Easton re-fires JaMarr Billman

[El-Jefe]

Program improving. School just added a girls team. No obvious reason for this.

Screams of a decision made 2 years ago after he got assaulted by the Miers family in Hershey -- when the school fired him the first time but kept him under heavy public pressure.

What am I missing?

 

[dicemen99]

I WAS thinking that I'm missing the same thing as you. But then I remembered they lost to P'burg for the 2nd year in a row.

Losing once every 10 years may be forgivable, but losing two in a row is definitely a fire-able offense.

I say that only half TIC. I'm sure some of our D11 compadres on here will concur.

 

[GogglesPaizano]

Willie. There is an opening.

 

[Raw Daddy]

He was so slick back in the day. One of the ones you can’t forget at Hershey.

 

[jschrantz]

The Forks Mafia wanted Billman out I’ve heard for awhile

 

[ad1986]

The shame of not being Steve Powell. Losing four straight years to arch rival Phillipsburg was a killer, as was six losses in four years to Nazareth. Zero wins in 4 years against Nazareth, Bethlehem Catholic, Phillipsburg and Northampton.

 

[dicemen99]

The Forks Mafia wanted Billman out I’ve heard for awhile

Unfortunately awhile was probably started the day he was hired with that group.

 

[Callthestall]

Program improving. School just added a girls team. No obvious reason for this.

Screams of a decision made 2 years ago after he got assaulted by the Miers family in Hershey -- when the school fired him the first time but kept him under heavy public pressure.

What am I missing?

View embedded media

If I had to take a guess, a few individuals active in youth program made AD aware some upcoming talent was considering on attending Notre Dame Green Pond.

 

[Diego Badman]

Unfortunately awhile was probably started the day he was hired with that group.

I don’t know much about the situation. Who is the “Forks Mafia?” I certainly know who Jamarr is, and I remember the situation a couple of years ago, but I don’t know the players and the politics involved.

 

[smalls103]

it has ZERO to do with performance and everything to do with one of the worst cases of politics and administrative abuse of power at the HS level.

 

[Callthestall]

it has ZERO to do with performance and everything to do with one of the worst cases of politics and administrative abuse of power at the HS level.

Easton has been tough on coaches in other sports also. They would threaten to replace Steve Shiffert in football after an average season. Shiffert ended up coaching Easton to 216 wins over 24 years yet probably 3 or 4 times in his last 10 years the AD considered on replacing him.
I am curious. Did Easton force out Dave Crowell after 7 years in 1984.? Crowell has gone on to win over 450 matches for Wilson and Nazareth.

 

[smalls103]

^^^

precisely. and replaced shiffert with their friends

 

[OldPAwrestler]

Dave did amazing things at Wilson, my alma mater (although I graduated before smalls was even a twinkle in his daddy's eye).

 

[The Japanese Whizzer]

Wrestling programs take a decade to build and just a year or two to destroy. I don't know the state of Easton wrestling but if the youth program had good numbers and there weren't any discipline incidents then firing a coach with Billman's resume after just a few years seems like a mistake. If after 10 years and the program isn't producing then the decision is clear cut.

 

[smalls103]

the program has been sabotaged but a bunch of whiny, needy parents that follow the tutelage of local club coach morons. to make matters worse the school's superintendent has bought in to that bs.

 

[raslen007]

the program has been sabotaged but a bunch of whiny, needy parents that follow the tutelage of local club coach morons. to make matters worse the school's superintendent has bought in to that bs.

The whiny, needy parent thing is an issue at just about all schools and all levels - sad.

 

[El-Jefe]

A lot to unpack here: school board members claiming to be unaware of problems; obvious lowball evaluation in the last year of the contract; accused of recruiting wrestlers from Bethlehem Catholic...

 

[Callthestall]

Assuming Easton isn't forced to rehire Billman. I hear 4 names are being considered for his replacement.
The top 2 favorites are ex Liberty coach Jody Karam and Rick Krieger who coaches the Easton Youth program.

 

[smalls103]

Karam coached Krieger in HS btw.

 

[El-Jefe]

Easton won't be forced to re-hire him. He didn't re-apply for the job, after the superintendent publicly said he'd be considered if he did.

Not that I blame him in the least. Why degrade himself by interviewing to retain a job where his boss clearly doesn't want him?

 

[nit133]

A lot of people in the Lehigh Valley support JaMarr. There is a petition for him that now almost has 2,000 signatures.
https://www.change.org/p/easd-school-board-easd-needs-change

 

[Cementmixer103]

State finals match his senior year, Billman hits a cement mixer (while both wrestlers are on their feet still, if memory is correct).
Gets the fall in under a minute.

 

[El-Jefe]

2 interesting hires by Easton:

Boys = Jody Karam, formerly Bethlehem Liberty head coach for 25+ years

Girls = Jordan Kutler, fresh out of Lehigh

 

[Callthestall]

Any mention of assistant coach. When I posted a couple of weeks ago that Karam was one of the 4 Easton was considering, I was was told if Karam got job he would name Krieger his top assistant.
Rumor has it, that Krieger was in AD ear pretty good about Billman.

 

[nitlion6]

A lot to unpack here: school board members claiming to be unaware of problems; obvious lowball evaluation in the last year of the contract; accused of recruiting wrestlers from Bethlehem Catholic...

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Recruiting wrestlers from Beth Catholic? How does that work? Once Beth Catholic recruits an Easton kid, Easton coaches are no longer allowed to talk to student-athletes living in Easton's school boundaries?

 

[Callthestall]

Recruiting wrestlers from Beth Catholic? How does that work? Once Beth Catholic recruits an Easton kid, Easton coaches are no longer allowed to talk to student-athletes living in Easton's school boundaries?

The "boundaries" in District 11 are more related to where the grand parents live because of family "situation" or mother/father have "seperated" and one has moved to desired school District.
About 10 years ago, for 2 consecutive years the District allowed a kid to play football for BECA and wrestle for Easton.

 

[nitlion6]

The "boundaries" in District 11 are more related to where the grand parents live because of family "situation" or mother/father have "seperated" and one has moved to desired school District.
About 10 years ago, for 2 consecutive years the District allowed a kid to play football for BECA and wrestle for Easton.

I used my parents address for my girls the year they were in 6th grade. In-between old home and new home we lived outside district for almost a year and I saw no need to send them to a different district for a single year.
However, since all of BECA athletes have been acquired from other districts and BECA openly recruits from other districts, it just kind of cracks me up that BECA would make a stink about other coaches recruiting their kids.

 

[Dogwelder]

I used my parents address for my girls the year they were in 6th grade. In-between old home and new home we lived outside district for almost a year and I saw no need to send them to a different district for a single year.
However, since all of BECA athletes have been acquired from other districts and BECA openly recruits from other districts, it just kind of cracks me up that BECA would make a stink about other coaches recruiting their kids.

Vodka is making phone calls. You better call your lawyer.

 

[Callthestall]

The one thing that I don't think is realized, is how close the different school districts are in District 11. Easton borders Nazareth, Nazareth borders Northampton. Bethlehem is divided into 2 schools, Liberty and Freedom. Notre Dame Green Pond and Bethlehem Catholic are about 5 miles apart. Upscale apartment complexes are being built throughout the the area. More than one family has chosen to move a few miles to accommodate an athlete best opportunity to succeed at a sport. Look at a State Map of Districts and it is surprising how many high schools are in District 11 for the small size of it compared to most other Districts.