Hinsdale Central girls basketball staff’s abrupt resignation becomes 2nd sports controversy to hit the district
This story has been updated.
Three Hinsdale Central High School girls basketball coaches resigned Monday resulting in a postponement of the team’s game Tuesday against Proviso West.
The team’s head coach, Erin Navolio, and two assistant coaches left suddenly, without commenting on the matter.
Navolio, who played for the Hinsdale Central Red Devils girls basketball team, came back to the school as an assistant coach in 2012, while also working as a first grade teacher at Saint Francis Xavier, a private school in La Grange; Navolio was promoted to head coach in 2022.
Navolio could not be reached for comment Thursday.
In a statement released by the school district, Hinsdale Central athletic director Mike Jezioro will assume the role as coach of the girls team until an interim or permanent replacement can be found.
“We want to thank the Red Devil community for its patience as we navigate this situation, and for its continued help in supporting the growth, development and success of our student-athletes,” the school district’s statement said.
The resignations are the second basketball-related controversy faced by High School District 86, coming only one week after the reinstatement of a former all-conference player for Hinsdale South’s boys basketball team.
Mother of the player, Erin Savage, a resident of Darien, filed a lawsuit against the school district for alleged retaliation against her son by the former head coach of the Hinsdale South varsity basketball team, Michael Moretti.
Moretti was demoted after Hinsdale South officials investigated reports of “verbal abuse, bullying (and) humiliation.”
Thursday night, in a news release from the school district, Jezioro announced the three interim coaches that will serve the remainder of the girls basketball season.
Assuming Navolio’s former role as head coach of the varsity girls team is Ryan Sasis, a former basketball coach of Kaneland High School, Marian Catholic High School and offseason coach of the Amateur Athletic Union.
Brad Warble, who played college basketball at Eastern Illinois University and has been the equipment manager at Hinsdale Central since 2018, will become Sasis’s assistant coach of the varsity team.
The junior varsity team will be led by Gia Pellizzari, who played college basketball at North Central College and is a coach for the school’s girls lacrosse team.
“I want to thank Mr. Sasis, Mr. Warble and Ms. Pellizzari for taking on these important roles,” Jezioro said in the statement. “Their commitment to our school, our girls basketball program and our student-athletes is greatly appreciated.”
No reason has been given for the sudden departure of the team’s former coaches, but Jezioro thanked them for their time and service in Thursday’s news release.
“I want to thank our players for their hard work, dedication and perseverance. I am proud of the way they have “brought their fire” to every practice and game, and look forward to watching them continue to grow and develop individually and as a team the rest of the season,” Jezioro said.
