Upset with Acorn’s sportswriter




The Acorn is usually a great source of high school sports news and fair commentary. However, in the Oct. 27 issue, Eliav Appelbaum chose to make this a forum for his snarky, unprofessional comments about the Calabasas High School waterpolo team.

Because of his wording, it is difficult to tell whether his criticisms are directed at Coach Russ, the team or both. He opines that they will be “spending the postseason at home with plenty of free time to knit ugly holiday sweaters.” Really, Mr. Appelbaum? Reallly?

CHS may not be comparable to some of the powerhouse teams in the league, but this kind of petty attack is unwarranted. CHS fields the best team possible. They train diligently, and they have a lot of team support within the school and parent body.

As for Coach Russ, he stepped in at the last minute to run the program. He has only been with the team for four- and- a- half months, and has had a very positive, motivating effect on the team.

So, Mr. Appelbaum, I for one don’t think you should be personally belittled for not having a sports column in the L.A. Times or some other major publication. Nor will I resort to accusing you of “knitting holiday sweaters” when you are in between writing important articles for the local Vacaville paper and the Oxnard Unified District News.

Lois Horwitz
Calabasas

How low can you go in journalism to make a comment when Eliav Appelbaum does not even know Coach Jeff Russ personally? I’m sorry that the coach did not return his phone calls for this article but he is an extremely busy and dedicated coach.

To say that “he is spending this postseason at home, with plenty of free time to knit ugly holiday sweaters”—what kind of journalism is that? Coach Russ is not only a full-time teacher at Calabasas but he is at the pool every morning before six o’clock training with the boys and then he continues with this after school until six o’clock in the evening.

So sorry that he didn’t have time to return Eliav Appelbaum’s phone calls. You might want to find another writer for your newspaper who doesn’t make personal comments about a coach that he doesn’t even know.

Gail Hyman
Calabasas

The Calabasas boys’ water polo teams have trained hard this season. They have worked toward success under new coach Jeff Russ.

However, I must say that writer Eliav Appelbaum’s criticism of Coach Russ was unwarranted and unprofessional, especially when he wrote “with plenty of free time to knit ugly holiday sweaters.”

This wording is unproductive and dispiriting for the players. The new coach should be welcomed into the community and given a chance to prove his coaching skills and ability.

The article states that the coach did not return multiple phone calls. Well, were you dialing the right number? Did you announce your association with The Acorn? Further, all schools have web sites that list e-mail addresses, which is usually the fastest most effective type of communication.

Coach Russ has done a great job of communicating with the parents at Calabasas High School. Your phone call not being returned does not give you the right to deliberately demean and belittle a new coach in the Marmonte League.

Elizabeth Nobles
Calabasas



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