Baseball Team Stands Up for Their Coaches

About two dozen uniformed Holmdel Hornet baseball players and some of their parents turned out at a Board of Education meeting Wednesday to give glowing recommendations about their coaches.

Their concern was that recent allegations of unprofessional conduct, lodged at the same time the board was reviewing volunteer coach Gene Crimoli's application to assist the Varsity Coach Daniel Mondelli, could result in Crimoli not returning to the team.

Crimoli is a 27-year old substitute science teacher at Satz, covering  classes after her appointment as Holmdel's Supervisor for Math and Science on December 14.  Crimoli has assisted Mondelli for several years. His service to the team was interrrupted during the two week review period when the administration realized his application had not undergone the mandatory annual approval.

After the board voted 7-2 to put Crimoli back in the dugout, his fans broke out in applause. "It's good to be back," said a beaming Crimoli, as he received pats on the back and hugs from the players. As for the allegations that some team parents are unhappy with the baseball program, Crimoli said, "No comment."

At the last meeting, the board heard from a frustrated parent whose son had just quit the team. Todd Sackawitch alleged unprofessional conduct by the coaching staff, stating he spoke for "15 parents" who were afraid to come forward to complain about unfair treatment and missed opportunities to play in front of recruiting college coaches.

Superintendent Barbara Duncan announced she had received an anonymous letter with similar complaints, and she promised the administration would investigate. Principal William Loughran interviewed 38 of last year’s 44 team members, said Board President Barbara Garrity. Though the board did not share the details of their findings, the outcome of the investigation was that Crimoli's application was put on the agenda.

Board members Dennis Pavlik and Ana Vander Woude voted "no" on Crimoli's volunteer application.

"I voted 'no' because I am fighting for the victims who were bullied by the coaches," said Pavlik. "I would say I spoke to close to 8 to 10 parents. A lot of people had contacted me who did not want to step forward, and didn't want to speak out. They are afraid for their own children," said Pavlik. Some of the parents he spoke to had sons who had graduated from the high school, quit the team or decided not to participate, he said.

Vander Woude, who participated in the meeting by telephone, emailed a statement saying, "It was important for me that the vote reflect the concerns raised by all involved.  This is unquestionably an emotional issue from both sides. The focus now should be on how the team moves forward to create an environment that is positive for all our student players."

Holmdel Patch asked on March 15 if the Holmdel School District could use an official ombudsman to hear parents' concerns. By March 29, 54% of the 257 respondents in the unscientic poll said "Yes", and 45% said "No."

The day after Crimoli was re-instated to the team, Sackawitch said he was hardly surprised. "It was expected and I knew that was going to happen," he said.

Sackawitch, a youth coach and father of two sons who played on the Holmdel Baseball team, said he believed that if the investigation allowed players to speak out anonymously, it would have turned up different results.

He said that since he spoke out a lot of people in the community had given him the "thumbs up."

“I upset the apple cart and now this whole town knows what’s going on,” said Sackawitch.