Andover Schools Paint Over Message Supporting Coaches

ANDOVER, MA -- Members from the Andover High School Class of 1982 were taking credit on social media for painting a message on a hallowed rock urging students to "Respect Our Coaches" over the weekend. By the end of the day on Monday the message had been painted over, with Andover High School Principal Philip Conrad saying in an email "The rock is for the students to decorate as a sign of their graduation, it is not a place for community members to send messages to one another."

The messages come as part of a debate on whether or not the school system is supporting coaches who are accused of wrongdoing by their athletes. Twice this year Andover has place coaches on administrative leave following allegations by students but before those allegations were fully investigated. In addition to volleyball coach E.J. Perry, Andover placed three hockey coaches on administrative leave and later reinstated them when the allegations proved to be unfounded, but not before details were leaked to and published by the Eagle-Tribune and other newspapers.

"The coaches who can coach are getting run out of AHS and those who have NO clue what they are doing are hiding in the weeds taking their stipend," one Andover parent said in an email to Patch. The trend to "villify coaches starts in youth sports in Andover...then no evidence is shown yet half the town sees emails and some coach's reputation in town is ruined by angry parents who think little Mary is going to play D-1 sports, yet little Mary never plays again after 15-16."

The issue is complex and the debate is passionate, but one thing is clear: it's going to take more than a fresh coat of paint on a rock that has been painted by generations of Andover student athletes to make the controversy go away. At least one resident has placed a blue and yellow banner on their property with the same "Respect our Coaches" slogan and a request for motorists to beep if they support boys volleyball Perry and Andover hockey coach Chris Kuchar.

The fear is that athletes on a team or students in a classroom who don't like a coach or a teacher can make allegations and that the coach or teacher will be disciplined before an investigation is completed. That was the case for both Perry and Kucher, and in both cases details were leaked to the Eagle-Tribune.

In Kucher's case, the allegations proved to be unfounded. And while an investigation into the allegations made by Perry found he used profanity, racial stereotypes and demeaning comments, those findings were overshadowed by how the investigation was handled. It didn't help that over the weekend Andover Public Schools Superintendent Sheldon Berman had to apologize for mistakingly sending a copy of a confidential letter to volleyball coach E.J. Perry to a newspaper reporter.

There's evidence that two of the players involved in the volleyball incident understood that coaches would be disciplined first and questioned later. They understood it well enough to start planning last season to oust Perry with a scheme they called Operation Hydra, in reference to a Marvel Comics plot line where a person's reputation is ruined.

As for the rock, it has been a focal point in Andover for generations of students and student-athletes. The rock, according to residents, is painted with messages marking graduation and big sports victories. The rock is considered such a central part of the school's culture that a road relocation project was modified in 1996 to preserve the rock.

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Photo submitted to Patch by a photographer who asked that his name not be used for publication.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).