Firing Charge Disputed by Star Player

El Camino Real High baseball players expressed skepticism Wednesday about the reason for the firing of coaches Bob Ganssle and Dave Siedelman.

Players and parents said the action taken by Principal Ron Bauer was prompted by an allegation that the two coaches made physical contact with reserve player Julian Unruh at the conclusion of a 5-4 defeat to Valencia on April 9.

Senior co-captain Jason Kort, an All-City Section first baseman and top student, said he gave Bauer a written statement refuting Unruh’s allegation that Ganssle and Siedelman touched Unruh after he was picked off base in the seventh inning.

“I was looking right at them and there was no physical contact,” Kort said. “If anything, [Unruh] was walking back and might have bumped into Ganssle. It was nothing.”

Kort said Unruh was confronted by the coaches after being picked off.

“He was screamed at and should have been screamed at,” Kort said.

Kort and junior co-captain Greg Acheatel said players were stunned to learn only hours before their Tuesday game against Chatsworth that Ganssle and Siedelman had been replaced by former coach Mike Maio and boys’ soccer Coach David Hussey.

“It was a really tough ride going to Chatsworth,” Acheatel said. “A lot of us were in tears.”

Ganssle was in his third year as coach. Siedelman, a former junior varsity coach, was in his first year as a varsity assistant. Ganssle had the difficult task of replacing Maio, whose teams won four City Championships in the 1990s.

El Camino Real made it to Dodger Stadium last year before losing to Kennedy in the final, but the Conquistadores have struggled to a 9-9 record this season.

“It’s a tough situation to step in the shoes of Coach Maio,” Kort said. “He’s one of a kind.”

Kort and Acheatel said they were reluctantly prepared to accept the coaching change and move on, but they want their former coaches’ reputations restored.

“These two would have done anything for our team,” Kort said of Ganssle and Siedelman. “They cared about this program more than some of our players. These coaches didn’t deserve to be fired and they didn’t deserve to have their reputations diminished.”

Added Acheatel: “These guys gave their heart and soul to the program.”

Acheatel said players believe they can rally behind Maio.

“We’re going to try to win and listen to everything Coach Maio has to offer,” he said.

Acheatel said the Conquistadores won’t forget their former coaches.

“We’re a family,” he said. “We got broken up and we’re going to play hard for [Ganssle and Siedelman].”