CdM coaches back principal
The Battle of the Bay girls’ volleyball match had wrapped up last Thursday, and outside of Corona del Mar High’s gym, Newport Harbor Coach Dan Glenn talked to his players about the next Battle of the Bay. His players would be fans in this rivalry contest between the two schools, taking place on the football field at Orange Coast College the following night.
Glenn, who has been at Newport Harbor since 1986, is well aware of what can happen the day and night of the Battle of the Bay football game. He warned his players about the pitfalls of doing drugs. He told them he would find out some way or another. He told them it was not worth it, to not jeopardize their lives, their seasons.
The next evening, in front of parents, students, teachers and administrators, reports have surfaced that many students at the game were intoxicated. Kathy Scott, CdM’s principal, has acted swiftly, canceling the upcoming homecoming events because of her students’ alleged use of alcohol or controlled substances.
Many of the coaches at CdM said they are 100% backing Scott’s decision, and they believe what transpired in the stands has taken away from the actual game. The Sea Kings beat Newport Harbor, 41-13, winning the rivalry for the fourth straight year.
“Not only do we admire the administration for making a difficult decision, but absolutely the right decision of about what we’re trying to teach our young kids in terms of their character, in terms of their decision making, and not putting themselves in a position to be irresponsible with underage drinking, etc., whether it’s a school event or otherwise,” said CdM football coach Dan O’Shea, who is also a teacher on campus.
O’Shea said he found out about the incidents involving students shortly after the game from Don Grable, the school’s athletic director.
O’Shea never meets with his team after they leave the field the night of a game, but when the Sea Kings returned to CdM’s campus, 80-plus players got together in the locker room.
“We had a team meeting, led by our [12] captains, about the type of decisions we’re going to make tonight as young men representing Corona del Mar, the high school,” O’Shea said. “It is upon us about how we’re going to handle ourselves, and they handled themselves exceptionally well, not only that evening, but they prevented several other kids from making bad decisions that night after the game. We took it upon ourselves as a football program to make sure that we’re doing the right thing and we’re helping others make the right decisions as well within in our community and our on campus.”
The good news for CdM (3-1) is that it doesn’t have a football game this week. The team is on a bye before it closes out nonleague play with Trabuco Hills on Sept. 30.
The Sea Kings open Pacific Coast League play on Oct. 6 against Woodbridge at Jim Scott Stadium. That contest was CdM’s homecoming game, and the school has canceled the prep rally on Oct. 6 and the dance on Oct. 7.
Not everyone is in agreement with Scott’s decision, but G.W. Mix, the CdM boys’ lacrosse coach, as well as boys’ basketball coach Ryan Schachter and girls’ volleyball coach Steve Astor, is supporting her.
“We have an opportunity to better educate our entire community, not just the CdM community … about the issues that we’re facing and they’re daunting, they’re frightening,” said Mix, whose two sons, Ryan and Casey, graduated from CdM. “I think the decision that Kathy made was brave, extremely brave. She’s a tough gal from Texas. I have an awful lot of respect for her because leadership is a very lonely place. She’s willing to step into that place. I applaud her for it and I stand side-by-side with her.
“This is as a big a teaching moment as I’ve seen in a few years. If we’re not taking full advantage of it, we’re making a great mistake.”
