Beresford parents accuse baseball coaches of bullying
More than a dozen angry parents leveled accusations and allegations at the Beresford Baseball Softball Association and PRCE about students being bullied by coaches and unfair representation of players and teams during a tense community meeting this week at the Beresford Elementary School library.
The Wednesday night event started with a concerned baseball association parent raising questions about team structures, logistics and resources. It then rapidly turned heated when BBSA and PRCE board members accused parents of heeding to and spreading rumors. PRCE board member Troy James even raised his voice and told one parent to stop talking in the middle of a conversation at one point.
But parents said they felt like their long-standing frustrations weren’t sufficiently addressed.
The Beresford Baseball Softball Association is a local board that oversees T-Ball, high school baseball, Legion baseball, baseball for youths ages 8 years to 16 years and softball for youth of the same age range.
The Beresford PRCE oversees recreational non-travel baseball and softball teams that play against other Beresford recreational teams. Their mission for the last 30 years has been to support educational, cultural and leisure time activities and programs for residents of all ages.
Natosha Schurch, another baseball parent, spoke before the meeting and alleged two coaches created a culture of “punishing” children for making mistakes and resorted to pulling them from the team as the only solution.
“If you miss one ball, you’re instantly pulled out and you will not play again for the rest of the game,” Schurch said. “That’s not teaching them. We’re trying to rebuild this right now to get all these broken kids back because they’re scared to death.”
Schurch said the solution she and parents are looking for is to have the two coaches “completely removed” since they should “not be allowed to coach” or “be on any board.”
The two coaches, Adam Roshein and Amanda Jensen, were also present at the meeting. Schurch said Jensen has responded to emails and been open to communication while Roshein displayed the opposite pattern, as he did at the meeting by remaining silent throughout.
James said the “frustrating part” was the lack of communication between the parents and the board and the constant “rumors.”
Questions and concerns deemed out of PRCE’s control, such as whether baseball travel teams woud exist this season, had been brought to the table by parents, James said. This led to a rapid increase in hostility between the two groups.
BBSA board member Eli Seeley reiterated James’ sentiments.
“Rumors and conjecture aren’t going to help any part of the situation in any way, shape or form,” Seeley said. “Please stop with the rumors. If you have an issue, please come talk to me. I’m very approachable.”
Along with allegations of coaches bullying students, other concerns raised by parents included the dissolution of certain teams when the boys from that age group surpass the maximum age, the lack of flexibility for athletes to move between different age groups and grades, and the use of the school’s gym space Sunday evenings being allowed for baseball teams while the girls’ softball team is kept off-limits.
Still, the BBSA or PRCE board did not elaborately respond to the issue of student bullying, which was presented by a parent who read a letter written by Schurch’s 12-year-old son after he was pulled from a game.
Parents are expected to take more action and bring issues back to the board in a more organized manner, but when remains unclear. Meanwhile, the board pleaded with parents to thoroughly read the rules and bylaws to be more informed on the structure and boundaries of the two organizations for if and when they return.