Coach Flip Naumburg's Journal

Friday, June 10, 2005

HOW GREEN IS MY VALLEY

We have had a very wet spring and the nearby hills are more alive than I have ever seen them in my time here overlooking the Fort from this location, which is almost 6 years. All the rain of late has spread onto the land a multi-tinted emerald colored blanket that is made up of a wide variety of plant life and grasses. Pretty much every inch of dirt around these parts is covered in greenery of some sort these days. Even the normally reddish brown tones of the outcropping sandstone ridges are almost muted by the pale greens and the blue-grays of the lichen currently thriving on the rock surfaces.

Speaking of valleys, The Vail Lacrosse Shootout in the Vail Valley is now only weeks away. Maybe that will cheer me up.

OUCH ME VERY MUCH

There is no way that I can put the following journal entry into its final cyber resting space without commenting about the writing of it. I have thought about it extensively (minutes) and decided that the best way I can describe it might sound too boring and simple, but the phrase that kept coming back to me was just simply that it was absolutely no fun to write this one. It probably can’t be that much fun to read either, and it only gets me through Friday. Sunday, bloody Sunday was still days (2) away.

INTERVIEW WITH A RAM’PIRE – CHAPTER IV

It was a long afternoon that Friday, May 6. It’s a month ago now. We were and are extremely busy at Rock-it Pocket. I attempted to go about business as usual that day, but that wasn’t working for me as much of a distraction, what with the "Death Race 2000" (+ 5) style speedy and fateful turn our CSU lacrosse program had just taken. All this bad stuff had happened in a split 2005 second, and then of course we had the whole time urgency factor and the necessity for immediate resolution that had come along for the ride.

MATLAX I AIN'T

I was trying to put together some notes for our "defense" to use in that meeting to come later Friday night. It was all still too new for me to fully comprehend. I did not feel that in touch with exactly what had happened or what the best way to approach the next important moment of the many that were to come was. That next important time would be my cell minutes on the phone meeting with the MDIA Board. I tried to prepare the best I could.

TEAMWORK TIME

I was taking input from many sources all day. That was and is, in my opinion, the only way to both represent the team and to make informed decisions.

Several things came to light about the case as time moved along, too, including the fact that the one player in question was now getting "back" in his class and above 12 hours again.

The process of "investigation" in progress should have in actuality gone through our league or "conference" officials first, and not the National Governing Body. We were informed of that mistake almost immediately.

Many people pointed out to me during the course of the day that the Committee that would judge us was made up pretty much of coaches from the teams that would be most changed by a change in our CSU status for the tournament. Whether these folks were going to be fair with us or not, I agree that perhaps this does not take on the best appearance for the organization as a whole.

RUSH TO JUDGEMENT

I (we) were apparently going to be judged by the Executive MDIA Committee that night anyway as things then stood, and I tried to prepare for that eventuality because that was what I had to go on at the time.

LIGHT AND DARK

My strongest feeling as Friday afternoon became evening was mostly one of regret that anything like this had or even could have happened, and that was regardless of what the eventual outcome might be. We had worked so hard for so long to make sure that nothing like this could ever darken our path, yet there it was, big trouble, big and imposing trouble, and it was standing right in front of us now, right there in the hallowed hallway of our lacrosse house. This was not a slinky shadow that would disappear by just turning off the light either.

FINALLY?

Q – What happened at the MDIA meeting Friday night, May 6?

A - As stated we had a 7:00 practice scheduled. Also as stated previously it would turn out to be our last. We practiced as usual (more or less), only it was at night and on our game field. Our practice field does not have lights. Also, it was the first practice that I had to begin with a talk about what had transpired during this day from Hell. The possibility that had reared its ugly head, no matter how real or remote it might have seemed at the time, was that we might not be going anywhere on Monday.

After the physical part of practice we met as a team for a bit of chat before I would get out and on my cell phone for the conference call that was scheduled.

The two players with eligibility problems were there at practice and they made their public and emotional apologies. The senior one told us how sorry he was for sure. But he also prefaced it with how hard a day he had trying to get back in his class and all that, as if he were doing something for the team. I told him in no uncertain phraseology exactly what he could do with his "hard day."

In my mind I wonder even now if this one really "gets" it and the severity of what his "choice" ultimately ended up costing us as a team, and maybe even as a program.

ALL THINGS MUST PASS - George Harrison, and he ought to know.

I have been asking myself paranoia-laced or based questions too much as of late. Are they all (players) coming back to help "fix" this? How do they (players) REALLY feel about things and or me right now? What can I do to help us heal and get on with it? Is less more, or is more actually better? I feel at times right now like I’m in some kind of mutated rookie coach time warp. This too shall pass.

GROUND ZERO

So, back to the Friday night in question, we gathered around under the lights of our game field at CSU so everyone could hear my one side of the cell phone conversation with the Committee.

I answered questions and attempted to offer explanation to the Committee.

I was apologetic about circumstances. I explained that we would never attempt to do or hide something like this, and how one player and his eligibility would never be that vital or crucial to our success in any way. We would never risk it all for anything or anyone outside of the rules. We are truly TEAM oriented in all that we attempt to do.

TELL IT TO THE JUDGE - Wait, I was -

I’m not mystical or blessed with ESP or anything, but I was not feeling a lot of sympathy from the Board "room" at the moment. I was surrounded by people on both sides of the phone, but I felt like I was on that island I thought I'd be stranded on at some point. The future had become now.

I explained to the Board that my situation at CSU kept me as a remote part of the bureaucratic process, and that this mistake was an innocent one brought on at least partly by the wide channels we must go through administratively.

I invoked the possible committee bias question, and I could almost hear the feathers ruffling in the background and through the phone after I brought that up.

I mentioned the proper channel mistake we had made by not going through the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference initially when we self reported. I asked if that shouldn't be corrected.

I also stated in summation that we would pretty much do anything in hopes of finding a compromise and a chance to go to Minnesota. When I offered to not use the player in question even though we could furnish a new correct transcript now. This was seemingly taken as some sort of admission of guilt I think, and not in the spirit it was intended.

I was informed at some point that they had heard enough from me, and that I would be called later on with the "final" decision.

FAMILY BUSINESS

We (team) decided to meet an hour later at one of our "team" houses. I would either bring the decision that had been cast down with me or we would wait together for the phone to sound off and give us an answer.

WHAT A WORLD, WHAT A WORLD - Wicked Witch

It didn’t take that long for the decision to come down. It was O.J. Simpson quick in terms of deliberation time for the panel, only we got the death penalty instead of the walking papers. Perhaps my testimony had not been that convincing. Ya' think?

I got the call as I was getting in my Tundra with a later in the night cup of coffee that I never have to head over to be with the team.

I KNOWED IT WAS NO – George Thoroughgood

I like and respect the Committee member/Coach who was sent forth to do the dirty liaison work of hurdling down the MDIA Board decision made about CSU Lacrosse for 2005. I knew what was coming from the pregnant pause that came when I said "Hello". He said that the committee had decided to "revoke our invitation" to Minnesota. We chatted a little, and before it was over I did inform him that we would mount an appeal. That was clearly within our rights. It might have been a later phone call, I don’t recall, but we were informed that we had until Noon Saturday to submit the appeal. This was barely over 12 hours away.

CIRCLE THE WAGONS

So the next hours were spent in the "appeal" mode. We had our family version of the board room in action. I put a call in to my best friend, who also happens to be an attorney, and my attorney at that. I told his machine exactly what I knew or thought to be fact. His response when we later talked at length (Saturday morning) was that he felt we had a good case.

With my belief in his special ability to be fair and find good solutions to difficult situations, this new input made my hope meter go way up.

The team united that Friday night, preparing for this new kind of fight. One very special alumnus in Denver jumped all over the appeal and its process. He burned oil way past midnight on his Friday to give us an excellent document to use in our appeal.

We would need every little thing we could get, thought I. The lack of shall we say enthusiasm for a compromise solution that had been exhibited to me by the Board and some of its members already had me very worried.

ONWARD THROUGH THE FOG

Despite the negative decision that had come down on us, however, the late night, team meeting had ended up on a positive note, and with plenty of hope hanging in the air that we would all still be getting on that plane Monday morning.

Q - So how did the appeal process work? How did it work out?

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