Athlete's exceptional skills create a flap

Did cutthroat competition among parents, coaches and board members lead Agoura Youth Basketball Association President Howard Lauterbach to create a special rule for one young girl, or did the organization's head honcho make his unpopular decision based on a protocal violation?

Coaches in the AYBA fourthgrade division were instructed Feb. 21 to limit the play of just one girl on the Sparks' team during the playoffs to just two quarters. The team was coached by Anthony Deshotel.

Lauterbach issued a memo to all coaches in the girl's fourth grade division instructing that the player, whose father requested that her name be withheld, "can only play two quarters during the next game."

He added that scorekeepers should be informed of the decision, and that it was "an official order from the president of the league."

The family of the girl decided to pull her out of the basketball playoffs altogether rather than allow her to play a limited game and experience what they contend was discrimination.

The 10-year-old Oak Park girl is known for her exceptional athletic prowess in soccer and baseball, but apparently she captured the attention of parents and coaches when she displayed similar talent in basketball.

Although Lauterbach admitted he had heard from parents on other teams who questioned the player's high level of skill and wondered if she should be bumped up to a higher division, he said that his decision was based on many factors.

"All we were trying to do was put it onto a level playing field and make it equal," Lauterbach said. He explained that violations of the league's rules and regulations also played into the decision.

Questions arose, he said, of how the girl was placed on the team in the first place, since she did not go through the usual draft, which ranks children according to their skill level and allows coaches to form balanced teams.

Furthermore, he said the child's registration form and fees were missing, which presented an insurance problem for the league.

"The implication was that she was too good," Deshotel said. "What Howie did was really sad. There is no mercy rule for fourthgrade players. There is no question that it was meant for this one girl. The rule was very specific. It amazed me that he actually put it in writing."

Jeff Rothermel, division director for the fourth grade girls, announced the decision, but was clearly against the ruling.

"It wasn't my decision to limit her play," Rothermel said. "I think the whole thing was blown out of proportion."

He explained that he was asked by Lauterbach to evaluate the player, but after attending several games he found other girls scoring higher points than the girl on the Sparks' team and believed it was a non-issue.

Although Rothermel didn't believe any action was necessary based on the girl's skill, he admitted that he went against protocol for her registration. After the girl dropped out of the league, her parents gave up their refund with the understanding that the money would be used to register their daughter's replacement.

"You can't do that," Lauterbach said of the registration regulations. He also disputes Deshotel's contention that the girl only missed one or two games.

Rothermel said he believes that another board member pressured Lauterbach to issue the ruling.

But Lauterbach contends that 15 board members voted in favor of the ruling to limit the girl's play time.

The girl's father, who also wants to remain anonymous, said all correct paperwork was done during the first or second practice. He noted that there was no expectation that his daughter would play exceptionally well in basketball because she had not played since second grade.

"Other girls on other teams were scoring more points than (my daughter)."

He added that since his daughter played so competitively in soccer and baseball he had hoped that basketball would just focus on fun. "Basketball is where we didn't want to travel and put more pressure on her," he said.

"No one from AYBA has ever called me or talked to me about this," said the father of the girl.

"No apologies, no reason, nothing. My feeling is that a lot of directors and board members want their kids' success enhanced . . . (to) make their kids a star. They get on these boards so these kids get on the all-star teams."

"If you're going to make that rule, make it in the fourth or fifth game, not the playoffs," the father said.