The Official Forum - Anybody here work in this youth league?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...0.html?sub=new

UPDATE: Official Is Removed After Firing Raptors' Coaches
Sunday, February 18, 2007; C02

Football season is long over, but a lot has happened to the South County Raptors since the team of 12- to 14-year-old boys was forced to forfeit a playoff game because of an overzealous parent.
In a few weeks, the boys plan to get together one last time to feast on hotdogs and hamburgers and watch a highlight film of their season, which had a remarkable ending.
In November, just days before the Raptors, from southern Fairfax County, were headed for the playoffs, the league commissioner fired the head coach and an assistant coach for moving his son from defense to offense in the final game of the season. The team refused to play for new coaches. So the playoffs began, and the boys forfeited their game. The Fairfax County Youth Football League salvaged the Raptors' season by setting up a bowl game after the playoffs, which the Raptors won 6-0.
Since then, the commissioner of the South County Youth Association, Dan Hinkle, has been removed from the Fairfax County Youth Football League.
Mark Meana, the league chairman, said Hinkle was removed because his organization was not in compliance with the league's bylaws. He said the league has named another organization, the South County Athletic Association, as a replacement. He said the new association has scheduled an organizational meeting for next month and will have to decide how many teams from different age groups will be formed next season. "We are going to support them and help them financially if they need it for equipment and other things," Meana said.
Meana said the Raptors' coaches were not given the right to appeal their firings, a violation of the league bylaws. "It was an embarrassment to everyone concerned," he said.
During the preseason, Hinkle e-mailed the coaches, writing that his son, Scott, needed to play every play on defense. "Scott does not sit out on defense -- ever," Hinkle wrote. "He goes in and stays in. That includes all practices, scrimmages and games. The entire league exists so he can lay defense on the best team in his weight class. . . . He is my son, I own the league, and he plays every snap on defense."
After the coaches moved his son from defense to offense in a win over Herndon, Hinkle fired head coach James Owens and assistant coach Bill Burnham.
Hinkle filled a large void in youth sports in the rapidly growing southern portion of the county by creating the league. He said he spent about $150,000 of his own money to fund the league. Once he fired the coaches, the children refused to play for anyone else. The coaches were reinstated for the special bowl game and Hinkle allowed the team to use its regular equipment.
The Raptors' situation caught the attention of many people in the region. Burnham said the outpouring of support for the Raptors turned a negative experience into a positive one. "When we looked back, we have a very positive outlook on the season," he said. "The boys learned a lot about football, but they learned a lot more about life."
-- Timothy Dwyer