Superintendent Bugnacki,

We the undersigned would like to respectfully voice our disappointment in the process followed and decision made regarding the selection of the Cedarburg High School Head Hockey Coach by Jon Hannam, CHS Athletic Director, and to request a review.

PROCESS

The hiring process should incorporate:

1. Adequate time allowed to make a quality decision
2. Integrity
3. Humility

The process for hiring the new hockey coach was unsatisfactory on all three counts.

1. Time - The process seemed rushed, as if Mr. Hannam wanted to get it off his plate as quickly as possible.
2. Integrity - Mr. Hannam verbally offered the job to Shay Klitzke, and then reneged. This reflects poorly on CHS in general and the athletic department specifically.
3. Humility - Any athletic director should be aware of the importance of intimate knowledge of a sport when making a coaching decision and should seek expert opinions when his knowledge is limited. Mr. Hannam chose not to do this during the process until an advisory committee was suggested by the President of the Blue Line Club. Then Mr. Hannam chose to ignore the advice of the experts on that committee.

DECISION

When filling any coaching vacancy, the following qualifications are most important:

1. Knowledge of the sport
2. Likelihood of program success (not necessarily measured solely by W/L record)
3. Ability to motivate players
4. Strong communication skills

Shay Klitzke is the better candidate when considering these criteria, specifically the top three.

1. Knowledge of the sport
   1. Shay's hockey knowledge, including practice planning and game management skills, far exceeds all other candidates.
   2. Shay's hockey-specific strength and conditioning skills far exceed all other candidates.
2. Likelihood of program success
   1. Shay's hockey contacts throughout the area will allow him to build an excellent staff. No other candidate has these contacts, which are imperative to building a program which includes both varsity and junior varsity.
   2. Shay knows many of the current players, having coached them both on and off the ice. In addition, Shay has been intimately involved at the youth level and thus knows many of the future Bulldogs. This will lead to better player retention in the CHS program, an area which CHS (both CHS boys and Lakeshore Lightning) has ignored previously.
3. Ability to motivate players
   1. Shay's ability to motivate players through example and expected discipline is exemplary. Numerous current players have mentioned how much they respect Shay.

REQUEST

The undersigned would like to request that you review the process followed and decision made regarding the Boys Head Hockey Coach and inform the CHS hockey community of the justification of the decision. We recognize the challenge of changing the decision now that the new coach has been announced, but feel it is in the long-term best interest of the CHS hockey program to re-evaluate that choice.