below: Katonah Coach Bill Swertfager is fighting to keep his job
Two Westchester school districts decision to part ways with two long serving and beloved coaches, for reasons that parents, students and taxpayers in Eastchester and Katonah cannot understand, is being met with massive support for both, and the Superintendents and School Boards for both the Eastchester and Katonah-Lewisboro School Districts are now feeling the heat, and pressure, from the public to fire Eastchester Basketball and Football coach Fred DiCarlo, and Katonah Wrestling Coach Bill Swertfager.
One social media post from a supporter of Coach DiCarlo explains it well. “Coach Fred DiCarlo, a 1985 graduate of Eastchester High School and a Varsity Basketball and Football coach, was fired from Eastchester on November 9th, 2022. Coach Fred has dedicated over 30 years of service to the Football and Basketball programs. Despite never once being disciplined by previous athletic directors, principals, or superintendents on any major issues, Coach DiCarlo was fired for using profanity, which is a “violation of the athletic contract”. Instead of verbal warnings, meetings, or suspensions, the superintendent decided to fire a coach with 32 years of experience. The superintendent’s investigator only interviewed and took written statements from people that wanted to see Coach Fred fired. There was no opportunity for fellow coaches or the thousands of former players and parents who would be in support of Coach Fred and would think this investigation is nonsense, as no Varsity level coaches would be able to coach 15-17 year old boys without using profanity on occasion. We are humbly asking for Ron Valenti, Superintendent of Eastchester Schools, to change his decision and allow Fred DiCarlo to continue to coach at Eastchester High School.”
And Superintendent Valenti DID re-hire DiCarlo, who is now coaching the basketball team immediately.
In Katonah, Wrestling Coach Bill Swertfager appeared before the school board to fight for his job, after being told his services were no longer required after 25 years of coaching the John Jay Wrestling team. “I sincerely hope,” Swertfager told the board, “that you will reconsider and reinstate me as the head coach of John Jay wrestling.”
Coach Swertfager has not been told what his infraction was, but he guesses it was while serving as a first base coach for the Girls Softball team, (his daughter was manager), he patted a player on the team on the back for a good hit.
At the school board meeting, Coach Swertfager called his action, acknowledging a job well done, “very common and generally accepted in sports everywhere and had been done in full view of more than 100 “parents, players, coaches, umpires at the game” as he coached at first base,” adding “I have now learned that I need to be more sensitive to a person’s personal space, and it won’t happen again.”
Hundreds of former players, students and players came out to support Coach Swertfager. The Katonah-Lewisboro School Board and Superintendent Andrew Selesnick and the school board tabled a decision on the hiring of coaches for the winter season. We hope that they listen to the communty and bring back Coach Swertfager.
Editor’s Note: I would have loved to play for both Coach DiCarlo and Coach Swertfager, and would also have had my daughter on their teams, to learn about the examples of teamwork, dedication, practice and committment that both have given to thousands of students.
