Coaching Prep Sports Can Be a Nightmare #Truth

By Ray Gallagher, Examiner Sports Editor @Directrays

So, the old Direct Rays – in the pot-stirring bastion of yesteryear – would have likely crucified Ossining High School for its handling of the Pride’s dismissal of former boys’ basketball Coach Mike Casey last week #ReckonIJustDid.

So just days before 2024 hoops tryouts, Ossining High officials elected to initiate a situation – allegedly spurred on by several disgruntled parents – by relieving one of the most respected figures within the district, a dean of students no less, because the squeaky wheel needed its grease and Ossining officials were quick to oblige.

All anyone needs to know is that there was absolutely no wrongdoing on the part of Coach Casey. Ossining, which has never won a Section 1 boys’ basketball title in school history, simply chose to dismiss Casey, one of the good guys on the local circuit, on a whim.

“There is nothing to speculate, Coach Casey chose not to come back this season,” Ossining AD Chris Herrera said.

The only reason Casey was given by Ossining officials was “complaints” from players and parents, a handful of whom spoke at a recent Board of Education meeting requesting a coaching change, which led to all of this and some purportedly hard feelings between those involved in the situation. Again, there was no incident of any kind reported. These folks simply wanted a new coach and will be granted such in the coming days.

While Casey expected to remain the face of Ossining hoops, which he has done since taking over for former coach Lonnie Drinks well over a decade ago, he felt it was best to resign last Friday to allow the program to move forward.

Tryouts and winter practices across Section 1 were scheduled to begin Monday without a coach in place at Ossining. Casey primarily stepped down due to a lack of support from the administration, which is the #KEY thing in keeping able-bodied coaches/teachers from signing up for one of the most thankless jobs in all the land.

We call bull. Casey was ready to return; he was blindsided by everything and this just plain stinks. Sadly, it’s a microcosm of prep sports, a prime example of “Why would I put my teaching career on the line to coach prep sports” if I’m a tenured teacher? Why would genuinely good people and educators like Mr. Casey ever want to coach and be subjected to nonsense like this?

I’m certain that if I were a teacher/educator, based upon the recent landscape, that I would never jeopardize my career and my family fortunes to stand up against the thankless mob for a thankless job. Same holds true for referees/officials in all sports #AbsolutleyThanklessJobs.

Same holds true for volunteer coaches like former Yorktown High lacrosse goalie Coach Joe Colarusso, among the best in the business, who was relieved of his duties last spring by Husker Head Coach Tim Schurr. These are two of the nicest guys I’ve come across in my 35 years in the local sports biz, which is why I turned a blind eye to the speculation surrounding these circumstances the past six months in the hopes that things would naturally work out on their own.

However, here we are, after a series of meetings – behind closed doors and recent open gatherings – without clarity from within one of the nation’s premier athletic programs.

Gents, it’s time to crack open a 12-pack of Frescas and figure this thing out, because Yorktown lacrosse is bigger than a pair of squabbling, lifelong friends, and all the signatures on a petition won’t amount to a hill of beans if the 41-time Section 1 champion Huskers are negatively affected by whatever philosophical differences stand in the way #FriendshipMattersMost.

Luckily, we have some time between now and the start of the spring lax season. Time has a way of healing wounds, so let’s hope that’s the deal here and the harmonized Huskers, who reached the NYS Final 4 last year, can continue on with one of the premier coaching staffs in the country.

Ray Gallagher

Ray has 33 years experience covering and photographing local sports in Westchester and Putnam counties, including everything from Little League/Travel Baseball to varsity high school prep sports and collegiate coverage. He has been a sports editor at Examiner Media since its inception in 2007.

Visit Ray’s author bio page for more details. Also read Ray’s archived work here and his Direct Rays column here.