St Stephans Royals Baseball

[CB]

02-20-10
It is a sad day in the history of St. Stephens Optimist Baseball. I just got this email from my friend, Carl, who has coached the team for the past 19 years. It is not a fit ending to a franchise that is as storied as the Royals. The team as we have known it is at an end.  Mick
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Royals Head Coach Forced Out

I suppose this will be my final update. On Friday, February 12, 2010. St. Stephens Optimist Club asked me to take a year off from coaching, and then return in 2011 to ask to get my team back, or leave altogether. I’m not 5 years old. I will not be back in any capacity except to watch my Royals play. I know that this is very satisfying to most of my former club members. I will go into of what I know about what happened at the secret meeting last Thursday night on 02/11/10.

First of all, I was told that I could not serve on the Board this year when I was elected for a two-year term in 2009. Then, some board members, who have a personal dislike for me, tried to take my team from me. That did not succeed, so someone organized a group of UPCOMING parents to attend a meeting (Parents who have kids THAT I HAVE NEVER COACHED) to complain about my actions in the past. I will admit that I am very competitive and that I have done some things that I am not proud of. So after saying that, I did serve my punishment for any wrong doing that I demonstrated in the past years.

This is the one thing that really ticks me off big time. A person should have the privilege of facing his or her accusers. I was never asked to attend the meeting when a decision was going to be made about the team that I have coached for the past 19 years. When I questioned this, the St. Stephens Optimist President told me that I was such a confrontational person, and I have such a dominant personality,  these parents were afraid of me. This is just ridiculous. These are people who do not know baseball and can’t do anything unless it is behind someone’s back. I know how they operate. I’ve been down there, and done more than any of those people that think they are doing the program so much good. It is nothing now but Daddy ball!!

Enough about how I was Royally done wrong. Just let me tell you all a few things about a coach that did not ever have a son of my own play for me. In the past 19 years, I have given up every one of those summers for my kids. I have taken kids to practices and games year in and year out. Not just one or two, I’ve picked up three to four in some years because their parents had to work. What if I had all of the money that I have spent (out of my own pocket) on these kids and this team over the years? I would have a small fortunate. I have bought some of my least privileged players, all great kids, gloves, cleats, batting gloves, bats, etc. This is not including feeding them and taking and doing social things with them. I have even bought two cars for two of my former players. I had a former player once that changed his wedding date just so I could attend because I had a ball game. I am not asking for any praise here, I do not regret one single thing that I have done when it comes to my kids. I did it because that is the real person that I am. I do not regret any of it at all. I did it because I wanted to. And it feels good in my heart.

Now I would like to thank all of my past players, parents, coaches, and Webmaster, for all of your support and dedication to MY (SS) Royals over the past 19 years. I will cherish all of my kids that I have ever coached - that includes the many non-Royals that I have coached in the 17 All-Star teams that I coached. I can honestly say that I believe at the minimum, 98% of my parents were nothing but happy with me coaching their son or daughter. I put my heart and soul into my Royals, and this situation really does depress me. My Royals are very special to me. I would have not been coaching them this long if they weren’t.

I have been done wrong.    Carl Ennis