Oak Park coach talks about firing

Ted Eggleston, the girl’s varsity soccer coach at Oak Park High School for the past 12 years, said charges against the team’s coaching staff over an alleged hazing incident were unjustified and that he’s upset over his coaching staff being fired.

Eggleston resigned in late November in response to the firing of his assistant coach, Gloria Rios, and trainer, Brenda Pasqua, because of their participation in the hazing, which reportedly occurred during a team sleepover at Eggleston’s home. Eggleston allowed the team and its chaperones the use of his home while he went elsewhere.

Eggleston sat down recenty for an in-depth interview with The Acorn.

Q: The punishment your staff received as a result of the incident has been labeled as harsh and unjust by some parents. Do you agree?

E: I feel that the superintendent and the school principal did not conduct a proper investigation. What they did was incredibly superficial. This complaint went right to the superintendent and did not follow the chain of command. Every parent is told to bring complaints to the coach first, followed by the athletic director, then the principal, and finally the superintendent. School officials made up their mind based solely on the complaint and did not interview any of the girls present.

Q: During a recent school board meeting, a number of parents cited an incident in 2000 in which the Oak Park High School football team was criticized for alcohol consumption and other antisocial behavior, yet no harsh reprimand was issued. Is there a lack of consistency with discipline at Oak Park?

E: In the past there have been very, very visible initiations, so to speak, at Oak Park that were never addressed at all. These incidents were not serious, were kind of funny, but if they’re going to label our incident hazing, they also need to recognize that similar events have been allowed in the past. The school’s actions did not support the facts in this case. School officials should have discussed this with the girls involved and they did not.

Q: Are you still trying to be reinstated as the varsity girl’s soccer coach at Oak Park High School?

E: Yes, but when you lose a whole month in the season, it’s tough on the players. The coach they have now, Tyler Blondie, is doing a great job. We’ve discussed a lot of issues together on the running of the team. We want to be reinstated because we want to be able to say that these girls did not haze, they did nothing wrong, and that the fault is with the superintendent and the way the supposed investigation was handled by the school. They assumed everyone was guilty and conducted an inquisition type interview with the assistant coach and trainer, and based on that alone, they decided off with our heads. But I would never return if Brenda and Gloria were not reinstated. The team needs a female coach and I sometimes feel that Gloria is more important to the team than I am.

Q: The sleepover is a longstanding tradition. At any point did it ever cross your mind that it could cause mental anguish with the girls?

E: No. We would see the kids afterwards and they were always happy. It was pure silliness, and everyone was giggling. The old players would always cook dinner for the new ones and everyone would share great stories. It was a bonding opportunity and it offered the new players faith in the leadership and showed them that the veterans would never allow anything bad to happen to them.

Q: There have been reports that the person who brought the allegations against you was upset with your coaching style, more particularly the amount of playing time you were giving his daughter. What’s your response?

E: We believe that’s the case. The person had been vocal about seeking my dismissal in the past because he believed that I wasn’t coaching correctly. Their girls are good players, but if I have a stronger player, I’m going to give her a majority of the playing time. It is our belief that issues regarding playing time and coaching style were the basis for bringing the charges forth.

Q: How has this affair affected the status and reputation of the Oak Park High School varsity girl’s soccer team?

E: I believe that it has affected the reputation and that’s unfortunate because this has always been a team that’s been very classy and caring for other programs. We never ran the score the up; we always stopped at a score of eight whenever we were playing a weak team. This team conducted fundraisers to help support economically disadvantaged teams in the league. This team is so thoughtful and caring. In all the years I was there coach, we only received two red cards. These girls are all leaders and I’m so proud of every one of them. I’m not necessarily fighting to get my job back, but rather for them and to help remove this black mark.