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Schools

Some Are Blowing the Whistle on High School Coach Surveys

Some school districts use coach evaluations, but Lower Merion—like most—does not. "What happens when a kid does something wrong, gets benched and refuses accountability?" asks one observer.

It’s been a point of contention and serious dialogue in Havertown since the of ’s long-time basketball coach Terry McNichol two weeks ago. Now, after the dismissal of another Central League coach, it seems to have caught on like wildfire throughout locker rooms and playing fields throughout the area this spring—from athletes, teachers, school administrators and parents.

At issue is the subject of anonymous coach surveys, which, among Central League schools, only Haverford and Penncrest distribute to their student athletes, and allow parents to access online. Though both schools implement the anonymous surveys, they haven't led to anything as drastic at Penncrest as they seem to have at Haverford. There, it has has stirred a .

Some blame the Haverford survey for the firing of Jorge Severini, who was asked to and was then dismissed after 22 years as the Fords’ head soccer coach. Then, on Friday, April 1, McNichol was also fired, after refusing to resign.

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“You have a lot of people looking over their shoulders at Haverford these days,” a source close to the situation told Patch. “The coaches there can’t speak up [for] fear of being fired, and with these coach’s surveys being put out, you have high school coaches that for the most part [are] forced to coach scared.

“What happens when a kid does something wrong, gets benched and refuses accountability? You don’t think that won’t come out on the survey?”

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Anyone can access the Haverford survey and submit it online, and that’s where the gaping difference is between the method Haverford employs and what other school districts are doing across the region. The survey came into existence at Haverford last year and is to be filled out at the end of the season. It’s been in existence at Penncrest for three years.

Haverford athletic director Joann Patterson and the Haverford School District have stated that they do not publicly discuss policies or personnel matters, and have repeatedly declined Patch interview requests.

Lower Merion: Not Used, Not Needed

Other school districts are more open about their views on coach surveys. Lower Merion School District does not use them.

“If someone has something to say, my office is always open, and I believe in letting my coaches know where they stand,” said Tom Ferguson, athletic diretor at Harriton High School. “I don't believe in surveys.

"We have a great group of coaches that I have trust in, and if a parent has an issue, we can sit down and discuss it. An anonymous survey can open the door to trouble and accusations. I believe in handing things in person, face-to-face.”

At Penncrest, athletic director Chip Olinger puts the survey out in midseason for each sport. But they are only available online for a week, so if parents want to make any suggestions, changes or improvements could be implemented while the respective sport is still being played. In addition, Olinger believes that a midseason survey avoids some of the venting and backlash that often comes after a season is complete.

Marple Newtown doesn’t have surveys, but athletic director Dennis Reardon said the school district is considering them for next season. For Reardon and Marple Newtown Principal Ray McFall, they want a keener sense of what can be done better. They feel surveys are an avenue to explore.

“We want to use it as an instructional tool,” said Reardon, who is in his fourth year as athletic director and also serves as Marple Newtown’s assistant principal. “I’m certain that it’s tough coaching today. Coaches, I truly believe, have the best interest of the kids at heart. So many things make it difficult for what is best for a program.

“And you’re dealing with a different type of parent today. All parents have the belief that their child has the ability to succeed. That places a coach in a tough spot, with two weeks to evaluate a kid, and a kid maybe has a bad two weeks. A coach has a short window to see that. I’m blessed with our coaching staff that look at themselves and work on improving.”

Accountability’s Two-Way Street

Reardon, however, made an emphatic point: The surveys available in Marple Newtown will not be anonymous.

“We want people to give us constructive criticism and attach their names to the surveys,”  he said. “We won’t accept, nor consider, anonymous surveys. If their name is attached to it, it makes them think more about what they’re putting down. We’re constantly trying to improve what we do. We want the feedback, but we won’t tolerate personal attacks.”

Surveys can be positive, of course. Reardon spoke of a fellow athletic director at a neighboring school. Through a survey, a parent suggested a better way a coach could communicate with his players about scheduling practices. When the athletic director broached the idea to the coach, the coach admitted the parent was right and made a change.

The Penncrest and Haverford surveys contain multiple-choice questions about a coach’s organizational skills, knowledge of the sport they coach, professionalism and ability to communicate with the players and their parents. The responses are gauged by very satisfied, satisfied, neutral, dissatisfied and very dissatisfied. There is an open-ended area at the bottom to address the strengths of a program and what could be done to make it better.

A 'face-to-face guy'

None of this will get McNichol his position back at Haverford, but it may force other school districts to rethink the practice of anonymous coach surveys, he said.

“I still had to come in last August and respond to the first survey they did at Haverford,” McNichol said. “I thought it was kind of dumb. How do you evaluate a coach off a blind survey? Someone can say anything, and who do you believe? My son went to Haverford, and if they had the surveys available then, I wouldn’t have filled one out. I have a lot of respect for the other coaches at Haverford. They don’t have a bad one there.

“The only ones who fill them out have an ax to grind. I’m a face-to-face guy, always have been. It’s just a sad thing, though, about coaching today. The kids haven’t changed. They’re still the same. They want to learn and they want to play. Parents are very different. The biggest difference is that even if a kid is wrong—say they’re late for practice—a parent will argue and get on the coach about it. Kids today still want discipline and still want to play hard. I had good kids at Haverford. I always did.”

McNichol acknowledged the good parents there, too. Bobbi Morgan, the mother of Fords’ hoops starter Patrick Morgan, has a unique perspective on it all. A 1981 Haverford graduate, Morgan (then Bobbi Cabrey), was a three-sport star at Haverford who went on to play basketball at Richmond. She later came back to coach at her alma mater, producing amazing results, with nine 20-win seasons and seven state playoff appearances at Haverford.

Morgan knows what it’s like as a parent, and as a coach.

“It’s really sad what’s happened here, because Terry McNichol wasn’t only a good basketball coach, he’s an even better person,” Morgan said. “I got the letter like so many other parents did about the survey. I didn’t fill it out. I thought it was just a bad idea. If I have something negative to say to another human being, I’m going to say it to them, not fill out some blind survey.

“I’m from this area, I live in this area, I love it here. I know the intention behind the survey, and the people behind it are essentially good ... but look what’s it done.

“Leave the evaluation to athletic directors and caring, thoughtful administrators, instead of having them evaluated by blind surveys,” she added. “It’s taken someone like Terry McNichol, someone who’s passionate about coaching, and loved coaching in his hometown area, away. I find it funny that less people get angry and loud when they have to put their face or name on something.”

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