Coach C,
My post did not suggest that any player is unhappy, however, it does address the behavior of Coaches and suggest that Booker was accurate in his analysis regarding Cabrini.  The truth is not always positive or pleasant.....

In the many years that my family has been involved in the world of sports, I have yet to experience a basketball coach who takes positive criticism or suggestions from players, or for that matter, parents, regarding any aspect of coaching or their personality, either before or after the season.  I have only met one Coach, a football coach, who took that approach to Coaching, and had an open door policy for players, parents and administration.  I guess that is why he was so successful at Oklahoma, and respected by most of his former players. In my opinion, you have to be a secure person in order to listen, without retaliation, and implement change at the suggestion of another.

You are right when you say that each kid responds to a different style of coaching; abuse doesn't work for everyone! However, a good Coach is very aware of that fact and makes the effort to take the time to learn what motivates and makes his individual players tick.  This should be done because each player has a different personality and set of skills, and if put together in the right order they can create a good TEAM.   For some reason Coaches do not seem to realize the affect they have on an individual player, or do they?  I understand that their is a great deal of pressure on Coaches to win, however, they should strive to create a positive, organized and disciplined environment, in order to get the best from their athletes. This creates a winning atmosphere. To me, it appears that some coaches are so busy feeding their own egos, and controlling everyone and everything, that learning about their players isn't an option.   

In my opinion, the teams that are successful/winners, appear to have a great deal of respect for their coach and play hard to win, not only for their team and school, but for their coach as well.  Just look at Immaculata, I think that is a good example of learning your players, and creating a successful program.  Their coaches have managed to accomplish putting together a winning team in just 3 years! 

As for Cabrini, my hope is that what we saw on Saturday, is now the norm!

It seems as though "Booker" is the only one who fully understands what is going on with the Cavs this year! His comments were on point and accurate! 

I was disappointed to read the negative comments posted by the "Wiz"about Charles Bush.  Of all the people you could have spoken about, why him? I doubt that the  "Wiz" knows anything about him as a player or person, that would allow him to speak so ill of him. But, the cream rises to the top, as evident in yesterday's game/win against Immaculata!  So, no words are necessary!

Instead of criticizing players the "WIZ" should applaud these young men, who despite being disrespected and having their confidence constantly stomped on, have managed to persevere through the "many facets of Cabrini basketball."  It's not always about basketball, look at their individual accomplishments; community service, honor roll status, and their success off the court. That is what is REALLY important in the long run, long after basketball is over!  It is really not about how many minutes they play, but how they play the game of life.

The "Wiz" must be a coach, because he has such a disdain for parental involvement.  Parental involvement is ONLY necessary when coaches and administration have no communication with their players and don't allow them to speak without retaliation! Coaches need to be held accountable to the same standards that the University requires its faculty and students to uphold.  As for his mom being hypocritical, she is far from that, since she is the only parent who has spoken directly to the source of the problem, while many others have talked behind the scenes and are fearful to do otherwise.  So, don't speak about things you know nothing about!

Did anyone see this game last night?  I just don't understand!

My son does not require your help, he is a starter and plays significant minutes, therefore I am not a disgruntled parent. Sorry to disappoint you.

Actually, I was not involved in my son's recruitment process, with regards to basketball, as I trusted Coach John's assessment of Cabrini basketball and his opinion of the college.  I also spoke to Jeff Jones, who is a personal friend of mine, who spoke highly of Coach John and the college.  Therefore, I did not ask the type of questions, that you think I should have asked.  Why would I?  I would have been lied to anyway.  No one was going to tell me what Coach M was really like, and Leahy was not on staff when my son began at Cabrini.

It is because of the verbal abuse and my son's attempts to address that directly (he was chastised for speaking up) that I became involved and eventually spoke up.  I was quiet for a long while, even though parents contacted me and asked me to speak out. 

My son is quite capable of taking care of himself.  Any because you don't know what he has been through in his life, you really should not speak.  If you are who I think you are, you are very well aware, since you were at the other end of his honesty, and you seem to be offended by my statements, defending my son and Cabrini Basketball.  The only person I know that would have a problem with that is Coach M or Leahy....Hmmmmmmm, everyone, put that feather in your cap!!!

Furthermore, I was one of parents sitting behind the bench and heard what was said and saw what happened, and I did not expect my son to take the same position as I chose to take.  YOU COACHES, yes that means you, make it very difficult for our sons/daughters to defend themselves and speak up for themselves, as you punish them for SPEAKING THE TRUTH. But I will tell you that at the team meeting that Coach M called to challenge anyone who had spoken with the Cabrini Administration, (after he was directed not to do so), my son was one of the only players who had the courage to speak up and voice his opinions directly to Coach M, and anyone else who happened to attend that meeting.  In addition, I must have done something right, as my son is very well respected by his peers, as well as, his teachers, and always has been.

I will defend my children whenever, where ever I deem necessary, and really don't give a D$!n what you think about it.  AS LONG I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR PAYING HIS TUITION AND ROOM AND BOARD, I AM ENTITLED TO SPEAK.  Coaches forget, they are just that, Coaches, and they should not be given the power that the Administration, parents and players seem to give them.

I only hope I am wrong about you being a coach, because GOD help you if you ever have to deal with the reality of basketball, the players and their parents. 

Sincerely,
MOMMY

P.S. THANK YOU GAMEFAN FOR COMMING TO MY RESCUE!!!!!

Well Hoopwiz, obviously you have some of the same issues as the person you choose to defend, as evident in your facetious posting.  I wonder why you would attempt to attack a parent? Hmmmmmm......

To respond to your statements, I obviously knew enough about this coaching staff and did my research, in order to take a stand, along with many other parents.  And, if I had a child that attended Penn State who went through the same nonsense as he did at this college, I would do the same.  It actually may have been easier, since one of my parents is a Penn State alumnus.  But now that you mention it, Jerry Dunn got a taste of his players and their parents, and the power they possessed, that's why he doesn't have a job at Penn State.   

As for your last statement; no, my commercial would have me sleeping at a five star resort, (I like to be comfortable ) and I would not need to work at Nordstrom's to afford the cost.  Sorry, that wasn't very nice, but then this post wasn't either......

Deal with the reality of my post and what it is truly about; the truth about Carbini Basketball (this year) and the concerns that the parents and players expressed to the administration, which is documented. 

"Truth is incontrovertible, ignorance can deride it, panic may resent it, malice may destroy it, but there it is." Winston Churchill

P.S.
NOTICED YOUR POST COACH P:  WAY TO GO!!!!!   YOU ARE SO RIGHT!!!! 

Good Morning Everyone:

I feel the need to comment again.    I guess you all really don't get it.  Once again, I will say that Coach John had nothing to do with why Coach M is no longer here! Why doesn't anyone deal with that?  Don't blame him; place the blame where it deserves to be placed.  The state of the team is due to Coach M and the administration lack of resposibility towards their programs.  Coach M has some very serious issues that he should deal with, before he ever attempts be a Coach again.

I will set a few things on the right path.....Coach John DID NOT call a meeting to discuss Coach M, nor did he ever call a meeting with the AD.  THE AD called and scheduled Coach John to come in because several student-athletes and parents had begun to contact the AD and Presidents office. Other Coaches were called in as well.  Even knowing this, Coach John DID NOT say much, which we as parents were not happy about.  But in retrospect, I believe at this point he was probably SMART enough to know that what ever was going on would be dealt with by the PARENTS and students. 

What you all don't know is that by the time this meeting was called the backstabbing had begun, and not by Coach John. Coach M attempted to ruin the credibility of Coach John with the Coaches, players and parents. What's interesting is he knew whom to attack in an attempt to complete his plan.  Funny how it was not Saleem, Tim Redding or Bill Leahy.......You all have no idea what was going on, and it was pretty ugly. 

Regarding contact with Dailey, Coach John did in fact call him, but not for the reasons stated here. Coach P's post to Chiz is correct (the one dated yesterday at 10:01:40 PM).  We all felt bad that this kid left because of Coach M. Anyone who knows Coach John, knows that he cares about these kids and always stays in contact with them; a very rare character trait of coaches, these days.   (For those of you who don't know, Dailey left Cabrini because of Coach M)  In reference to the other call, it was NEVER made.

Parents have these answers because we asked and we have done our homework.  If you are not a member of the Cabrini, team, staff, or parents and DO NOT have an inside track, then you really should be careful what you post on this board about things you know very little about. Speculation and rumors only end up hurting others.  And you really need to stop smearing the one Coach who has defended Cabrini and our kids and stuck with a program even after he was discouraged and ordered from doing so.

Another note; there are SOOOOOOO many things that were left UNSAID by several of the Coaches to the administration, that if Coach John was the "backstabber" you all seem to think he is, then Coach M would have a difficult time securing a head coaching position, again.  If Coach John reads this board, he will be surprised to find out that I know what he knows.  I am very good at finding out information when it comes to the protection of my children.  I am privy to a great source of information, all because of my fathers' connections with the college ranks, as well as, the high school ranks, and he did quite a bit of checking on Coach M when all of these problems began to arise.

Regarding Leahy, he has a great deal of maturing and learning to do with regard to coaching, and dealing with student-athletes, they're problems, and their parents.  This surprised me, as I would think that he would have great insight, since he was a student-athlete himself.  He did not earn the respect of the majority of his team nor did he earn the respect of many parents.  I believe this was due to his need to play "both ends against the middle," you just can't do that.  And yes, he is the "the yes coach" I referred to.  He betrayed the trust that his players/team placed in him on many occasions.  He was resented because he has NO coaching experience, yet he was placed in a position of coaching, under the disguise of "Director of Basketball Operations" and in power over John, Saleem and Tim, which should never have been tolerated, due to his lack of experience.  In addition, the way that he handled this power was not acceptable to the athletes.  Let's remember that he is very close in age to many of the players on the team. Which really could have been a good thing, and in the beginning it was.  However, his style of relaying information to these players was ineffective, as it was not delivered properly.  Based on how he treated my son, which caused my son a great deal of pain, I specifically asked the College not to consider retaining him in any capacity, until he matured and gained some experience in Coaching.  In addition, because of an incident at one of the games, he was spoken to by administration for his behavior towards a player during that game.  This happened because several parents heard how he spoke and saw his actions towards this player, while sitting behind the bench at this game. On a positive note, one thing I do believe about Bill Leahy is that he has a great deal of loyalty to the College, and he has a desire to see this program succeed, and win.  I tend to feel sorry for him, as I believe Coach M used him in an attempt to sway the alumni's opinion of him, which also did not work.

On a final note, I don't believe that any coach from Dzik's days will return to this college.  Sorry to say, but the administration will not entertain that, not sure why, but that is a fact.

Quote from: gamefan on March 26, 2007, 09:29:29 AM
Cabrinimom:

Does Coach John know the high school and AAU circuit? Do you know if he scouts and coaches at any big time basketball camps?  I know the best are Eastern Invitational, 5 Star and ABCD along with the Nike camps. Do you have any knowledge if he works these?

Do you know why Coach John was told to stay away from the kids  as Coach P said and you confirmed, was it because Coach M was paranoid or scared by his presence? Why would he push him away if he was doing the scouting and was so well liked he really was foolish!  Did he do this for spite! He might have cut off his lifeline to the team? And ultimatley his job!


Again Thank you for your post regarding the Cabrini situation you really have helped us to better understand what is happening!

To answer your questions, Coach John has been a coach at Eastern Invitational for about 10 years and has extensive experience coaching AAU.  He is well liked and respected on the circuit and does a great job at selling Cabrini College.  He also has a great understanding of the game of basketball.

To answer the question about why he was pushed away, below I have included a quote from a letter that I submitted to the AD on January 23, 2007, regarding Coach M, being allowed to remove Coach John from practice, attending games and from direct contact with the kids, which by the way, Coach M plans were foiled, as usual!!!  I believe this was done so that the players would assume that Coach John had abandoned them.  This inturn would destroy his credibility with the players as well as the parents.  What Coach M did not know, is that every parent and most of the players continued to contacted Coach John and eventually found out that his "non appearance" was not of his own volition.  He explained that he was following the instructions of Coach M and the A.D. TWe also found out that the A.D. told Coach John to follow Coach M's instruction, but I believe her rationale was to keep Coach John out of harms way and to not allow him to "take the fall" for Coach M and the problems he created for his team.

Here is an exert and direct quote from my letter to the A.D:

I contacted your office today because, after speaking with my son, I found out that Coach John was not at practice yesterday and in his place was Bill Leahy, Director of Basketball Operations.  It appears that Mr. Leahy has been instructed to take over practices and coaching responsibilities.  I am contacting you because my attempts to reach Coach John, to get clarity regarding this issue, were not successful. 

If all this is true, I hope that this decision was not executed with your knowledge or under your direction.  I am very upset, and disappointed that one of the two Assistant Coaches,  (not Leahy) who has continually made himself available to these kids during a very difficult season, both on and off the court, and has been responsive to these student-athletes all year long, has been removed in any way, shape, or form, by anyone, from having direct interaction with this team!

I am sure that during your interviews with various team members, and any discussions you may have had with parents, that you have come to realize that we all have a great deal of respect for this Coach.  He has proven time and time again, to our kids, that he cares for them and wants nothing but their success, on and off the court.

I am asking that you rectify this situation immediately or this will be another blow to this program.

This is what I sent to the A.D.  The response I received via phone contact, stated that, she was aware of the situation, and asked that I be patient, because the situation would be resolved, as soon as the season was over.

So, there you have it!

To answer your question regarding recruiting, Coach John, and the other assistants are currently doing the recruiting.  The tri-state is covered, but due to the circumstances at Cabrini, new players and their families are shy about committing to Cabrini.  Also, the money is NOT available at Cabrini for basketball and that is a serious problem. The cost of tuition, room/board just increased, and many of the top recruits and their families cannot afford to bear the financial burden Cabrini presents.  Other schools have much better financial aid packets to offer and much better financial solutions to offer their players.  This is why Cabrini is struggling with recruiting. 

P.S. We are aware of the name of the faculty member who will be on the committee, I will post it later, because at the moment I cannot recall his name.

I thank you all for allowing me to vent and accepting what I said.  I assure you that I am a Cabrini Basketball Mother and if you read my first paragraph and do your homework   you will figure out who I am!

We, as parents, are all hoping that Coach John is seriously considered for this position and also would like to see Saleem remain on the coaching staff, as well.  I am not totally sure what the administration is currently doing, as they seem to not want to discuss this with the parents.  But, as parents, we have managed to find out what we need to know. 8)  I believe that applications were being accepted until March 23 and then the A.D. and the Human Resource department will review the applications, select the candidates and interviews scheduled.  A panel is being assembled, which includes the AD, Assistant AD, a faculty member and I believe, a few members of the team.  I do believe that Coach John will get an interview, despite what d3fan14 would like to see happen, because the parents asked for that to be considered.

Recruitment is another issue.  I totally agree that it is up in the air, due to the non-renewal of the head coach's contract.  But, from what I know Coach John and Saleem are still out there plugging Cabrini and attempting to assure our new recruits that we intend to be a contender next year.  No telling if negative statements are being made by others, if you know what I mean.

I am hopeful that this program will turn itself around and the kids are all looking forward to next year, and have started, AS A TEAM, to work out and take themselves very seriously.  They continue to COMMUNICATE with each other, which is a beginning to a successful program!

Have a great day, everyone!

First I would like to say that I have never posted on any athletic e-board.  As the daughter of a Division 1 collegiate basketball player and a former wife of a professional athlete, I use to feel that these boards were for "arm chair quarterbacks/coaches, as well as, frustrated wanabee athletes" however, I am finding that this is NOT true and that some useful and interesting information can be obtained by reading them.

As a parent of a member of the Cabrini Basketball team, I found several posts quite interesting by D3fan14, and wanted to know why this person would smear another Coach, because they are obviously was not a member of the team or coaching staff.  But, to my surprise, in viewing the email address that these postings were coming from, It is my opinion that this email is either, the former coach's wife, family or himself, since Beers is the maiden name of, Ms. M.  (M stands for Macciocca) It is interesting that if he/she/they truly believed what they posted, then identifying themselves should not be a problem, should it? Why hide?  Well I'll tell you why he/she/they hide.

As a parent, I can speak and I choose to speak now. First I must say, that Coach M did NOT have his contract renewed because of his own issues that he refused to adjust or deal with.  His non-renewal did NOT have anything to do with Coach John or anything he may, or may not have shared with the administration, players or parents.  His NON-RENEWAL, was due to his own inability to communicate with his players, treatment of his players and their parents, confrontations with players and Coaches, non-game preparation, division of his team, his attitude, his inability to coach and his constant defiance of the authority of the Cabrini Administrators. 

One thing I'm sure he has learned from this experience is that PARENTS have a great deal of power when it comes to the mistreatment of their children/student-athletes.  NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF A PARENT, especially when WE ARE PAYING, and OBTAINING LOANS/GRANTS for TUITION/ ROOM AND BOARD, for our children to attend a particular University or College.  Certainly don't make comments like, "I wish these parents would go away", "I'm not getting fired, I'm going to be the next Assistant Athletic Director", etc.  None of which was ever going to occur during the time these statements were being made.  They were made during a time when this Coach was losing, being reprimanded by the administration and during a time that he was VERY aware that the parents had joined together against him.

Coach M attempted to separate the team, by the old DIVIDE AND CONQUER method, but that did not work, it backfired!   The parents got together and decided that after Coach M, who had been given a warning in December from the Cabrini Administration, continued to ignore the suggestions of the administration and the parents, that maybe it was time to address the administration as a whole unit and ask them NOT to renew his contact at the end of the season.  So, that's exactly what we did.  Winning had NOTHING TO DO with that decision.  Even if he were winning, the same conclusion would have been reached.  It was all about the inappropriate behavior he displayed to his team and coaches.  The parents wrote letters, called and complained about his treatment of his players and his inability to communicate with players, coaches and parents. 

Coach M had good coaches surrounding him, who were well respected by his players however, his arrogance would not allow him to utilize their individual talents, which in turn could have helped this team win.  Instead, he choose to introduce a former player and alumnus, who had no coaching experience, and was just about the same age as the players, all because this person YESSED him.  This person proved to be a further distraction to this team and also exhibited inappropriate behavior towards players. None of this sat well with an already dejected team or a group of parents.  Players and coaches wanted to win and begged to be prepared for their opponents and hoped that their Coach could make the adjustments necessary to bring the team together and play as a UNIT.  This did not happen.  This brings me to an additional problem; Coach M could not seem to prepare his team for their opponents.  If not for the diligence of Coach John, none of the starters on the Cabrini Basketball team would have been prepared, since Coach M did not want Coach John, to distribute the scouting report to the players.  These reports were only discussed minutes prior to game time, with the addition of no film of opponents being shown, watched, or provided to the players.  What Coach M doesn't know, but will no now, is that certain players were made privy to those scouting reports, thus the reason some games were won. GOOD FOR YOU COACH JOHN FOR TAKING A STANCE!!!!!!!

Now I ask you all, does this sound like a Coach who cared about his team?  Does this sound like a Coach who wanted to win?  Does this sound like a coach who had great communication skills? Does this sound like a Coach who had respect for his team or himself?  I DON"T THINK SO!!!!!!  What Coach M continued to display, knowing all of this, was his arrogance, and his inability to change for the better of ALL involved.  If he had made an honest attempt at change, then he would still be the Head Coach of a Division III program.

This is why I am so appalled at these posts, because he still does not take any responsibility for the reasons he is no longer the Head Coach of the Cabrini Basketball TEAM. 

Last, regarding the negative statements about Coach John; none of this post holds any truth or worth.  Coach John was a stabilizing force for all of our kids during one of the most difficult times of their college basketball careers.  Despite what he was told by Coach M, he managed to stay in contact with the kids, return all of their phone calls and the calls of many parents, attempted to address their concerns without attacking anyone, talk with them about their problems (outside of basketball), and most importantly showed them that he cared about them and what happened to them.  Something Coach M, knows nothing about!  Coach John was responsible for recruiting some of these players, I should say, most the players, and was a GREAT salesman for Cabrini College and their basketball program.  This was NOT the case with Coach M.  The players, as well as, their families have a great deal of respect for Coach John and we have expressed this to the College, as well as, personally thanked him for his continued guidance and support of our children.  I, quite frankly, don't' give a hoot what his credentials are, he is a great coach and most importantly a good human being. 

You need to be careful whom you point fingers at and take a look at yourself, D3fan14, and take responsibility for the reasons you/your husband/family member, are unemployed, and stop smearing others and their sound reputation.

Well I believe I have said quite enough.