Traverse City Record-Eagle

Elk Rapids Township

December 12, 2007

Elk Rapids coach ousted for swearing

Gredlein swore at Elks' players

BY JAMES COOK

ELK RAPIDS -- One of the area's top soccer coaches is looking for a new job.

After an Oct. 9 incident in which boys soccer coach Al Gredlein swore at players, the Elk Rapids school board voted 5-2 on Monday night to accept a letter of resignation that Gredlein tried to challenge.

"I swore, they heard me, I got fired," Gredlein said on Tuesday. "Case closed."

But that wasn't the case just about a week ago, when Gredlein tried to have his letter of resignation rescinded.

In the fall of 2003, Gredlein was suspended five games for conduct unbecoming of a coach, athletic director Jim Standerfer said. In a 1997 game against Petoskey, Gredlein was given a red card for cursing at an official, Elk Rapids superintendent Jon Hoover said.

After the 2003 incident, Standerfer said Gredlein was given a contract that included behavioral requirements.

"He used vulgar language in front of players and according to the contract, he was let go," Standerfer said.

"It was determined that his misconduct continued a pattern of anger and vulgarity directed at individual players, that he had been warned in writing not to engage in such misconduct again or his job would be immediately terminated," Hoover told the Record-Eagle in an e-mail.

The most recent incident occurred just prior to the Oct. 9 game against Charlevoix. Gredlein was suspended for the Oct. 10 regular-season finale against Petoskey, but Standerfer said it was decided that Gredlein would coach the team through the playoffs instead of changing coaches at such a late juncture in the season.

"They made me sign a letter of resignation to coach in the playoffs," said Gredlein, whose team won district and regional championships this year before falling to Grand Rapids South Christian in the Division 3 state semifinals.

But at a meeting with the school's personnel committee Nov. 26, Gredlein changed his mind and tried to rescind the letter of resignation he had signed on Oct. 11 to see if he could get his job back.

Monday's vote ended that effort.

Hoover and Standerfer recommended that Gredlein be removed from the position.

Ironically, Gredlein was recently chosen as the Division 3 public school coach of the year. He also won coach of the year honors in 2005 and 1998.

School board president Martha McGuire said the event that led the Gredlein's resignation was the "last of many incidents like that," but refused to elaborate other than to say, "He's had a few run-ins."

Hoover said three people spoke up for Gredlein in the public comment portion of Monday's meeting, and one was against retaining him.

Board members Doug Coates and Vern Lalone voted against accepting the resignation.

Gredlein has been one of the most successful soccer coaches in the area, leading the Elks boys team to back-to-back state championships in 1997 and '98, state runner-up finishes in 1995 and '96 and semifinals appearances in five of the last nine seasons.

He posted a record of 249-64-11 in the last 15 years and never had a losing season as either the boys or girls soccer coach at Elk Rapids.

"I have a (stepson) who is a sophomore and I wanted to coach him until he graduated," Gredlein said.

Gredlein had given up the girls soccer job last season after 10 years and was replaced by Andrea Krakow.

Standerfer said he will form a search committee and post the coaching position after the holiday break.

"It's pretty sad, losing pretty much the only coach in Elk Rapids history and all he's done for the program," said Elks senior defenseman Mike Greiner. "It's going to be hard to replace him.

"He's tough on us, but he pushes us to get better. He makes everyone in the program better."

Text Only