called to join the varsity and be prepared to pitch the following Saturday -- on two days rest.

Two days after pitching a complete game at Justin, my kid warmed up and threw maybe 40 pitches, after warming up in the bullpen, in Walnut Creek.

If all that I knew about the former coach and staff was that they allowed my son to throw 140 pitches in three days, it'd be reason for me to call for and approve a coaching change.

I should have complained to the Justin-Siena coaches in the spring. My son was overworked ailing. I opted not to go through the baseball staff protocol of meeting with the head coach in the presence of an assistant coach. My bad.

In the final week of the season, with my kid's arm still sore from the two outings in three days, he got the call back to the varsity. He warmed up to pitch three times in four days. He pitched twice in three days until, finally, he felt like he couldn't be at all effective and told the coaches he couldn't work in a game that determined the league's final playoff entry.

See? It's not about whether a coach was a great player in his youth. It's not about whether he a nice guy, a good friend. Coaching moves are made based on how a man tasked with nurturing young athletes handles those athletes.

My son, obviously, didn't respond well to the care he and his pitching arm were given this spring. He's sidelined with an arm injury after he could only manage 1 2/3 innings in the first game of a national summer tournament in Arizona.

Put yourself in this dad's shoes. Would you be worried that the former coach was unfairly dismissed?

Justin-Siena's decision to change baseball coaches doesn't reflect on Scott Wright's standing in the school or community. He's still a great and valued friend to many. Some Justin baseball parents could only judge him based on how he handled our players.

The Justin-Siena administration made a personnel decision that is believed to have best served the athletes and their families. The bickering should end or more people will be moved to tell more stories and, really, that would get ugly.

Let the controversy end. It would be best for all.

(Contact Ted Sillanpaa at tsillanpaa1956@gmail.com)