Mount Abraham girls basketball coach Connie LaRose perplexed over firing
Mount Abraham Union High School girls basketball coach Connie LaRose walked into her athletic director's office on Monday for an end-of-season review.
She left perplexed and embarrassed — and without the job she's held for more than 30 years.
LaRose, 77, fresh off the team's surprising run to the Division II state championship in March, said she was dismissed by the school's athletic director, Devin Wendel, for reasons she doesn't understand. Larose said she was fired after declining Wendel's offer to resign from her position.
"He said, 'We are going to have to part ways,'" LaRose told the Free Press in a phone interview on Thursday. "I asked, 'Are you firing me?' He said, 'Yes.'"
LaRose said her ousting was based on a lack of younger players in the program and her negative comments in private conversations with Wendel about players. Wendel did not return messages seeking comment on Thursday, but provided a short, emailed statement to media on Friday evening. Part of the statement, signed by Wendel, principal Shannon Warden and Superintendent Patrick Reen, said:
LaRose guided the Eagles program for the last 31 seasons, leading them to five D-II state titles, six runner-up finishes and 16 total appearances in the Final Four at Barre Auditorium. Counting two seasons coaching in the 1960s, LaRose has amassed a 486-232 record. She's a member of both the Vermont Basketball Coaches Association and Vermont Principals' Association halls of fame.
"I feel like I've been run over by a truck. I haven't slept in three nights," LaRose said. "I'm completely humiliated and embarrassed that after 30 some-odd years at the high school, this is how it’s going to end."
LaRose disputes that her coaching style has led to lower participation among the program's younger players. The Eagles had 30 players across their three teams this past winter (varsity, two JV squads), a rare feat among the state's high school basketball programs.
"I find that crazy," LaRose said. "At my age, I’m solid as a rock for everything I do. I give those kids 110% of everything I have every day of the week."
News of LaRose's dismissal has also stunned coaching colleagues around the state. VBCA President Billy Waller said the coaches' organization is drafting a letter criticizing Mount Abraham's decision. Waller said they plan on mailing the letter to the school's principal, athletic director, superintendent and School Board chair.
"It goes beyond the record and accomplishments," said Waller, also the head coach of Vergennes girls basketball. "The thing I think most about it is the example that she sets. Her players have integrity and they are a reflection of her. I've never had a bad experience with her players.
"If she has a good team, she’s going to make them great," Waller said. "If she has a bad team, she’s going to make them good."
Champlain Valley coach Ute Otley considers LaRose "one of the founding mothers" of girls basketball in the state.
"Connie had one of her more successful seasons. She took a group of girls who were underdogs in Division II this year and got them to a state championship," Otley said. "That doesn’t happen by accident. The results look like Connie is at the top of her game. Connie knows her craft and she sets high standards."
Otley said she was "heartbroken" for LaRose.
"This is no way to end a career for someone who loves the game and gives to community and players for so long," Otley said. "It feels like (Wendel) threw her out with the end of the school year trash. It makes me sad to see her legacy ends in this fashion."
In this winter's turnaround, the Eagles lost to Spaulding by 16 points in a regular-season game they trailed by as many as 30 points. Exactly one month later, Mount Abraham beat Spaulding for the D-II title to finish on a seven-game winning streak and seize the program's fifth championship, all under LaRose.
"I’ve never been more proud with a group of girls. If you ask me, we had a perfect season," LaRose said. "I gave girls the opportunity to understand what they were capable of, that we could be so much more, that we can compete with anybody."
Three days after Monday's meeting with Wendel, LaRose said she still "can't think of anything to justify" her firing.
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Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter: @aabrami5.
This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Vermont H.S. girls basketball: Mount Abraham fires Connie LaRose
