Published: Aug. 1, 2015
Graf in a hard place at East
The high school basketball season doesn’t start for another
three months and already Travis Graf is set up to fail at West Bend East.
He’s not going to get the chance to succeed, which is sad.
And you wonder why more coaches aren’t rushing to coach in West Bend.
Graf was hired as the girls basketball coach June 9, taking
over a program that is in bad shape. It’s because of apparent tension between
parents and school administration.
On Monday, a collection of parents sent a multi-page letter
to West Bend School District Superintendent Ted Neitzke upset over the hiring
process of Graf.
At the center of it is Ron Larson, the junior varsity boys
basketball coach at East. Larson was one of the applicants for the East girls
job and, according to Bill Greymont, the West Bend high school principal, he
was interviewed.
But based on recommendations from the search committee, the
decision was made to hire Graf, despite him having only one year of head
coaching experience, compared to Larson’s five years as a JV coach.
It’s interesting the Larson family was one of the six
families that signed the letter to Neitzke.
While frustrating, the school district can’t comment about
personnel matters. The reason is privacy for all the applicants involved,
Greymont said.
Of course, it’d be great to know why Graf was chosen over
Larson. But in a way, we know why.
Greymont said he liked Graf’s enthusiasm, experience,
knowledge and, maybe most importantly, his dedication to kids.
Graf had the one year at a small high school in South
Dakota. But it could’ve been longer had it not been for health issues.
Just because Graf doesn’t have a lot of experience doesn’t
mean he can’t be a great coach.
After his hire, I said he may not have been the best hire
based on his resume. But he was the most intriguing. I liked that he had
something to prove.
There are plenty of examples of coaches who had minimal
success as players, but went on to be great coaches. There are also plenty of
examples of great players who turned out to be lousy coaches.
There is just no way to know if one person will indeed be
better than the other.
Larson may be a good coach. But Greymont said Graf best fit
the needs of the program at this time.
If Graf doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out. That happens.
It’s not looking good for him right now.
Rick Riehl came to West Bend in the 1970s with little knowledge
about basketball. Six years after taking over as the girls basketball coach,
Riehl led the Suns to the state championship and he’s regarded as a legend in
West Bend. Can that happen to Graf ? Absolutely. Will it? Tough to say. It
won’t, though, if he’s not given a chance.
If it works out and he leads East to a state title someday,
all will be forgotten.
When practices and games start in November, will you be
there to support him and the Suns? If not, then who is to blame here?
Look at the other communities with successful basketball
programs. They have it because of mutual support. There is no animosity.
One thing is for sure: someone needs to step up and be a
leader and say this is what’s going to happen. If you’re not onboard, see you
later.
For a long time, I’ve been critical of how the school
district has handled certain things. The Don Gruber firing was one of them.
But in order to move on, we’ve got to suck it up and try to
make the best of the situation. If you don’t, in two or three years, Graf will
be out the door and then what? The message will be clear to the other coaches:
West Bend is an impossible place to succeed.
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