Thomson: Coaching not what it used to be

• Coaching high school sports has changed for several reasons.
• Coaches cite increased parental involvement, the influence of club teams and a year-round commitment.
• Digital communication has given detractors a forum to express concerns — founded or unfounded.

If you know Mike Chiapparelli, you're probably not surprised to learn his cell phone doesn't receive e-mails. You also probably know the raspy-voiced, curly-coiffed, shorts-wearing Mamaroneck coach can be something of a living relic — the old-school, detailed-obsessed sideline grunt time-warped into the present day.

In this case, however, Chiapparelli isn't eschewing modern technology in favor of a simpiler time. He's actually purposefully ignoring the mound of outside influences one complaint at a time.

"I have to go in the building to check my e-mail," he said. "The parents now can send you an e-mail, but you can delete it. That's what I do most of the time is just delete it."

Even for the best coaches, taking such measures can be a matter of sanity. Many of them admit there are several reasons the job has changed immensely over the years — and for the worse.

Just ask Chiapparelli, a four-time state champ, or Lakeland's Sharon Sarsen, the winner of seven straight field hockey state titles.

"If I was starting out as a new coach now, I don't know how I could do it," Sarsen said.

The muddled field spit out another coach with pristine credentials this week when Somers High School declined to renew its pact with Kristi Dini, a former local star who scored 1,000 points in high school and played Division I basketball and who quickly became a winner as a coach.

The district has not given a concrete reason for dismissing Dini, but head-scratching coaching moves have become a sad norm. She is among the scores of promising high school coaches either chased away from the sideline or discouraged by past experiences.

Dougherty: There is some explaining to do in Somers

The constant drama has led some of the brightest to quit completely.

"It’s become more difficult, especially on the lower levels," said North Rockland athletic director Joe Casarella, who has been involved with the program for 49 years. "When I became the AD, a guy would work his way through the modified, to the freshman and the JV and up to the varsity. But some of the great young coaches who have potential get so turned off at the lower levels. They said, 'Why is it worth it to me?' "

Financially, it never is. Even varsity head coaches make in the thousands for a commitment that has expanded to year-round.

In season, the increased frequency of e-mail and text-message correspondence has forced them to communicate with parents in the hours long after practices and games are complete. The gripes usually center around playing time, and both athletes and parents can develop unrealistic expectations after spending time and resources on club teams and individual training sessions unrelated to school programs.

During his team's run to the school's first hockey state championship ever in March, Chiapparelli was confronted on the team bus by parents upset at their son's level of involvement in the offense.

Similar encounters happened two or three decades ago, he said, but they were outliers.

"Put it this way: When I first started, you might've had one or two parents who were a pain in the neck. Now they are part of a posse," said Chiapparelli, who also won his third Class AA state baseball title last June. "I think the fact that I've been with my programs a long time, the parents might give me more rope because of what we've done. But if they don't like something, they'll still go after you."

Sarsen has learned the same truth — even during this unprecedented string of state titles. When she opens an e-mail complaint, it usually begins with an ironic request.

"The opening line, every single time, is, 'Please don't tell my daughter I'm doing this,' " she said.

Sarsen: The changing dynamics of high school sports

Sarsen said the current state of coaching is a sign that power in school districts has shifted away from administrators and teachers to parents. It's a changing dynamic a veteran coach can manage by leaning on his or her experience.

Of course, the next conflict is never far away.

"I feel bad for younger coaches," Sarsen said. "You just have to watch over your shoulder the whole time."

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