NHS football coach resigns

0
74
Rob Plasky, center, leads players through drills Monday afternoon on the first day of practice at Naugatuck High School. Plasky, the longest tenured head football coach in the NVL, resigned Friday and is under investigation for possible CIAC rule violations. –RA ARCHIVE

NAUGATUCK — Rob Plasky is no longer the head football coach at Naugatuck High School.

NHS Principal Janice Saam announced in a press release this morning that Plasky submitted his letter of resignation to her. Plasky is the subject of an ongoing investigation being conducted by the school system and had been suspended. The investigation is being handled by borough attorney Ned Fitzpatrick

“It is a regrettable situation and I wish only the best for coach Plasky,” Saam said in the release.  “I am grateful for the many years he brought his expertise to the high school to build up the football program.  Many students benefited from his instruction, leadership, and caring both on and off the field over the course of the years.”

Saam said there is an ongoing investigation into the events leading up to Plasky’s resignation surrounding possible Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference rule violations.

“I am not at liberty to comment on the specifics of his resignation,” Saam said in the release.

A message left with Karissa Neihoff, director of the CIAC, seeking comment on whether the CIAC was launching a separate investigation was not returned as 2:50 p.m. Friday afternoon.

Plasky, who was not at practice Thursday, would not say what it involved.

“I am cooperating with the investigation and I do not want to jeopardize that,” Plasky said.

Naugatuck patch reported Plasky is under investigation due to his involvement with the transfer situation involving star players David Coggins and Javon Martin, who were at Sacred Heart High School for three years. The players were not at Naugatuck’s practice Monday when preseason workouts began.

Meme Martin, Javon’s mother and the legal guardian of Coggins, made a request for transfer last week. It was not finalized because Martin owed a balance for tuition from the 2011-12 academic year.

Sacred Heart would not release the transcripts until the balance was paid in full, holding up the transfer.

Patch reported Plasky allegedly sought to give $2,000 to Meme Martin to help her pay the outstanding tuition. That money reportedly came from the Naugatuck Football Alumni Association and co-chairman Frank Johnson, Jr.

Johnson had no comment on the investigation or resignation other than that he is “heartbroken” over the situation.

Martin met with Sacred Heart officials Monday and worked out a payment schedule with the school. She said she was hopeful of finding a residence in Naugatuck this week.

“I can’t enroll them (at Naugatuck) until I have a residence,” Martin said earlier this week. “Once I get an address, they can start school and get their academics in order. We are taking it one day at a time.”

Both Coggins and Martin needed to take final exams Monday to complete their junior year at Sacred Heart.

When or if Coggins and Martin can begin practicing with the Greyhounds is still unclear.

Naugatuck’s first day of classes is Aug. 29.

Coggins last month verbally committed to play football at Boston College in 2013. Last August, he had an ankle injury in a preseason game that kept him out for the season.

Plasky, who has been the head coach for 12 years, was the longest tenured football coach in the Naugatuck Valley League.

“During his tenure he showed passion for the game and commitment to the students and program by working closely with administration and the athletic director,” Saam said in the press release.  “He was well like by the players and his actions were always with the best intentions of the athletes in mind.”

Assistant coach Shawn Kuczenski is the interim coach.

“The athletic director [Tom Pompei] and I will work to quickly find a suitable head coach replacement so that the athletes are ready for this season of football,” Saam said in the release.

Messages left with Board of Education Chair David Heller and Fitzpatrick seeking further information were not returned as of Friday afternoon.

For more updates throughout the day, visit the NVL football blog.

Here’s a link to some CIAC rules. Section C, which starts on page 3 of the PDF, covers rules about transfers.

Article X of the CIAC handbook covers recruiting. It starts of page 54 of the PDF.