A Letter to CAD BOD from the Coach of ECR
THIS IS A LETTER FROM EL CAMINO COACH CHRISTIAN CERONE TO THE CA ACADEMIC DECATHLON BOARD
May 12, 2005
Jeff McCombs
President, Board of Directors
California Academic Decathlon
18757 Burbank Blvd., Suite 220
Tarzana, CA 91356-3375
Mr. McCombs:
In last week’s article discussing the termination of Marvin Cobb, the LA Times wrote of you: “He said he could not discuss circumstances of Cobb’s departure, calling it a confidential ‘personnel matter.’” We all understand you meant to say personal matter, right? Otherwise, there doesn’t seem to be any justification for firing Marvin without any prior fair and appropriate disciplinary action. On the day of his termination, you shared this gem with the county coordinators: “This is Marvin Cobb’s last day as executive director and we wish him the best of luck.” Did you actually think we’d believe he stepped down willingly, after winning three consecutive national titles, or is this another misrepresentation of what you truly meant to say? I can’t remember reading a more egregious example of cowardice in avoidance of the truth, and I know I’m not alone on this.
I’m the first to admit I’m unaware of the deep, secret inner workings of the CAD board. I know little about so called oversight issues and nothing about your working relationship with Marvin, aside from the fact that you apparently held differing visions of his job description. I know the man made mistakes just like the rest of us. But, after six years of coaching and after celebrating three state and national titles in those years, I do feel I’m qualified to talk about the role of the executive director from the perspective from which it matters most—as the liaison between him and the students. If you truly believe that your mission as board president is solely to ensure a positive experience for the young men and women who participate in the decathlon, you’re having a hell of a time convincing me by getting rid of the one man on the staff who consistently showed his priorities lay in the best interest of students. If Marvin didn’t push enough paper or pencils fast enough for you, it’s because his focus was on making his program the best possible experience for students. Like so many other bureaucrats, you hide in your corporate office behind the easy line that your priorities are for “doing what’s best for the kids.” Marvin lived and breathed that sentiment in the trenches with those of us working directly with them. Under his tenure, California went from becoming a competitive state in a field of several, to the only place where the national title resides. This year, any one of the top five teams in California most likely would have gone on to win the national title, and we had to work so extremely hard for the privilege to represent that field of excellence in Chicago. And while the fierce competition has created complaints about unfairness from within the state, Marvin sought to solve that problem by raising the quality and commitment of the weaker programs instead of handicapping the strongest teams to bring them down to the level of those crying foul. I personally spoke at one of Marvin’s coaches’ workshops in Sacramento in an effort to stimulate the competition in Northern California by openly telling them exactly what we do to win, explaining how and why it is beneficial to our students, and welcoming any challenge to equal that effort. Apparently a select few winning schools in California weren’t enough for Marvin to rest on his laurels.
You should be ashamed for putting your personal issues above “doing what’s best for the kids” and creating a sham performance evaluation to justify your selfishly guided desires. Had one of these evaluations been levied on Marvin’s predecessor, at least from the perspective of the coaches and students who had the “pleasure” of working with her, I laugh to think of the results. Marvin has 100 times more heart, 100 times more understanding of what makes this program so beneficial to young people, and worked 100 times harder to make the program as successful as possible. I’d say that is a far cry from someone who seemed accountable to no one but her own interests and always took the path of least resistance when it came to problem solving and strengthening the program. Where was the board’s concern for “doing what’s best for the kids” under her tenure?
The vagueness behind your comments only implies you have no justification for dismissing Marvin, and if you don’t have the fortitude to be open and honest about your professional differences, whom can we trust? I’m grateful this was my last year as a coach for many reasons. I’m grateful I got to finish my career with the most closely bonded and hard working group of students of I’ve ever known. I’m grateful we rebounded from a disappointing loss at the city competition, only to beat the odds and become the first wild card team to win the state and national titles. I’m grateful I got to step down on top, feeling the best I’ve ever felt about the academic decathlon and what it has done for my students throughout all my years of coaching. And I’m grateful I’ll never again experience the shame of being associated with your board of directors and the damage you have caused to this program.
Sincerely,
Christian Cerone
Head Coach, Academic Decathlon
El Camino Real High School
May 12, 2005
Jeff McCombs
President, Board of Directors
California Academic Decathlon
18757 Burbank Blvd., Suite 220
Tarzana, CA 91356-3375
Mr. McCombs:
In last week’s article discussing the termination of Marvin Cobb, the LA Times wrote of you: “He said he could not discuss circumstances of Cobb’s departure, calling it a confidential ‘personnel matter.’” We all understand you meant to say personal matter, right? Otherwise, there doesn’t seem to be any justification for firing Marvin without any prior fair and appropriate disciplinary action. On the day of his termination, you shared this gem with the county coordinators: “This is Marvin Cobb’s last day as executive director and we wish him the best of luck.” Did you actually think we’d believe he stepped down willingly, after winning three consecutive national titles, or is this another misrepresentation of what you truly meant to say? I can’t remember reading a more egregious example of cowardice in avoidance of the truth, and I know I’m not alone on this.
I’m the first to admit I’m unaware of the deep, secret inner workings of the CAD board. I know little about so called oversight issues and nothing about your working relationship with Marvin, aside from the fact that you apparently held differing visions of his job description. I know the man made mistakes just like the rest of us. But, after six years of coaching and after celebrating three state and national titles in those years, I do feel I’m qualified to talk about the role of the executive director from the perspective from which it matters most—as the liaison between him and the students. If you truly believe that your mission as board president is solely to ensure a positive experience for the young men and women who participate in the decathlon, you’re having a hell of a time convincing me by getting rid of the one man on the staff who consistently showed his priorities lay in the best interest of students. If Marvin didn’t push enough paper or pencils fast enough for you, it’s because his focus was on making his program the best possible experience for students. Like so many other bureaucrats, you hide in your corporate office behind the easy line that your priorities are for “doing what’s best for the kids.” Marvin lived and breathed that sentiment in the trenches with those of us working directly with them. Under his tenure, California went from becoming a competitive state in a field of several, to the only place where the national title resides. This year, any one of the top five teams in California most likely would have gone on to win the national title, and we had to work so extremely hard for the privilege to represent that field of excellence in Chicago. And while the fierce competition has created complaints about unfairness from within the state, Marvin sought to solve that problem by raising the quality and commitment of the weaker programs instead of handicapping the strongest teams to bring them down to the level of those crying foul. I personally spoke at one of Marvin’s coaches’ workshops in Sacramento in an effort to stimulate the competition in Northern California by openly telling them exactly what we do to win, explaining how and why it is beneficial to our students, and welcoming any challenge to equal that effort. Apparently a select few winning schools in California weren’t enough for Marvin to rest on his laurels.
You should be ashamed for putting your personal issues above “doing what’s best for the kids” and creating a sham performance evaluation to justify your selfishly guided desires. Had one of these evaluations been levied on Marvin’s predecessor, at least from the perspective of the coaches and students who had the “pleasure” of working with her, I laugh to think of the results. Marvin has 100 times more heart, 100 times more understanding of what makes this program so beneficial to young people, and worked 100 times harder to make the program as successful as possible. I’d say that is a far cry from someone who seemed accountable to no one but her own interests and always took the path of least resistance when it came to problem solving and strengthening the program. Where was the board’s concern for “doing what’s best for the kids” under her tenure?
The vagueness behind your comments only implies you have no justification for dismissing Marvin, and if you don’t have the fortitude to be open and honest about your professional differences, whom can we trust? I’m grateful this was my last year as a coach for many reasons. I’m grateful I got to finish my career with the most closely bonded and hard working group of students of I’ve ever known. I’m grateful we rebounded from a disappointing loss at the city competition, only to beat the odds and become the first wild card team to win the state and national titles. I’m grateful I got to step down on top, feeling the best I’ve ever felt about the academic decathlon and what it has done for my students throughout all my years of coaching. And I’m grateful I’ll never again experience the shame of being associated with your board of directors and the damage you have caused to this program.
Sincerely,
Christian Cerone
Head Coach, Academic Decathlon
El Camino Real High School
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