HarryHurley.com
LETTER TO THE CURRENT NEWSPAPER
FROM TIM YAHN
THE EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP
RECREATION BOARD HAS DONE A VERY BAD THING
By HARRY HURLEY
Monday, April 30, 2007
For only reasons that only they know ... The Egg Harbor Township Board of Recreation Commissioners has done a very bad thing. And, they need to fix this poor decision right away.
You see, long-time youth Coach Tom Yahn will have to take a sabbatical from coaching due to a work obligation that will take him out of the area.
A long-time Assistant Coach, Nelson Gaskill from Hamilton Township is prepared to take the team over in a pinch. However, a waiver is required because Gaskill does not live in Egg Harbor Township.
Gaskill is the very "poster child" for why EHT has this waiver clause in the first place. If no Township resident is being displaced, the waiver should be granted. Not only is no township resident being displaced ... There is no parent or township resident who wants the coaching job.
So, this goofy Board of Recreation Commissioners would prefer that this 13 year-old Babe Ruth Baseball Team have no coach ... rather then Nelson Gaskill from Hamilton Township.
I have interviewed Tim Yahn (who I have known for a life-time) ... I have interviewed several parents. They are all understandably quite upset about this.
I implore the EHT Board of Recreation Commissioners to reverse their earlier decision. It is ill-founded. If they won't ... I am asking Senator/Mayor Sonny McCullough and Deputy Mayor Jake Glassey to immediately step-in and correct this problem.
There are many upset parents and players. This is a needless controversy that can be righted today. It needs to be settled immediately. The season is here. These children deserve a Coach. You also need to take a look at who you have appointed to the Recreation Board of Commissioners. because it is incomprehensible to me that they made this counter productive decision in the first place.
Here is Coach Tim Yahn's letter that was recently sent to The Current newspaper as follows:
To the Editor,
I have been coaching youth sports in
Currently I am head coaching a 13 prep Babe Ruth baseball team in the township. Coaching at this level of play requires a big commitment of time and knowledge of the game that is above Dad coaching his son in t-ball. The coaches at this level bring their expertise from playing the game either in high school or college or they have taken the time and money to attend clinics, read books, watched coaching videos etc. The children playing benefit from the abilities these coaches bring to them.
It has become increasingly difficult to get volunteers to help coach at these more advanced levels of sports, because people feel they do not have either the time of knowledge to take on the task. I find no fault in anyone for this. It is simply a fact of life.
This past week I have taken a new job which requires me being out of the area during the week through the remainder of the baseball season. I have reluctantly had to tell fourteen young men, including my own son, that I would not be able to continue coaching them. Due to these unforeseen circumstances my one assistant coach will, by default, be taking over the team. His business requires a great deal of travel and he will not always be available to coach these boys. A grandfather of one of the boys on the team has volunteered to step up and take on an assistant coach job. He happens to reside in Mays Landing, but has coached in the Township for many years. Herein lays the problem.
The EHT Recreation Commission has instituted a rule that a non-resident, as defined by their by-laws, may not coach in Egg Harbor Township. They do however provide for a waiver, providing no EHT resident is being displaced by this “non-resident”.
Due to these extenuating circumstances, this past Wednesday night, representatives of the EHT Baseball Board of Directors, I and my assistant coach, along with other concerned parents attended the EHT Recreation Commission meeting. Our purpose was to address this commission and ask for their assistance in this time of need, for a waiver so this gentleman could be allowed to help coach this team and allow the boys to continue to play baseball. The commission members were told that no parents on the team or other township residents have expressed interest in coaching when asked and that no township resident was displaced. They were reminded that they have granted these waivers in the past to other youth organizations in the township for similar reasons. After what could be defined as pleading to the commission for help with this problem they voted and denied the waiver leaving the team without an assistant coach.
I question the motivation of the Recreation Commission. There charged duties are to promote recreation in the township and to assist the organizations that run the individual programs. Are there personal issues that are affecting their decisions? Why would any appointed commission act in a way that is detrimental to the young children of Egg Harbor Township? Are our elected officials aware of what is happening? Do they condone actions detrimental to the youth of our Township?
Personally, I find these actions inexcusable and call for someone on the recreation commission or township committee to “step up to the plate” and make this right so these children can have the experience they deserve.