Seekonk Baseball Coach Still Upset After Dismissal

Dave Hanson spent four years as the head coach of Seekonk High School baseball. But his tenure ended on Jan. 24 when Athletic Director Ray Grant informed him that his contract would not be renewed.

"It was a real surprise to me when I got the phone call. First time I heard from Mr. Grant from June until January was a call telling me that I was being let go," said Hanson in a phone interview on Thursday.

Hanson was upset for several reasons. "I was in the battle of trying to keep the freshmen program, I was told about pitching development, not to disrespect Mr. Grant but pitching's not his area of expertise," said Hanson of the two major reasons he says Grant cited for letting him go.

The coach was not under the impression that these concerns were germane to Mr. Grant but rather that individuals interested in the program were against his policies.

"Later on I find out some people were saying this information, I just feel like there's outside forces involved in this decision. If you look through all the facts and the timelines involved, I think that's obvious," said Hanson.

His dissatisfaction was compounded by the announcement a few days later that Joe Demelo, Hanson's former junior varsity coach would be taking his place. "Grant said Joe was the best candidate for the job. There was no candidates because there was no interview for the job," said Hanson after news broke that Demelo would be the new coach.

"Joe told me that Grant called him three days after they let me go and asked if he wanted to interview for the job," said Hanson of Demelo who was named the coach last week.

According to Grant, the job is now  posted for applicants.

"The job is posted. We are looking for a coach. That's all I can say at this time," said Grant.

Demelo's only response to either to the coaching situation or to Hanson's comments was, "I have no comment."

Grant is also giving little response to Hanson's comments. "We would like to thank Mr. Hanson for his four years of service to the athletic program," said Grant in an e-mail Friday.

According to Hanson, he is most upset by the way the situation was handled. "The whole way things went down was very poor. Poor by the administration, poor by the athletic director. There was jobs out there I could have applied for. Now most of those jobs are filled."