September 4, 2002
A great deal of fuss about nothing
By TOM WILLIAMS
Sports Columnist
Those of us who cover sports are used to being in the back half of the newspaper, unless there is a major
championship or something like that. Last week, in the Ocean City Gazette, we became front page news.
A couple new members of Ocean City’s Board of Education were upset by a story outlining new football
assistant coaching positions obtained by a quartet of former Raiders – Doug Colman and Chris Bauer at
Oakcrest, Kevin Sinclair at Middle Township and Chris Armstrong back in Ocean City.
We have always believed that those of you who watched these athletes play for the Raiders are interested
in where they go and what they do. Even the success stories of graduates of other schools are worthy of
note. All in the Cape-Atlantic League should be proud that Oakcrest’s Cory Bird is a starting defensive
back for the Indianapolis Colts and Holy Spirit’s William Green starts at running back for the Cleveland
Browns. Or that Missy Halliday and Jenee Doto both started Saturday when Stanford beat Ohio State, 1-0,
in field hockey. Or that Chad Severs scored twice on Sunday as Penn State defeated East Carolina, 4-2.
Or that Princeton’s field hockey team, featuring junior Cory Picketts, meets the US National Team,
featuring Abbey Woolley, on Saturday in Princeton.
The strange thing about the outburst at the August BOE meeting is that it was about something that is not
true. There are no coaches walking the halls of Ocean City High School who are not also good teachers.
You got the impression from the outburst at the board meeting that the school faculty is filled with dumb
jocks who can’t find the cafeteria without written instructions. There is not a tradition of hiring coaches,
rather than teachers, at Ocean City. But anyone who knows anything about high school sports knows that
good coaches ARE good teachers.
Look at some of the past and present school administrators in the area. Fred Nickles, Ed Woolley,
Carmen Infante, Chalky Ottinger, Phil Exley, the late Dennis Foreman, Pat Dougherty, Walt Dull,
Ed Stroble, Joe LaRosa, Bill Checchio, Mike Cipriano, Warren Elliott, Erik Ortolf, George Reeves. There
are many, many more who have become successful as educational supervisors and are former coaches.
In fact, the Cape May County Teacher of the Year – Upper Township’s Andrew Bristol – is an assistant
baseball coach at OCHS.
Nobody believes it is a good idea to hire people simply because they can coach, with no concern about
how well they can teach. Based on his record, Dr. Dearborn, in particular, does not believe that. But, when
you can hire well-qualified teachers who can also coach (or direct the school play, or work with the
student trainers, or bring expertise to the computer club, etc.), you are getting people who will give more
to your school then just in the classroom. You are getting people whose experience indicates they can
organize, they can manage time, they can handle young people in emotional situations and they can
make a difference in the lives of the student-athletes on a more personal level.
A quick check of the OCHS faculty shows that out of more than 120 teachers and guidance people, less
than 25 are head or assistant coaches. All that front page fuss at the last board meeting was about
something that does not exist. Sports in Ocean City holds about the same priority it does at every other
high school. This is, after all, the school system whose BOE in the 1990s limited students to a
gymnasium which was unusable when it rained. The OCHS teachers are hired for their teaching
credentials and teaching potential with the ability to coach a nice extra.
In an ideal world, elected members of the BOE would only play a minimal role in the hiring of faculty
members anyway. We don’t want parents picking the starting lineups for sports teams, like they seem to
be doing in Vineland baseball. We don’t want hospital directors – selected largely for their fund-raising and
public relations skills – picking the surgeons. Nor, as a matter of fact, do we want the city council picking
the firemen. Those are jobs for the professionals. There is a reason why OCHS’ superintendent and
principal have “Dr.” before their names. They are education professionals and they are the ones who should
play the major role in selecting the right teachers.
High school sports is not just for the young people on the field. The band, the cheerleaders, the managers
and the hundreds in the stands watching the games all benefit from the competition and togetherness.
Success like Ocean City has enjoyed athletically over the past five or six years has done wonders for the
spirit of the student body.
So, we’ll continue to tell you about the progress of former OCHS athletes and others you have watched
from around the Cape-Atlantic League. Just like The Gazette will continue to bring you information on
marching band competitions, cheerleading contests, school plays, anti-smoking campaigns, science fairs,
after-proms, mock trial competitions and any other public events that highlight the talents and efforts of the
students and graduates of Ocean City High School.
In fact, we’ve got another new coach to tell you about. Former Raider star quarterback Matt LeFever, most
recently an Offensive Player of the Week for the Cape Fear Wildcats in Arena Football 2, has been hired
as freshmen football and basketball coach at Egg Harbor Township.
Hope that piece of information doesn’t create another firestorm at the next Board of Education meeting.
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