Syracuse, N.Y. — The Holland Patent board of education hired McKenzie Keator as the new varsity field hockey coach after an emotional meeting Monday night that left players and parents in the dark about who would be running the team.
Keator replaces popular coach Renee Morrison, whose contract was not renewed. Morrison was head coach of the team for 10 seasons, compiling a 130-49-7 mark, reaching the sectional title game eight times and winning five banners.
Morrison said she has been denied a hearing about her dismissal and Monday night said she still didn’t have an official explanation for the move. Morrison said earlier she assumed the firing came as the result of a complaint filed against her by a former player.
Keator is a former field hockey player at New York Mills who was hired by Holland Patent as an elementary school teacher in July. She coached junior varsity softball for the district last spring.
Monday’s board meeting included an overflow crowd of Morrison’s supporters. Several players and parents spoke on her behalf.
“Coach is always encouraging us to bond as a team and form as a family on the field. I will always consider her a role model and an influence in my life, she has taught me skill, to have goals, and to always strive to be my best self,” said current player Addyson Carrier.
“Coach Morrison has helped me in more ways than I could imagine. She has helped me grow as a player, a leader, and a person,” said Gabriel Way, another current player. “As a female student-athlete at Holland Patent, I have been diminished, silenced, and dismissed. I have been failed by the board of education. On behalf of every parent, player, and coach, we ask you to reconsider your decision on not re-hiring Renee Morrison and not to rip apart this family.”
Shortly after the closing of the public comment section of the meeting, the board approved one motion that included several items of consent lumped together. One of those items of consent was the hiring of several coaches, although their names were not listed on the agenda for the meeting. There was no discussion of any of the items up for vote.
The meeting concluded soon after, with board members leaving the room without announcing who would be the field hockey coach. Players, many in tears, and parents waited around expecting clarification that never came.
“I do like that they let us all speak. I just still don’t feel like we were heard. I feel like we were done an incredible injustice,” Carrier said. “I feel failed by the board of education of our school. It hurts. It still doesn’t make sense as to why they wouldn’t talk to the rest of us. They kept everything so hush-hush. It just felt very swept and sneaky and we don’t like that we didn’t really know anything.”
At some point Tuesday morning, the district posted minutes from the meeting that listed Keator being hired as the field hockey coach for a salary of $4,117.74. Parents were also notified of the news via an email from the athletic department. Players who attended syracuse.com‘s field hockey media day Tuesday said they didn’t find out about their new coach until just before they arrived before their afternoon interviews.
“It just didn’t seem we were getting the answers we needed and wanted. They were just trying to sweep it under the rug and act like this isn’t happening. They’re just very fishy and suspicious,” Way said.
“It’s like it was already decided this is the way it’s going to be,” said Andrew Way, Gabriel’s father. “I feel like this would be the epitome of a kangaroo court. Those (board members) feel that know better than anybody else. There was no due process.”
Contacted via email for comment on the decision, Holland Patent superintendent Cheryl Venettozzi wrote, “The board of education has reviewed input received from the community with respect to athletic programming, and has carefully considered all perspectives. The board of education will continue to make decisions determined to be in the best interest of students in the Holland Patent Central School District.”
Morrison, a Holland Patent graduate who has worked with the team for 18 seasons, doesn’t see it that way. She said she would have gladly taken her old job back Monday had it been offered because the only thing that matters are her players. She said she’s filed a request for additional information from the district but hasn’t yet heard back ahead of a deadline at the end of this week.
“It’s a disappointment to the district. It’s a disappointment to these girls. Nothing against (Keator),” Morrison said Tuesday night. “Does it seem right that we can’t have a civil conversation about why (she wasn’t renewed)? No, you have to accept that you’ll never know.”
Melissa Diana, mother of a current player, has sent a letter on behalf of fellow parents to Venettozzi requesting a meeting prior to the start of fall practice Monday.
“The Holland Patent field hockey players left (the board meeting) without knowing if they had a coach or even if they would have a team,” the letter reads. “This is absolutely unacceptable.”
The players, meanwhile, are now wondering how quickly they can adjust to their new coach and return to focusing on what are typically high preseason expectations.
“I’ve definitely talked to multiple girls before and we’re definitely worried about it,” Gabriel Way said. “We’re just nervous because this coach doesn’t know us at all. She doesn’t know how we run things or how everything works with our team. So it’s just nerve-wracking.”
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