Crooks will return in Lincoln
Boys hoops coach who stepped down will come back
LINCOLN — The two high school boys basketball coaches who resigned from their respective posts in December have been reinstated.
The Lincoln School Committee, on Monday night, voted 4-1 to accept the settlement terms concerning the grievance involving head coach Kent Crooks and assistant coach Jay Kelley. While the committee did not discuss the matter publicly after the vote was taken, those in attendance at Lincoln Middle School seemed very pleased about the decision to have Crooks and Kelley return to the LHS bench.
The resolution also saved the town from possible litigation.
“The appropriate action was taken,” stated School Committee member John Picozzi. “Kent and Jay are coaches of high moral character.”
When reached, Crooks said, “At the end of the day, I am grateful that the School
“Participation in athletics is a privilege. So is the opportunity to coach. I am grateful that positive change seems to be on the horizon.” – Kent Crooks
Committee, who makes policy, supported myself and Jay. As a coach, I have always worked to mentor student-athletes with emphasis on good citizenship, coachability, and that academic success supersedes everything. It’s clear that the School Committee stands for those values and that they have sent a most positive message to teachers, students, their parents, and to coaches.
“Participation in athletics is a privilege. So is the opportunity to coach,” Crooks added. “I am grateful that positive change seems to be on the horizon.”
The resignations of Crooks and Kelley was the fallout from being administratively directed to do something that both felt violated Rhode Island Interscholastic League rules, Lincoln High School athletic policy, and their own coaching principles. There were serious philosophical differences about the spirit of a school rule concerning students and eligibility — Lincoln athletes cannot fail more than one course as determined by the quarterly grades preceding the start of the respective season.
“As hard as it was, myself and Jay took this stance for all the right reasons because to not do it would have been the wrong thing to do,” Crooks said in an article that appeared in the January 27 edition of The Times/Call. “Acceding to something that isn’t right isn’t going to help anything. The best avenue was to bring it out in the open by resigning and walking away and not being a party to it.”
Specific reasons why Crooks and Kelley stepped down were relayed to members of the Lincoln School Committee during the closedsession portion of the January 9 meeting. During open session, a 5-2 vote was cast to accept the resignations.
Immediately after, a unanimous vote was taken to elevate Steve Carvalho from volunteer to full-time LHS varsity boys’ basketball head coach and Jackson Acciaioli to assistant coach. Carvalho and Acciaioli were present at Monday’s School Committee meeting, which included honoring the Lincoln basketball squad that last month captured the Division III juniorvarsity championship.
In an interview following his decision to step down, Crooks expressed that an appropriate latitude of authority should rest with the head coach, which he wasn’t afforded. From the sound of it, that will no longer prove to be a hurdle.
“If some people don’t like his style or the way he coaches, take it up with him,” Picozzi said.