Westlake Coach: Groomed for Failure

This is in response to a letter by Neil Reichline published April 20 in the Valley and Ventura editions of The Times.

Less then a month ago I attended a baseball game at Westlake High. Our grandson played shortstop for the opposing team. We were shocked when the Westlake coach was pointed out to us.

He could have been the male version of Mother Theresa or a developing Sparky Anderson, but he would never have inspired anything but incredulity from we who admire conventional, normally groomed, acceptably conformist adults who are charged with helping in the maturation of the children placed under their direction.

We have spent the time since our “introduction” regaling friends and neighbors with the story of the long-haired, pony-tailed, ear-ringed flower child we saw disporting himself about the diamond.

We heartily join the Westlake parents who must have felt the same way about the apparent case of arrested development occupying the post as Westlake’s baseball coach.

The coach has been described as being devoted to Little Leaguers and as being a great person. That carries but moderate weight in a community of responsible parents, when every observation is that this would-be-molder-of-young-character looks like a Berkeley flower child of the 1960s.

Appearance may not be everything, but let’s give it 50% when representing an element of society as traditional as our public schools and their hoped-for influence on growing children.

Joseph Pawlick, Westlake’s athletic director, did what had to be done for the sake of the school and the dignity of the youngsters when he fired Wilder.

We should respect him for that. What better way to correct the behavior of the youngsters who, according to Reichline, were “disrespectful and disruptive” than to give them a leader they can indeed respect and of which they can be proud?

T. BRUCE GRAHAM

Port Hueneme