The Trinity School Board hired Bill Loar Thursday night as varsity softball coach and West Greene opted to open the head football coaching position held the past three years by Charles Harris.
Loar previously coached softball at Washington High School, where he guided the Prexies to two WPIAL Class AA championship game appearances in 2005 and 2007. Wash High also made the PIAA playoffs three times during his tenure.
A teacher at Washington and former member of the Trinity School Board, Loar replaced Linda Rebish, Trinity's highly successful softball coach. Rebish guided the Hillers to two WPIAL championship game appearance and, in 2009, Trinity was one win from playing for a PIAA championship.
Rebish retired from teaching in 2009 and expressed interest in returning as coach. She applied but was not hired by the school board.
West Greene nearly ousted Harris during the 2009 regular season but elected to keep the coach on the sidelines.In three years, the Pioneers went 3-24. Harris went 3-1 in his first four games as coach.
West Greene enters the 2010 season on a 23-game losing streak.
21 comments:
Wonder what the story behind the story is on the softball coach hiring. Doesn't it seem odd for Trinity not to retain a coach who took the team to the WPIAL title game and the PIAA semis last year?
Did a little story wwhen the position was originally opened following the season.
It is Trinity's policy to open any position held by a retired teacher. Happened a few years ago in baseball with Bill Hughes.
May want to ask the Principal at Trinity why Rebish was not hired back!! Heard he was the leader of the lynch mob (with his trusty side kick by his side)!! Shame to get rid of a coach with such success because of personal issues! Let alone some of the other parents who's daughters didn't play....including a school board member!
Yet another black eye for the Trinity School District! No wonder nobody wants to coach any more! You let bench warmer parents dictate who gets hired and fired. Don't worry, they will go after Coach Loar soon enough!! Good luck Bill, dealing with this band of thieves!!!
Your dramatic slandering of Trinity Administration is school board members is unwarranted. There are a lot of people (non benchwarmer parents) who have the opinion that Trinity Softball was successful in spite of their coach and not because of her. Personal issues? I think you have some.
You want facts?! Go to a board meeting. There were 2 people after her job. As for dramatic, the only dramatics are those that are sooo blind to see the success of the program due to personal issues. Trinity softball CLEARLY over achieved this past year. No one thought they would go as far as they did. There ARE personal issues, there ARE personal agendas. Believe me, they are not only warrented, they are facts.
As for me having personal issues, you are right. I can't stand parents who act like children because their baby wasn't the starting pitcher! Parents ruin everything with sports! It is people like you that have no clue how to run lap let alone a sports organization! Have a great day.
It is obvious that you have more than personal issues with Trinity hiring a new coach. Trinity did go farther than expected, but it was despite the coaching. It was becase all these girls play and work hard over the winter with other teams. The run they made should be completely credited to the girls. Parents are like that in any sport, not just Trinity softball. You should at least give the new coach a change before you go ahead and bash the school board and the program for making the change.
Anybody that follows Trinity softball knows that the talent all ways been there but the coaching has been average at best like when a first base coach did'nt know how many outs there were in the last inning an got the runner at first put out by not telling her to stay on the base. Just one of many of Rebish coaches blunders. Rebish didn't get the job back because she couldn't get five votes. Watch who plays this season and that will tell you why Loar got the job.
Mike, it may be Trinity's policy to open a coaching job when the teacher who holds it retired, but that doesn't answer the question of why they ditched a successful coach. And to the anonymous "expert" who just posted: Saying that the kids won on their own, or even in spite of the coach, is just ridiculous. A team of kids doesn't achieve that kind of success without solid adult leadership, though you wonder why any adult would want to be involved in coaching these days, with all the politics and whiny, pouty parents involved. You sound like one of the vindictive people that the other poster was talking about.
Let's be honest here, how much "coaching" is involved with high school baseball and softball. It's always the kids playing the sport that make the difference.
I hear, by the way, that West Greene is hoping to hire Charlie Weiss.
I can't say what kind of coach Rebish was back in the day. I can say for the last 5 or 6 years that the team has relied on Mike Marino for learning for hitting and for improving themselves. Reb was more of a manager - she was there for the teambuilding and she usually managed to do a good job that. The problem in recent years is that she paid no attention to her own program. The only players she knew anything about were the varsity ones and then it was just the little she saw of them at practice or what certain players and parents told her instead of really taking a look at the girls and where they should play. There are college all-americans and girls who got full-ride scholarships that sat on the bench for her because they didn't fit with her idea of a ballplayer.
From what I know of the situation this year there were no irate parents protesting her comeback there weren't people running to the superintendent to complain about the job she did. There was a board of directors that thought Bill Loar was better for the program than bringing Rebish back. It is their job to do what they feel is best for the school district. Professional and collegiate coaches get fired all the time - I'm not sure what makes the people on this blog think that high school coaches are exempt from that. It isn't like they fired her - they chose not to bring her back after she retired from the district - in the real world these things happen and it isn't always some huge conspiracy or parents out to get her - it is simply a decision made by a group of people elected to make those decisions.
Reb had 21 good years and may she enjoy her retirement - she deserves it. But don't start the new coach off under some black cloud because you don't agree with the coaches decision. Coach Loar has a reputation for being tough but fair - what more can you really ask for?
People who make comments like: "how much "coaching" is involved with high school baseball and softball," just prove the point that parents know absolutely NOTHING! There are countless decisions, position moves, hitting moves, calls for plays, pitching decisions, on EVERY PITCH!
You did nothing but show your lack of knowledge of sports by making that comment! Absolute proof of the people coaches have to deal with in today's society. It is people like you that make coaches like me wanna quit!
Yet people like you think they have the right to judge coaches....Maybe your lack of knowledge is the reason your kid sits the bench!
As for Rebish losing her job, it is cut and dry. 4th in the state and she loses her job. Absolutely rediculous. And the comment about the kids went that far spite the coaching is just......I don't even have the words, I'm speachless thanks to that babbling idiot!
That Anonymous post at 12:04: Wow!! Obviously you have ZERO Coaching experience! And how about that post from earlier that says they made it to states despite the coaching! Bigger Wow!! Typical parents who have NO IDEA what they are talking about. That is the main problem with High School sports today. Shame on Trinity, Shame on the principal, Shame on the parents who got rid of Coach Rebish. She has been very successful, but in todays parenting world, unless you win the Superbowl, your job is at stake. Very successful just doesn't cut it for these delusional parents. I feel sorry for anyone that coaches high school sports and has to deal with this crap. Absolutely rediculous!
Mike:
It is not district policy to open a job when someone retires. That was the BS excuse the board gave Bill Hughes when he retired. Nobody on that board had the cahonas to say it to his face that they wanted to fire him, so they made that up and now they consider it policy!!
And now I hear Trinity has a new board coming in that is trying to fire everyone in the district. From the Super to several coaches and administrators. Heard that this new group is a bunch of babbling idiots, several of which have no high school diploma let alone a college education! Do yourself a favor everyone and start looking at other districts. This one is going down hill FAST!
I've been told it is Trinity's policy. Even quoted an administrator in the paper when the softball job was opened.
Will find the link when I get to the office this afternoon and post it.
Whiny Softball Parent:
You do make some good points but let me correct you on one thing. Bill Loar was not the decision of the board to come in and take over the program. Rebish was let go wayyyy before Bill was even considered for the job. The whole intent was to get rid of Rebish.....then go look for a new coach. My complaint is, no matter how bad people think Rebish is, she took this team to the WPIAL Championship and to the Semi-Finals of the PIAA. There is NO coach that should ever be fired after a successful season like this unless they commit some horrible crime. This is an absolute shame!
And there were irrate parents! That is why they are not permitted to sit down along the fence anymore. That stipulation was put in a year or so ago because of a parent who had a senior player this year. And there was a Principal and a School Board member who have tried for 3 years to get Rebish fired due to their kids not playing.
And please inform me: Who are the All-Americans and the Division I scholarship players that sat the bench? I doubt Rebish sat these players, and if so, I bet they were for good reason!
I may have missed it, but I just went through the board policies on the Trinity web site and there is nothing on there about hiring or firing process involving coaches and retirement. Sounds like a made up rule to me! I think the previous post was right. A bunch of nonsense and excuses for gutless board members to open a job.
Every year, every sport, every school, there are parents who disagree with the coaching staffs. That doesn't mean you remove them after those types of accomplishments! Why is it that school districts listen to these people?! Unless the coach does something unbelievably wrong, they should be left alone when they are successful. Too many parents trying to control things. Way to go Trinity! Lets get rid of the successful people in the district! My father (retired coach) always told me that these people would complain even if Jesus himself were at the wheel! There is just no way to make them happy. Change coaches to make them happy and it ticks off another group that then make it their agenda to do the same.
From the July 29, 2009 sports edition:
Accepting applicants
Trinity's softball team reached the WPIAL Class AAA championship for the second time in its history then followed that success by advancing to the PIAA semifinals in June.
One sidebar to the Hillers' run was the impending retirement of coach Linda Rebish as a teacher. At the time, Rebish was contemplating a return as softball coach.
If so, she'll have to reapply as Trinity has opened the position.
"When a coach retires (from teaching), we automatically open the position. It's school policy," Trinity athletic director Ed Dalton said.
Rebish was not available for contact Tuesday.
I've watched both coaches practice and manage their teams. Bill Loar is by far the better choice. He is a better coach & teacher of the game than Rebish is. Parents may not appreciate his style, Bill can be brutally honest with people but as a parent I can appreciate that. I've been involved in the sport for close 20 years and not trying to take anything away from Rebish, Trinity got this one right! Bill was the best choice.
On another note the previous Blogger commented on the new school board......You got that right too....Bumbling Idiots are on the way....Lord help the Trinity School District
Just to clear up two small things - One - we play at South Strabane Community Park on Zediker Station Road and all the parents sit by the fence.
Two - Bill Loar and Linda Rebish were interviewed for the job within the same week. Rebish was recommended but the school board chose not to accept her. Because they wanted Loar.
Why all the controversary of a minor sport coach. Loar won at Wash High didn't he And if you watched he didn't play favorites, it's no big secret that Dalton wanted Rebish back, but he didn't get what he wanted.The new board is going to make changes that's what the voter's wanted Wizzard you must be a friend of a teacher or an adminstrator who you feel might be in danger of being made to get to work, the voter's spoke loud and clear for these so called idiot's to make changes.
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