Petition Offered on Behalf of the Thundercat Parents

To Whom It May Concern:

We are offering this petition to the members of the SEPW board requesting immediate action be taken to address the current situation with the Junior Pee-Wee

Thundercats team.

First, we want those concerned to understand that we recognize and appreciate the effort it takes to selflessly volunteer one’s time and energy to be a head coach. Bryan Phillips has certainly tried to do the best he can for our boys, and to that we are grateful.

As parents, we take a leap of faith entrusting those that the board sees fit to offer its head coaching positions to. We have entered into this season wanting nothing more than for our boys to develop and learn as players so that they may continue to improve. Wins and loses are not a determining factor for success at this age. Player safety, fundamentals, and player development is all that should be used as a metric when determining whether or not a situation is viewed as a positive or a negative. We believe we entered into this situation in good faith and have given all involved the “benefit of the doubt” up until now.

Several parents have come forward to voice their concerns as the situation progressed, hoping that while an overall change may not be necessary to satisfy those concerns, some changes would be addressed and rectified. That has not been the case, and is the driving factor for the offering of this petition.

We offer the following reasons in requesting the board take action:

The coach has done an insufficient job of preparing the boys with the proper fundamentals to allow them to develop as players as well as maximize safety on the field.

The coach has not conducted himself as a professional nor a leader.

The coach has not employed the proper personnel packaging during games or practices to allow players to be successful and most importantly, safe.

The coach has displayed on numerous occasions a lack of organization. During both games, players have been confused and unsure of the plays being called. This has happened on multiple occasions coming directly out of time outs on the field.

The coach does not seem to posses the skills to explain to the boys the fundamentals of the system he intends to employ. Emailing kids the playbook and expecting the kids to understand it on their own is not acceptable.

The coach does not seem to recognize the knowledge base and experience of his assistant coaches, and “appears” to be more fixated on simply “being in charge”.

The coach has been directly overheard making disparaging remarks over certain players on the team, which is completely unacceptable. This is separate from speaking harshly directly to the boys as a discipline and motivational model, which is a normal part of athletics.

The coach has failed to foster an atmosphere of teamwork and camaraderie. He’s made it clear that his decisions are final and non-negotiable.

The parents to this point have done all that can be asked of them. They came into this season with open minds and with an understanding of respect for the head coaching position and all the powers that come with it. Over time, certain concerns have arisen throughout the parent group. Those concerns were then voiced and the parents have remained patient, that the core fundamental issues would be addressed and hopefully modified. As this has still not occurred, we have been forced to move from a position of observance, to a position of action. We tried our best to sit back and let change occur, but to this point none has.

Those that sign this petition are telling SEPW that UNLESS AN IMMEDIATE CHANGE AT THE HEAD COACHING POSITION IS MADE, WE ARE REMOVING OUR BOYS FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE SEASON.

We take this very seriously and did not come to this decision lightly. However, it seems as though staying in the current situation is worse than leaving.

Due to the sensitive nature of things, we do not feel as though Coach Phillips should be involved in a lesser Thundercats role. His presence in anything involving the team is no longer appropriate.

Some parents MAY feel strong enough about what has transpired to question returning at all to SEPW.

We offer as a solution to our concerns, that a current assistant head coach be installed as the head coach of the team. The current group of remaining coaches should make this selection and then be approved as appropriate by the SEPW board. We feel that at this stage of the season, bringing in someone from the outside would be just as detrimental.