Haverford Players Share Their Opinions About McNichol's Dismissal

When he would not have his contract renewed next season, someone apparently forgot there would be casualties in the decision made by the — the players themselves.

Four of the Fords’ starting five will return next season, juniors Pat Morgan, Kevin Gladstone and Pierre Charles and sophomore Gabe Armando, along with two key reserves, junior Miles Mansell and sophomore Eddie Durkin.

No one from Haverford School District apprised the players of what was going on. Rumors and speculation abound after they handed in their uniforms after going 6-16 this season, an improvement over going 3-19 the previous year.

After the season, the players said they were brought to the school library and told to fill out an anonymous coaches survey, which involved yes-no questions and an opportunity to make a statement below. Then there is another anonymous survey that the Haverford School District offers parents to take on online.

The team found out last Friday that McNichol would not be returning, from McNichol via e-mail telling them how much of a pleasure he had coaching them.

“This wasn’t the best way to handle it,” said Morgan, a two-year starter. “I thought Coach McNichol got a bad deal. It’s disappointing. There were parents involved with this. The parents take the survey, too. I can speak for the players, and we were fine with Coach McNichol. He always treated us with respect and he knew what he was talking about.

"He coached us to the best of our abilities, and it wasn’t just about basketball, either. It was about life. I’m going to miss him. I can’t lie about that. But there is nothing I can do about it. No one ever said why. I’d like to know. I don’t know what’s going to happen. The other players coming back will have a new coach who will put in a new system. I think they should have spoken to us about this. It’s not the parent’s team or the school board’s team. It’s our team. We’re going to be most impacted by this decision.”

Charles said he was shocked when he heard about McNichol's contract not being renewed, as were the rest of his teammates. Charles, like Morgan, agrees the school district went about McNichol’s non-renewal differently. But Charles feels it was about winning and losing.

“I don't think it's fair what happened to Coach McNichol, and the way it happened, it was just wrong,” Charles said. “It came down to winning more games, plain and simple, and if I were to point any fingers, that's on us, the players. We were playing in the games and we were expected to perform. We could have done things better and closed out a lot more games.”

Outgoing Haverford seniors Eric Falasco and Conor Walsh both feel the post-season survey played a role. They both stated that if players had a beef with McNichol, the number was very minimal.

“The problem is parents think their kid is the next Michael Jordan and they're not; they complain about their kid not getting playing time while they’re not that good, but you just can't fire someone because of that,” said Falasco, who’s continuing his academic career at Penn State. “I was talking to a few guys coming back and they're mad going into their senior year with a whole new staff. I don't see any reason why Coach McNichol was fired. It came from the school board, and they weren't at any of our games. It’s a bad situation.”

Said Walsh, who will continue his academics at nearby Villanova, “I e-mailed Coach McNichol back and told him that I was sorry to hear what happened. It was the surveys, which started last year. That’s what I think. They ask how well a coach communicated, and if they always let you know when practice was. There was a general area below where you can fill in random comments. And it’s all anonymous. You can say anything. I think it's a cowardly way to do things. Coach McNichol was an approachable guy. My parents felt the same way I did. They were kind of confused like I am about what’s going on.”

A number of nearby high school coaches and administrators were contacted about the McNichol situation, 15 altogether speculated on what could happen, and the universal thought was that Haverford High School’s recent track record may make prospective coaches wonder whether or not they would apply to the Haverford School District.

Falasco broached that very point, asking, “Who’s really going to want to come here and coach after this, and (soccer) coach ?”