By Dylan Butler
Call it whatever you like “As the Stanners Turn,” “Days of Our Stanners” or “Briarwood 11435” the soap opera that is the girls' basketball program at Archbishop Molloy reached a stunning climax last week when it was announced that Tom Catalanotto would be named head coach of the varsity team.
Catalanotto, who was an assistant coach at The Mary Louis Academy for the last two seasons, takes over for the ever-popular Dom Cecala, who took over midseason for John McGlynn, who resigned amid a parental coup.
The same parents who essentially forced McGlynn out are now upset that their handpicked successor, Cecala, wasn't given the job permanently. Wearing the interim tag, Cecala guided the Stanners to a tremendous second-half turnaround, twice beating Christ the King and ending the Royals' 23-year reign as Brooklyn/Queens champions.
It sounds more like an episode of Degrassi High. Even the late, great Aaron Spelling couldn't have thought up such a drama.
As is the case with any great soap, someone has to play the villain. And in this case, it's Molloy Athletic Director Mike McCleary, who has been roasted by posters on girls' basketball message boards, some even calling for a Sharpton-esque protest on Manton Street.
McCleary was vague, perhaps deliberately, when explaining why Catalanotto, not Cecala, was the new head coach. He spoke about Catalanotto's passion for Molloy, about how he previously applied for the job when it was open.
Of course, the same could be said about Cecala, which is the argument being made by anonymous posters on message boards.
Make no mistake: Cecala was screwed. After leading both the JV and varsity teams to championships, Cecala was tossed aside by his alma mater like yesterday's trash. To make matters worse, McCleary offered Cecala the JV job after he informed him that he was no longer the varsity head coach.
Cecala did the right thing and walked away.
While it came to a shock to those inside the program, it seemed clear from the outset that Cecala was not going to get the job. McCleary easily could have made a statement after Molloy's historic win against Christ the King. But he didn't. And once the job was posted and interviews were conducted, you knew Cecala was toast.
But why? Could it be the perception that he had something to do with the parental coup? That it was some sort of power play? Cecala has vigorously denied having anything to do with McGlynn's departure and parents have told the TimesLedger he wasn't in the meeting with McCleary two days before McGlynn resigned.
Kevin White, the father of Molloy senior Kerri White, was in that meeting. He was one of the candidates for the head coaching job and, in my opinion, the most qualified. White is the head of the NYC Heat, one of the top AAU programs in New York. He's been around the game forever and is one of the most knowledgeable coaches around.
Some have questioned Catalanotto's credentials, which is laughable. He's been a high-school varsity assistant coach for seven years. He's paid his dues, he deserves a shot. I believe he'll do a good job, if the parents don't get in his way.
Although McCleary didn't say as much, I have to believe the circumstances surrounding McGlynn's departure were an embarrassment to the Molloy administration. Perhaps they wanted to distance themselves from anyone even remotely involved, which would eliminate both Cecala and White.
That parents have this loud a voice when it comes to their children's high-school teams is perhaps the biggest crime of all. Twice in Queens this year at Molloy and at Cardozo parents' complaints have led to coaches resigning. And in the case of Larry Carradine at Cardozo, after 26 years at the helm.
This is not an indictment of all parents. I cannot imagine how difficult it is to raise a teenager today. But there is no room in high-school sports for the overzealous parents who try to relive their own youth through their children, who micromanage every coaching move, who chart their children's playing time as if they were a fantasy sports owner.
Hopefully, for the sake of the returning players at Molloy, the drama is over. Hopefully, when they return to the court next year, we can get back to talking about basketball.
Reach Sports Editor Dylan Butler by e-mail at dbutler@timesledger.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 143.
