There's trouble in Virginia City this week as both basketball coaches have been removed from their jobs.
Boys basketball coach Hector Bucchianeri and girls basketball coach Patti Brouhard said they were both informed this week by Virginia City principal Patrick Beckwith that their contracts would not be renewed. Bucchianeri said he was told by Beckwith he was being let go in a meeting with the principal on Monday and Brouhard said she was told by Beckwith that she was being let go in a meeting with him on Tuesday.
In Nevada state high schools, all coaches receive one-year contracts and school districts have the authority not to renew those coaching contracts if they choose.
The timing to let go Bucchaianeri and Brouhard seems strange since both are coming off successful years and both have had overall success with the Muckers. Both the boys and girls teams finished 11-1 to win the Western 1A titles this past season. The boys finished 25-6 overall under Bucchianeri while girl girls were 19-6 under Brouhard.
Brouhard had been the girls coach for five years and her teams made steady improvement during her tenure. She noted that her peers selected her as the Western 1A Coach of the Year this past season and that she was nominated for the honor in two of her five years.
Bucchianeri also had a successful run in his six years as coach. He led Virginia City to the NIAA 1A State Tournament in his first three years (2003-2005) and led the Muckers to their first state title in 20 years in 2005.
While limited in what he could say because this is a personnel matter, Beckwith said "We're just at a point for differing reasons we wanted to go in different directions" on why the two coaches were let go. "I think that happens in a lot of situations."
Beckwith admitted the decision to let go the coaches may be hard to understand and "on the surface it may give one appearance." But he also said the appearance "is not always everything that's going."
When making all of his decisions, Beckwith said, "My responsibility as principal for all of our students is to put them in the best position possible to be successful."
Beckwith did say, "I have respect for both coaches."
But Bucchianeri and Brouhard both said they thought they were treated unfairly.
Both Bucchianeri and Brouhard are off-campus coaches and don't teach at Virginia City. Brouhard used to teach at the school and now substitute teaches, but isn't a full-time teacher. But that was not a factor in their dismissals since Virginia City only has one on-campus coach on its staff.
When asked if she was surprised or disappointed, Brouhard said, "I would say all of the above."
Brouhard echoed what Beckwith said, saying she was told by the principal on the decision to let her go: "we felt it was time for a change."
"I don't know the proper words," said Brouhard in responding to her dismissal. "I don't think it was necessary. I think it was handled poorly. I'm just trying to see what kind of options I have."
The hardest part is leaving players she's been associated with since middle school, Brouhard said. "That's the main thing," she said. "I'm really disappointed because I built a relationship with these kids. You're there for the kids. They're basically part of your family."
Bucchianeri said he would have understood if Beckwith had come to him and told him he wanted to bring in his own coach and asked him to resign. But he said that wasn't the case.
"It was a surprise," said Bucchianeri about his dismissal. "There was no warning or anything. I hadn't heard any rumors or anything.
"It was kind of a shock. I was under the impression I was going in for an evaluation. I kind of felt I deserved better treatment than that."
Both Bucchianeri and Beckwith were able to say the fact that not many players were coming back for next year played a role in Bucchianeri's decision. This year's varsity basketball team finished with seven players at the end of the regular season, six of which were seniors. Beckwith said there was 14 players in all in the program.
"It's a great time for a transition," said Bucchianeri on what Beckwith told him, noting that not many players were coming back.
But Bucchianeri noted that at 1A schools the participation in athletics can fluctuate a great deal.
Beckwith said a search for Bucchianeri's and Brouhard's replacements will begin soon.