Baseball: Chuck Berrington resigns at Newbury Park after one season

Chuck Berrington, who guided Newbury Park to a 20-10 record and a third-place finish in the Marmonte League in his only season as coach, announced his resignation Wednesday and criticized the school administration for not supporting him in dealings with parents and the school booster club.

Berrington, who coached for three years at Woodland Hills Taft before returning to the Conejo Valley, said, "I made a huge mistake, but I'll rebound."

"I think Chuck did a lot of positive things for the program, but ultimately it wasn't a good fit for what we were looking for," assistant principal Richard Urias said.

Berrington is the second coach in as many seasons to suddenly resign at Newbury Park in the face of parent complaints. Last season, Scott Drootin resigned under parental pressure.

Said Berrington: "I feel sorry for anyone who comes here to coach."

-- Eric Sondheimer

Comments

[Parent of D1 College Player]

Isn't it pass time that High School administrators keep parents at arm's length with regards to sports programs? Take a lesson from college coaches where they keep the parents in the stands, smile and thank them for their financial support, and be done with them.

To the parents: Please quit making fools out of yourselves and let your son/daughter grow up and earn their way. Do you show up on test day in Math and argue with the teacher? Do you buy their test score? Do you teach them how to cheat? What makes you think you can do that when it comes to their sport? I'll tell you why, the school administrators have allowed that behavior. They have allowed you to have a say in a coach keeping his/her job by listening to your ridiculous complaints that stem from your little Johnnie or Jane not getting enough playing time or recognition. Well, your son/daughter will have a very difficult time adjusting to the rigors of college sports. And you have done nothing to help them, in fact, you have created the problem.

Administrators: You need to learn how to set down rules and a new process for dealing with parents and sport's programs. Conduct a study of the college programs and talk to long-term coaches at the next level - be proactive and stop the vicious cycle you have allowed to go unchecked for years. Stop parents from ruining sports programs and the lives of young athletes!

Good luck finding a decent baseball coach.

[I Like It Hot]

Newbury Park has now solidified itself a tie for 1st place in the running for Worst Parents of the Year. They are still contending with Saugus, it should be a good battle to see who wins this dogfight! Congratulations on your accomplishent.

Let the bad mouthing start, Coach did this and that....I cant wait.

[bring it out]

Damn- the coach said he feels sorry for anyone who comes to coach there.

Things must have been "really really bad"

I would love to hear more about the drama.....

[athony r]

This is going to happen every year at Newbury as long as Athol Wong is the Principle. She is a very weak principle who knows nothing about sports and does not care about sports. She has a big b.s. speech every year about how parents need to take their problem or complaints to the coach 1 st ,then the athletic director if nothing is solved then we can meet with princple all together. That is bull I know for sure Wong got rid of two good coaches because parent complaints. she had private meetings with parents and never followed her own policy. Maybe the coach should have been fired I don't know what the reasons were . But shame on wong for not going to the coach right away and asking he's side. Insteadn she listen to sour grape parents . She is weak and should not be allowed to be an administrator at any school. Conejo Valley School
district it's time to look at Mrs.Wong !!!!.Make a change don't let the parents of some player who doesn't play run your program.

[baseball nut]

Wow !! Who runs that school?
Certainly not the principle. Why didn't the principle let the Ad do his job. I heard she never even told the coach about a problem until she let him go. She just listen to bitter parents. Shame on her. Thats
' 2 great coaches in 2 yrs. way to good Wang.Has she even been to a baseball game.

[Crenshaw Cougar parent.]

Don't feel bad we had our rough times here in the hood this year, but everything will be all right as long as the kids stay out of trouble and do there homework. All this baseball stuff is too much. They will either practice on there own and get good or eventually move on to something else. You can't blame the coaches. Only a few will move on to the next level no matter what league or town you live in.

[Another Crenshaw Parent]

The administrators have these private meetigs with the boosters (violation of Brown Act)and plot the removal of even long standing coaches. The admins assume the coach is wrong... its easier that way....the complainers are sometimes the starters parents creating havoc.....because of jealousy....or just wanting to control...they see a weakness and dive in. It goes on and on. It cost us dearly. What an embarassment.

[calabasaskid]

I know a good Westhills Pony coach lookin' for a new gig...where does the interview line start?

[proudNPparent]

I have a son who played on varsity AND received 100% playing time. It makes me wonder who actually is writing these nasty comments about the parents and the booster club at NPHS. I take offense to these comments because the reasons that Coach Berrington was either fired or told to resign had nothing to do with "dealings with parents and the school booster club". Mabye the Booster Board got tired of supporting him and said no for a change and that didn't sit well with the Coach. Coach Berrington knows the real reason why he isn't there anymore.

[jbob@aol.com]

oh really, and the reason is...........

[YouShouldBeAshamed]

Whatever lead to Beerington's departure is between he and the school administration but it would be no surprise if the boosters and parents had everything to do with this. If you been to any NPHS games you know what I mean - all the pissing an moaning. It's a shame that most of it comes from the board members and parents who think they and their kids are gods. Thanks for setting a great example for your kids and congratulations. You've worked very hard to wreck someones's life and you've suceeded.

[playballz]

Wow, proudNPparent, you must be one of the boosters that ousted the coach. Are you also one of the parents who took your kid to that ex-pro player who got the free ride running his coaching business at the NPHS baseball fields? Everyone knows that the AD was in that guy's pocket. NP will be a joke...as always, the parents there know how to step on their own tail. Good Job!!! Good luck to Coach Berrington. And good luck to the kids at NP with their new coach whoever that will ultimately be...probably some washed up ex-pro who never really made it big and doesn't know how to coach or some little league coach with a huge ego. It won't be someone quality, that's for sure. If by some miracle you manage to get a quality coach, he'll know who the trouble makers are and will cut your kids--coaches do that, you know. Not pretty, but it happens. Or you'll run him out of town on a rail. Which will probably make the district office wonder and investigate....or you will get someone who will play his favorites (booster's kids) and sit the best players. And you won't win games. This is all about entitlement...you people think you can control everything and this is like a youth league...well, now you've really made it into one! Again, Good Job!!!

[playballz]

ProudNPParent-To me you can say "no" without firing someone and ruining their life.

[ThankfulNPparent]

Hmmm..proundNPparent whose kid played 100%.....your comments support your participation in the bad behavior of SOME NP parents.

Coach B - Please know that there are many of us who appreciate the hard work and dedication you put forth with our kids. You turned our dumpy varsity field into a BASEBALL field we could all be proud of and we looked forward to hosting other teams with pride. You instilled pride and held our boys accountable for their tantrums (even when they played 100% of the time), poor decisions of leaving school, and various antics of HS boys. You gave many kids hope and rewarded a positive attitude and dedication to the game. We wish you and your daughter the very best that life has to offer and I'm thankful for the time you shared with my son.

[Concerned Fan]

This whole thing is unbelievable. Let's take a look at the facts shall we? Last year before Coach B came to NP, the school's record was 5-9 in league and 16-13 overall. In one VERY short year, Coach B turned this very young team around into a very impressive 8-6 and 20-10 overall. Coach B took this team from being second to last to 3rd place!!! Here's a team of players and parents who just a few months ago had no possible visions of play off possibilities, to having had a wild card play off berth... OK, so we were in 3rd place and had a wild card berth and lost. SO WHAT??? Simi Valley was in FIRST PLACE and they lost in their first round game. Royal lost in their first round play off game. Guess what NP parents and faculty, after the first round of Marmonte games... NONE of the schools are in the play offs. Does that make you feel any better? It should. First ranked Simi, who was destined to go at least almost all the way - lost in the first round, why can't we be gracious to our own team, why can't we be gracious to our own boys, to our own first year Coach??? Don't we realize that by dismissing our coach, we're dismissing our boys? Our coach is an extension of our boys. And anyone who fools themselves to believe that Coach B "resigned" of his own accord is a fool indeed. Coach loved and cared for those boys as if they were his own.
The parents didn't like the fact that Coach B cared about things like passion, skill, qualification, talent, drive, and determination. Coach didn't care if you were a senior or junior, he cared if you cared about the sport. If you had talent, drive, motivation and passion for the game and heck - you were a sophomore - you could very well be in Varsity, and that ticked some parents off. Ask any of the guys that played for Coach and they'll tell you how much they learned playing for Coach. How else do you turn a team that's 2nd from the bottom to a team that's 3rd from the top? Parents of NP, you may think you're entitled to a lot of things, but you may finally be at the point where you are going to learn the difficult leason of appreciating what you have after it's gone (again). How many more coaches will you have to lose before you realize the problem is within????

[KarmaMama]

Okay, ProudNPParent, so why didn't the boosters just say "no" to his requests? I guess it is much better to say "no" and then add "you're fired" and ruin a person's life. I hope he doesn't have kids that depend on him. Parents are so pathetic and I feel really sorry for your kids. Good luck finding a coach...the one you'll probably get will not have experience and he'll foolishly think he can "fix" things. He'll get run off just like the last two. No one who hears word of this will want to work with your program. Good job...you sure know how to "help" your kids. They will have many problems when they are adults and you aren't there to make sure they get what they want. Karma is a good thing...enjoy what you are bringing onto you and your kids.
Good luck, Coach Berrington, I hope you have a wonderful future!...I'm sure you'll get a much better job. From what I've read on the internet about you--it's all positive--your talent was wasted on NP anyway. Best wishes!!!!

[ex pro mariner]

Mrs, Wong you now have made two mistakes. But let's be real with Drootin you were lied to by disgruntled parents and you know. He cared for the players and his door was always opened to the parents or players. When he was here everything ran smooth. MRS. WONG admit your mistake and hire back Drootin. If you are truly in your position because you are here for the kids Then be the bigger person AND GET US OUR COACH BACK. I bet if you took a survey of every returning parent they would say the same thing . Coach Drootin was classy and was there for our player. MRS. WONG DO THE RIGHT THING you owe it to us players.

[tellmeitaintsoJoe]

what would be great if people put their real names out there......chicken littles

[NP local]

Isn't 3rd from the top only 1 better than 2nd from the bottom ???

I was always taught that if you didn't have anything nice to say, say nothing!

A group of parents can't run a coach out of town.
Not even at the youth level!
The entire story is not being revealed here.

[mr. baseball]

np local isn't 3rd better then 2nd from the bottom. Well what about the previous 2 years when they had( 2) 20 plus season went 13-1 in league. My son played for Drootin and to have 16 wins with that group of seniors he did it was a major accomplishment. Lets now forget he did stick his head out and it cost him his job. But instead of playing the booster club boys he played the younger kids and it paid off for berrington. Let's call a spade a spade.
They are both good coaches even though we never played for berrington his record speaks for it's self. The parents are to blame for all this. Stay out of it let your kids do the talking

[Concerned Fan]

Hey NP local, have you loooked at the Marmonte League standings lately (ever)? There's 8 teams in the league. That means that if you're in 3rd place, there are 3 more teams after you before you reach the team that's second from last place.

What happened to "if you didn't have anything nice to say, say nothing?"

[concernedbaseball31]

Well i used to play baseball for NP in the begginning of the year. I quit due to the controveries in he program. Coaches giving private lessons to players, eating dinners with mokms? And all those players ended up on the varsity program except one.

[NowHappyPanther]

To any and all of you who are curious as to how the program was run, heres the dealings. I am a player for the NP Panthers, at the Varsity Level. Berrington was not fit to be our coach, even using that word is a disgrace to those coaches who were actually good coaches, There are only 3 that actually coached us on the Varsity Level, Rich Rodriguez, Matt Goldfield, and Wally Barnett. What about the other coaches? Julio and Scotty?? While they are great guys, and fun to be around, Julio only played 4 years total of baseball, and scotty's last year was his freshman year of high school. Qualified? No. Berrington's practies consisted of this: warm ups (run by the captains) infield/outfield (run by goldfield) and then hitting (run by goldfield) where is berrington during all of this? In the dugout or his office. Then he tells us that he got us as far as we did. What? No, that has nothing to do with your pathetic excuse for coaching. The only thing I can say that he did well, was bring in Rich Rodriguez. As the COACH, you are supposed to help us grow and develop into better baseball players. Not yell at us after a win, and not tell us we arent good enough to play at the next level, and especially not say that you will call those college coaches and say that we arent good enough for their program. Take Greg Salvage, he was one of the hardest workers, and most qualified players I saw, but did he play? No. I talked to him partway through the season, and he said that he was going up to Monterey to try out for their baseball team. I wished him luck. When he went up he was forced to miss 2 games. At the camp (he told me) he was told by the coach that he had made the team. With no play time this year, and from what hhe has told me, no play time last year, to becoming an immidiate pick for a D2 team. Not good enough for our team? After that, he was branded a deserter and told he was not a team player by berrington, that was the most important trip of his baseball career. One of the other players on our team who had been taking hitting lessons from Berrington could no longer afford them, and "coach" had the audacity to tell him to ask his grandparents for the money. Who does that? WHO? So all of you who say that he was a great coach and a great guy, you are full of it. Be around him for one practice, and you will see what its like. With respect for the school, our program, and my team, I can say that any coach would be better than Berrington.

[future trojan]

now happy panther great writing Greg.You had your chance and you were beaten out by a 9th grader. Every coach must be wrong about you. Go hide behind mommy
Can wait to see how much you play next year lol

[Panther32]

future trojan this is greg, now happy panther was not me, and as for hiding behind my mommy, who the hell are you to say that, id love to know who you are and why you think you qualify to even talk to me, ive held my head up high all year, and you are noone to talk to me without telling us who you are. Nowhappypanther, thank you, and "trojan" you know what you can go do