The reasons why? – newsbulletin

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This past weekend, some fatherly-advice given about 50 years ago popped into my head. Shortly after high school graduation, I suggested to dad that pursuing a career in coaching might be in my future.
“I don’t know. Coaching is a hard life,” was his simple response.
Considering dad was not one to usually interject opinions in such matters, I took his words as, “Don’t do it. Are you crazy?”
All these years later, there are no regrets about the path I chose; reporting about coaches instead of being one. Despite recent events, certainly humiliating, I seriously doubt if Greg Henington and Buddy York have second thoughts either about embracing their chosen calling.
Both men, Henington, of Los Lunas football, and York, Belen volleyball, walked into work recently and were told their coaching duties were no longer needed. A blindside hit.
“Thank you for your service, now clean out your office.” Or as one observer said, ‘don’t let the door hit you on the way out.’ Maybe a bit dramatic.
While there isn’t a perfect time for such news, the timing wasn’t ideal. For York, the word came hours before the team’s final regular season match, just days ahead of being selected to the state tournament for the first time. That had to leave players mystified ahead of what may have been the biggest moment of their athletic careers.
For Henington, the axe fell after the season but 10 days before Christmas and five years after he guided the Los Lunas Tigers to their only state football championship.
The timing isn’t the only thing the two men have in common. Both say they don’t know exactly why they were let go. That is one of the frustrating holiday leftovers of all this, the not knowing why.
I was on both ends of similar equations years ago and each still gnaws at me. As an employee, I was told it was time for me to move on, given no explanation. As a manager, I was instructed by a boss to sever ties with a very good reporter, ordered to say, “it’s just business.” Hardly.
These abrupt endings lead to confusion not only for the coaches but for athletes and fan bases who put their heart and soul into their teams and schools. The Belen motto, “Once an Eagle, Always an Eagle,” apparently doesn’t always apply.
Belen athletic coordinator Jim Collins wouldn’t give specifics concerning York, but said, “There were some things that were not lined up and we didn’t have a choice.” York told me that he didn’t know the reason why, a claim Collins disputes.
Henington was only left to guess, with the school district saying in a news release that it was “moving in a different direction,” extending their appreciation without giving more information.
There was also plenty of speculation on social media, with overwhelming support for Henington.
“A great coach and an even better man to lead a group of kids,” was an example, written by Chaz, a former Los Lunas player.
Not everyone was behind Henington.
“The program was on a path down hill,” said Phillip, who added, “If he was such a good coach he wouldn’t have lost by 30+ to Cleveland 2 years in a row.”
True, LLHS struggled against Cleveland, a much larger school, winners of five of the last six 6A titles. However, during Henington’s five year tenure, the Tigers were 43-16, captured a state title, with trips to the playoffs each season.
Another connection between Henington and York is that both were working under new supervisors — Bill Hays of Los Lunas and Collins at Belen. You often hear about managers wanting to hire their “own people,” but these dismissals were clearly going to cause an uproar and certainly needed the blessing of those higher up.
“Unbelievable! Small town politics. Let’s vote them all out,” Michael shared online about those behind the Henington decision. Shireen demanded that, “someone needs to be held accountable.”
This all keeps returning to possible reasons why. In big-school football, a coach can oversee around 150 student/athletes. It would be unreasonable to think that they were angels all the time. Trouble is bound to happen and coaches can and should be held accountable. However, peering from the outside, that did not seem to be a recurring theme with Tiger football.
A parent railing against a coach is nothing new. Did Henington upset the wrong person? Jorge Gaxiola, father of LLHS junior receiver Tayson, said he witnessed an incident after a road game this season.
“I saw parents attacking Henington. I stepped up and defended him,” Gaxiola said in an interview, adding that a lack of playing time can bring hard feelings.
Sometimes you might hear complaints about a coach “not being one of us,” hired from outside the area.
That wasn’t the situation with either Henington or York, who have significant ties to Valencia County. Henington previously coached at BHS, while York, an U.S. Army and Marine Corps veteran and retired employee of Belen Magistrate Court, was promoted from Belen Middle School.
My interactions with both were peripheral, limited to the occasional practice or game, but I didn’t see or hear about any character flaws on the field or in the classroom. Immediately after the News-Bulletin broke the story about Henington, Ed Nunez, an announcer for ProView Networks and podcast host, reached out, saying that Henington was professional to work with, a great coach and “definitely deserved better.”
An emotional Gaxiola added that his son “got tears in his eyes every time we talked about it.”
On social media, Shireen wrote, “Coach Henington was the best and brought so much class on and off the field.”
From the perspective of school administrators, saying little or nothing is standard operating procedure. Coaches are “at-will” employees and can be terminated for almost any reason or none at all. Explaining a dismissal can open the door to legal repercussions or prolonged public debate, keeping officials feet to the fire.
However, a lack of transparency often leaves a cloud over the program, school and administrators. Why should young people trust adults when a coach they respect is ousted without clarification? Do adults mean it when they proclaim, “It’s all about the kids?”
There is also the stain that a coach carries with them, trying to explain to a prospective employer why they were forced out.
In the spirit of the holiday, maybe this will work out best for all involved. Maybe Henington and York will find sports satisfaction elsewhere. Maybe the incoming coaches will cut through the fog and be loved by players, parents and administrators. Maybe.
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