The Next Level Organizational Update

[chippingaway]

actually not, the organization itself regardless of external concerns takes an audit, or investigation of allegations to verify the validity of said allegations. It is recomended that they use a outside sources as well so they are unbiased in their discoveries. if there is any merit to the allegations, the person in question is immediatly temporarily removed, without pay until further notice and will only be reinstated if he/she is cleared of all charges and the organization feels the person is not suspect and places no "zero" threat to the children. Please refer to denominational policy and procedures for the babtist, christian reform, and assemblies of god and boy scouts of america if you are looking for the most prudent way to proceed. llike I said, the preservation of the organiztion and girls must be the goal not the allegiance to an individual. In churches, many times the boards and congregation love and respect the pastor who commited the offfense, but the supervising body (denomination) must insist on strong action to preserve the church. Historically this was not alway the case, they (denominations) used to allow indidvual churches/fellowsihps to handle their own dirty laundry but ultimatey people were short-sited and the reputation and effectiveness of that church was crippled in the community. Basically, If the allegations have ANY merit or any wrong doing is found than decisive action must be taken place, and since there is no governing unbiased body i thought my opinion might help encourage TNL leadership to seek outside help. TNL is a great organization and I would hate for its long-term reputation to suffer any more than it is already! I'm in it for the girls sake!

[Skarp]

Any chance we can all hold hands and sing kume by ya ( spell?)

Queue the inappropriate molestation joke right here...(where's peon??)

[Has Been]

SoftballJerk,

A few observational comments:

1.) You are attempting to portray an extemely martyrly stance in claiming to want protection for the kids involved in this matter, however, on the backside of every argument you make is your claim that every player in a TNL uniform should be ashamed of wearing it. Somehow an opinion of that magnitude from a complete stanger who has little or no idea of exactly what they are truly feeling is supposed to make them feel protected? I am sorry but I don't understand that train of thought. If you were truly concerned about how the KIDS feel in this matter then perhaps you should expresses your condolences for the situation they are in rather than passing judgement on them. Who are you, or anyone else to decide that it is a shameful thing if they want to continue playing for coaches who have nothing to do with the indiscretion(s) and with their teammates/friends who are enduring the same situation, possibly using each other to cope with thier feelings.

2.) I find it curious that you have a crystal ball that allows you to see directly into the future in exactly how things will play out with regard to decisions that will be made with regard to the organiztion. It seems as though you have an omniscient power with the ability to see behind closed door discussions, bank accounts and even straight into the minds of what the people who are involved in this are thinking. That being the case I have a couple of palms that I would like read and need to get with you on some lotto numbers.

3.) Most importantly, your opinion is that before anyone should come to the aid of this coach they should "Wait until you see the evidence and then talk about your committment to this great guy." On the opposite side of that coin shouldn't you practice what you are preaching and wait and see the evidence before you condemn him? It seems to me if people want to protect him with the same loose details that you want to condemn him under then they should be no more or no less "ashamed of themselves" as you should be.

[Judd]

Loks like softballjerk and chipping away joined TODAY and there only posts are to rip TNL

I am in GA and have no idea who or what TNL is about. I do know that this is tough for everyone. I also think no knee jerk reactions should be made. SOmething tells me that no matter what TNL does, they cant satisfy everyone.

Is TNL all about one person? Does the world revolve around him? Something tells me no.

The parents and players have nothing to be ashamed of. The actions of one person should not label the whole group, even if he is the founder. I am sure alot of hard work has been put in by many people, dont let it go to waste.

As far as his administrative leave, I dont know what to say. I see both sides, but I feel until a little more investigating has been done, a paid leave could be justified. Maybe once the board sees some affidavits or some more of the evidence, they will change their mind. An outside/non-biases party would probably be agreat idea in this situation

[jblabs]

Any chance we can all hold hands and sing kume by ya ( spell?)

Thats no fun

[softballjerk]

Yes I did sign on today to talk about this because it bothers me. This is extremely bad on many levels that affect all of us, parents, players, children, coaches - everyone.
If you think I was just waiting in the darkness for these allegations to surface so I had an opportunity to "Rip" TNL, then your parent goggles are seriously fogged up.
Because you spend time in this forum entitles you to have more credibility or seniority over someone that doesn't is really really funny.
When the evidence is presented and court records are available for the public, I promise you that I will post them for everyone to read.
Then everyone that is so quick to run to the aid of this guy can see what they are getting themselves into.
We all know how these Travel Teams are run, do you REALLY think they have a BOARD of DIRECTORS, not just names on a corporate document, I'm Talking about a REAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS??? Of course not... You'd be dumb to think they do.
Sure, big board room, bunch of decisions voted on, minutes taken and recorded. Do any of you know this guy? Do you think he is going to let others tell him how to run HIS ORGANIZATION? Do you REALLY think that they had a BOARD Meeting, really?

This BOARD of DIRECTORS are just a bunch of guys, maybe a women in the mix for good measure, that are desperatley looking for a way to salvage this organization - which on the surface appears to be admirable, but we all know they are acting at the direction of the "alledged" perpetrator of the "lewd act with a child" or "Statuatory Rape" or what ever the allegations and evidence suggest.
If were ONLY for the Kids, then this guy should walk away, don't take another penny from the hard working families that spend thier hard earned dollars to have their children be a part of a program that had a great reputation and maybe if things are done early enough, it will once again become a name to be proud of.
So for all the hate that is directed at me, check yourself and thank GOD your daughter is not involved in this, because this kid will remember this for her entire life.
Oh Ya, I think I read somewhere she may have made it up because of playing time or being disgruntled or an abrasive coaching style, Did someone really write that? That is really scarey to think about someone actually thought that sounded like a good defense, hopefully it was not the defendants council.....

[melsdad]

[quote="softballjerk"]Judd,

Are you kidding me? Do you not think that every kid, from 11 years old to 18 yrs old, wearing a TNL uniform is going to know about their head coach and founder of the program was preying on members of his organization and alledged to have had sex with at least one of them and now we hear about past "inappropriate touching" in the past. This is a HUGE problem and what is he going to do??? Take a personal leave of absence?
Do we not bring our children to organizations like this to further their interest and training in softball, didn't know they would receive an education about "sexual predators who disguise themselves as coaches" included in the monthly dues.
Let's face it - he can not remove himslef from the organization because of financial constraints, he instead will take a leave of absence, keep collecting dues and find people to stand in front of him (the board of directors-ha!). I'm sure these same people who will go on record "talking about what a great guy he is" , but what about the kid that this happened to? For all the great things he has done, this is what he will always be known by - and rightly so...
It's dispecable and everyone running to his aid should be ashamed of themselves.
Wait until you see the evidence and then talk about your committment to this great guy.
You can ask him to be removed from the organization entirely, make sure your dues are not paying for his criminal defense, but still, it will aways be known as the Team where the Main Guy in Charge of EVERY decision, is alleged to have had sex with one of his under aged players. Is that the image you want your daughter to play for?
He took something clean and wholesome for kids and crapped all over it for personal gratification.
You go to Bat for him, You support that "alledged" conduct, You tell your kid to wear that Uniform proudly! I on the other hand have different plans for my kids.
Let's get our hands on public records defining the charges, and evidence against him, then see how great of a guy he is. Oh, maybe this girl made this up and is being vindictive - Who ever came up with that defense, needs to have their head examined

WOW!! glad to see we have alot of couch judges, so softballJERK, PLEASE tell us about the hole case you apparently know both sides and I'm sure you have heard all of the evidence befor you would judge and convict a person you know nothing about or a case that you have only heard an accusation.( that would be one side of a story) what happend to innocent till provin guilty? I really think we should wait and get all the imformation befor we start accusing people. And why talk crap about the organization, if it happend in a school do you shut the hole school down! get a clue pal, TNL is a very good organization, these girls work hard and I hate to see people like YOU and others talking about the TNL teams not being allowed in tournaments, what do these kids have to do with this.

[chippingaway]

melsdad,
it sounds like your daughter may play for TNL. For most people this is a subject that brings out the "mother/papa bear" protective attitude. But, for the parents of the girls in the organization it is very difficult. Some will try to shelter the kids from the news and press releases while others will communicate with them straight on. I wish you luck in dealing with mel and her team. I do hope to see in future tourney's. Earlier I posted a response to this discussion, not intending to bash TNL, the accused coach or anything like that, rather my intention was to give some advice to the parents and board members of the organization. TNL is a great organization, due diligence must be done to regain its positive reputation and appeal.

[jed23]

Ok, I can't take this anymore. Let me set somethings straight. I've been coaching for 26 years and have been with TNL for the last 4 years, have been on their board for the last 3 years, yes
softballjerk we really do have a board and actually meet on the 1st Monday of every month. We
have 7 women/2 men and Mr. Facione is not one of them(since your willing to post public records, you can check with the city of Encintas and see we rent/pay for a room), if you like
I can list their positions. We did meet on Monday March 3 and did remove/suspend Mr. Facione
of his adminstrative duites(which ever word makes you happy) until we seek outside counsel.
We have been in contact with an(outside) lawyer to see what is in the best interest for the
young ladies in our organization.

The TNL family remains united and we will let the courts determine the truth and deal with
their rulings.

Thanks
Jerry Delamater-The Next Level

PS-Sam, I'm appalled at your post, I've respected you for years, but for you to say that our board did nothing in this issue or that ASA should kick us out of championship play is uncalled for. We tried to move as quickly as possible(before it hit the press) and respect everyone involved.

[jblabs]

The TNL family remains united and we will let the courts determine the truth and deal with
their rulings.

Thanks
Jerry Delamater-The Next Level

Jerry it looks to me that a majority of folks do not feel like softballjerk/chippingaway who joined the forum yesterday to support that point of view, and for some reason also have posts with similar grammer, sentence structure and reasoning.

It appears to most of us that the situation has been dealt with quickly and correctly.