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http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?Sectio...amp;TM=48389.91

Coaches suspended from parks activities

Laurie Wink
The News-Dispatch

MICHIGAN CITY - Two coaches have been suspended from Michigan City Park & Recreation youth activities and the Baseball Player's Association for one year.

The suspensions were effective Aug. 7.

Then-Michigan City Park Superintendent Darrell Garbacik suspended youth travel baseball head coach Scott Kaletha and assistant coach Mike Schwanke. They have requested separate closed appeal hearings with the park board.

The hearings have been scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 2, following the park board meeting. Kaletha said he looks forward to the opportunity to meet with the park board.

"The suspension was handed down on the opinion of one person," Kaletha said, referring to Garbacik. "He's the one who did this so-called investigation. I'm very confident that the truth will come out and the suspension will be overturned. I will have statements and witnesses that will refute the opinion of the superintendent."

Garbacik suspended the coaches for allowing inappropriate language to be used by adults and boys on teams under their direction. The language was apparently directed. They also were cited for ignoring ethics codes. They have denied any wrongdoing.

Garbacik's decision came after a two-month investigation that started with complaints a 12-year-old baseball player was being harassed. The boy's parents contacted Garbacik in June after finding out their son was being called names such as "gay, fag, homo and queer" by other players.

Kaletha told Garbacik he was aware of the comments, but called it "joking and humor" and "just boys being boys."

Both coaches said the comments had been made for some time, but they denied participating in the harassment. However, Kaletha said he often engages in name-calling with players and said it was a common practice among coaches when he was a young player to use words such as "homo and fag."

Garbacik said, "I explained to the coach that in today's society, one's personal orientations, religious beliefs, etc., are protected and nothing to ever joke about."

Kaletha defended himself, saying he hadn't done anything wrong and didn't feel the language and behavior was wrong.

According to Garbacik, the harassment began after Kaletha and some boys drove by and allegedly saw the targeted boy and another boy wrestling with each other. After Kaletha and the boys saw the two wrestling, rumors began that the wrestling took place in the nude, an account that was never substantiated.

After that, Kaletha and the boys began joking about what they supposedly saw, and the harassing behavior continued at baseball events and elsewhere.

Garbacik said he asked adults who were involved with youth sports for their observations about Kaletha. The consensus was that Kaletha generously volunteered his time and is good at teaching fundamentals, but acts as if "his way is the only way, and he doesn't care what anyone else thinks."

While Garbacik was still conducting his investigation, Kaletha and Schwanke were ejected from a June Baseball Player's Association tournament for 9-year-old baseball players in Warsaw, Ind.

Garbacik attended the BPA Indiana State Tournament game there, during which Kaletha and Schwanke yelled at officials and accused members of the opposing team of intentionally hitting their players with pitches and running into them on bases. Schwanke was ejected first, Garbacik reported, causing Kaletha to begin "a tirade of arguing with the umpires." After ignoring a warning to stop his behavior, Kaletha was ejected as well.

In Garbacik's report, the coaches reportedly told their players to throw at Warsaw players, and that Kaletha and Schwanke challenged the opposing coaches to a fight.

In a subsequent meeting with the coaches, Garbacik said he asked if they read the Lakefront Little League Code of Conduct and the BPA Harassment Policy. Kaletha reportedly said all coaches violate the codes, and the BPA umpires were at fault for letting the game "get out of hand."

"The head coach (Kaletha) has in fact changed his accounts and versions," Garbacik said in his report, "and I believe has intentionally and methodically tried to sway and mislead others to join his cause for his sole and personal benefit, while not taking the best interest of young participants into account."

Schwanke was suspended for knowing about and participating in the harassment.

Park Board Attorney Patrick Donoghue said the coaches are entitled to bring their own attorneys to the Oct. 2 appeal hearings, but must let the park board know in advance in order to arrange legal counsel for park department employees.

The Park Board will act as a neutral observer during the hearings, which will be recorded by a court reporter, Donoghue said. The park board will announce its decision about the suspensions during the next public board meeting following the hearing.


Contact Laurie Wink at lwink@thenewsdispatch.com.

[Ang]

I moved this thread to the City Sports topic. I feel it belongs here instead.

http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?Sectio...amp;TM=60394.98

9/26/2008 11:00:00 AM Email this article • Print this article
Kaletha loves all kids he coaches
I am saddened about the article in Sunday's paper ["Coaches suspended from parks activities"]. I have known Scott Kaletha for many years. Our boys go to school together and are teammates. In the years that Coach Kaletha has been coaching my son, never have I heard him ever downgrade any child. It is a great disappointment that anyone would try to keep him from coaching. It is what he loves and he does it well.

My son isn't playing for Coach Kaletha this year in football because Coach Kaletha cared enough about my son to get everything out of football, and talked to him about staying down a division because of his size and knew it would be a wonderful opportunity for my son and the team he is on now. If it wasn't for Scott my son would have never played football and now it is Cody's love.

So to all the ones who want to judge Scott and write negative things about him, maybe you should get to know him and his family before you start to judge him. There are two sides to every story. Maybe you should hear his side before writing.

It is only going to hurt the kids in our community if you ban Coach Kaletha, not anyone else. He loves all of these kids as his own. I wish there were more people in our community like Scott Kaletha and his wife who give the kids 110 percent of themselves. Thanks, Scott and Gina, for everything you have done for our family and our community.

Debbie Bush

La Porte

9/27/2008 11:00:00 AM Email this article • Print this article
Kaletha pushes, makes me better
I am 12 years old and have been playing football for five years. Coach Kaletha helped coach my team my first three years. He also has coached me many times in basketball. He may push me hard and sometimes I really get mad at him, but in the end it always pays off and I'm glad I did it. He is just trying to make me better. Coach Kaletha is one of my favorite coaches and when I visit his house he treats me like family.

Richard Mitchell

Michigan City

9/27/2008 11:00:00 AM Email this article • Print this article
Coaches must give positive life lessons
After reading the story on the suspended coaches in Sunday's paper, I am extremely saddened by what these young people, their parents and the officials have endured. As the mother of a son who absolutely loved playing sports as a child/young man, I remember several extraordinary coaches who had great influence on him, both for the game fundamentals and the positive life lessons, none greater than Coach Greg Mumma, who coached my son, Derrick, in La Porte Little League. He made a huge difference in my son's life - both on and off the field - by the example he gave while on the field.

What many adults often forget is that this is truly more than just a game; it is an opportunity to shape these young people into remarkable citizens while sharing love and passion for the game. No coach is perfect, and there is always a possibility for error, but NO coach who thinks this type of behavior is acceptable, or refuses to take responsibility for disobeying the rules to protect children, should be coaching. Children, as we see by the example in this article, act out what is lived before them.

Had an ethical coach heard anyone making degrading comments of any kind toward another player he/she would have stopped play, addressed the issue, and awarded consequences where appropriate. In no way would they have joined in on this form of hate and ridicule. The significance of one abusive comment or action toward a child left unaddressed has the potential to emotionally scar children for life (both those who endure it and those who hear it), no matter how many positive attributes the marked child may truly have.

We should never allow anyone who behaves in the manner described in this article be in a position with such great responsibility. If you are a coach or a child mentor in any area, seriously ask yourself and reflect on why you want to be involved. If your answer is for any other reason except to "share in, teach, and try to improve the lives of the children around you in a positve way," I suggest that you find a different hobby.

If you know a coach or mentor with great integrity, thank them often for the gift they freely offer. If I could have one moment to talk to coach Mumma, I would again thank him for making such a difference in my son's life. And if I could, I would wish Derrick a happy 27th birthday today (Sept. 24). You see, both Coach Mumma and Derrick are now with God, taken from us far too soon in different ways. I will not forget the integrity and passion for the game that coach Mumma had or the positive lessons Derrick learned under his guidance. I will never forget the joy Derrick felt when playing ball. If I close my eyes I can still see the smile on his face as he rounds the bases and the high fives received from a coach whose smile was just as wide. If I could, I would thank them both for the many summers filled with great baseball memories.

My prayer for all concerned: First and foremost, justice MUST be served! Children must be protected.

In addition it is my prayer that responsibility be taken, forgiveness offered, healing realized, and may these children find great mentors who truly love the game and who realize the awesome responsibility entrusted to them as they teach more than just a game. Play ball and make great memories!

Marcia Lashua

Hickman

La Porte

9/27/2008 11:00:00 AM Email this article • Print this article
City has many great coaches
One of the most important lessons anyone can teach kids is to be accountable for their own decisions. The coach quoted in Sunday's article is wrong to blame the umps for letting him make a bad choice. Parents should know that this article does not represent the experience of our family with Lakefront Little League (or previously Trail Creek League.)

Our boys have played ball for many outstanding coaches; the Webbs, Steve Thomas, Jim Rubino, Dan Grams, Pat Nevorske, Adam Parkhouse and his brother, and recently coach Ettinger and his staff in Lakefront 10 and under.

These are a few of many great coaches and I'm sure I left out several. All these people were also volunteers who dedicated a lot of time. More importantly, they made a personal choice to treat their team with patience and dignity. Guess what? They won a whole lot of games as well. It would be great to see a front page article highlighting a positive local role model.

Kate Komay

Michigan City

9/27/2008 11:00:00 AM Email this article • Print this article
Kids don't need coaches to play
Regarding the recent spate of letters about problems in youth baseball leagues: I propose that kids take matters into their own hands. Believe it or not kids, baseball is a fun game. Ask your grandparents how they came to love the game, and they're not likely to mention coaches, leagues, umpires, supervisors or any of the things that your parents seem to obsess about each summer. They just found an empty field, split up into teams, and played. You can do it too (at least I don't think they've outlawed this yet).

Pick out one of the many empty ball fields in our city next summer, and just start playing. You and your friends. No umpires; make up rules as you go along, if you like. If there's a dispute, one of you is likely to just take off, possibly taking the ball with him. This is OK. You're kids. It's not the same as adults displaying this kind of behavior, and through it all, some of you are likely to actually learn something about the correct ways of dealing with problems, personalities, etc. This is called maturing. It's actually easier when certain adult types aren't around (I won't accuse any of them personally, except to say they tend to be coaches).

Always remember, it's a kid's game - even professional ballplayers will tell you that - and you have a right to love it.

Have fun!

Randon Ton

Michigan City