FORT LORAMIE — The Fort Loramie High School library was packed to the brim Monday night, full of concerned residents, parents, student athletes and coaches.
The issue at hand was the rehiring of longtime head baseball coach Bill Sturwold, who has been with the school district for 19 years and has a record of 190-38, with 11 league titles, 10 district titles and two state titles. He has won about 70 percent of the games he’s coached.
No decision was reached about who the next baseball coach would be during the meeting.
The overwhelming majority of those who spoke to the board members were in favor of rehiring the coach, although they recognized his flaws.
For some, it was personal. Ex-student athletes and friends of Sturwold came to speak to Sturwold’s character. From his assistant, Mike Schieltz, to the parent of a junior varsity player who could not make the meeting, but wrote to say all the boys on his team want Sturwold to remain their head coach.
“I do not think next year’s team would be better off without him,” Schieltz said.
Sue Hoying spoke on behalf of friends and family who could not make it.
“I would like to recommend Bill Sturwold to be rehired as varsity baseball coach,” she said. “He has dedicated numerous hours to coaching high school teams, fundraisers, taking care of the diamond — you could not ask for a more dedicated employee.”
The character witnesses kept coming for almost an hour, as people let their opinions and experiences with Sturwold be heard. Two people spoke against him – Erin, wife of Bryce Stewart, along with a Fort Loramie graduate who played baseball. Mrs. Stewart said her husband had been unfairly treated, forced to step down and humiliated in front of the team.
“I think all this support is awesome, but the way Bryce was asked to resign was cowardly and unprofessional,” she said. “I’ve never seen Bryce so hurt, down. He gave up a lot for those boys.”
Sturwold asked for the board to make a decision quickly.
“I don’t expect an answer tonight, but I’m getting emails from other coaches that need to be responded to,” he said. “I really want a clear reason for the negative evaluation. There’s no reason we can’t work together, and I really want to be your baseball coach again.”
Some concerns were raised about losing more of the coaching staff if Sturwold was not rehired, including Jeff Sanders. Sanders provides instruction to the players as a left-handed pitcher with professional experience.
“You’ll probably lose Jeff Sanders, and have to get a whole new coaching staff to make a few people happy,” Schieltz said. “You’ll make most people in Russia happy, and most people in Minster.”
Kevin Phlipot, Russia’s head baseball coach, said he would miss playing against Sturwold.
“You’re foolish not to rehire him,” he said. “I want to coach against him for a long, long time.”
Ryan Schulze, junior varsity baseball coach and childhood friend of Sturwold, said all three of his sons played under Sturwold.
“He knows what buttons to push to get them to play to the best of their ability,” he said. “What Bill asked of his players is what any boss would ask of his workers. Before you take any recommendations, consider where those recommendations are coming from.”
Sturwold’s coaching methods were brought up many times throughout the meeting, and were called “blunt” by some. Schieltz could only think of one incident that might cause Sturwold to not be rehired — a complaint by a fan who overheard Sturwold yell at a player in the dugout during a game.
Nick Eilerman lives across from the high school and said Sturwold treated his players like his own kids.
“The coach is everything in high school sports,” he told the board.
Eilerman ran through the low points on Sturwold’s evaluation, which were how well the coach understands rules and regulations, has reliable teachers, and promotes the sports program. He was given an unsatisfactory rating for all three points. Eilerman did not agree with the evaluation.
“Don’t let personal differences decide this,” he told the board.
The board held an executive session to discuss personnel issues, but did not take any action. Superintendent Daniel Holland said on Tuesday there is no known timetable for making any decision.
