Changes in the Job

During the next two years that Dennis continued coaching and being Aquatic Coordinator, numerous changes took place in his teaching/coaching assignment.

Because I observed an increase in forgetting things and time management,  I took a more active role in helping Dennis with a calendar of deadlines and detailed paperwork.  That extra help seemed to work most of the time. However, at the end of the season when it was time for the swim banquet and awards, Dennis failed to present the awards during the formal dinner. I was unaware this had happened because I did not attend that banquet. I am ashamed to say I was so upset with some parents that I stayed home.  When I realized what had happened, I questioned Dennis. I expressed my concern that this would make parents and swimmers upset.  He passed it off as not a big deal because he would get it done. When I told our son what had happened, he said, "What worries me most is not that he didn't have awards ready but that he didn't understand that it was important!"  At that point I knew I had to be sure he had reminders about even more details than I had originally thought.

For 30 years, Dennis had never had an assistant coach but starting that second year, the district hired a female assistant coach.  To be honest, I was initially pleased with this addition of staff.  However, what happened was the new assistant coach soon took over most everything.  Without consulting Dennis, she placed swimmers in their events and planned most of the practice sessions.  He expressed his concern that she was not including him in decisions.  Many swimmers no longer saw Dennis as their Coach.

It wasn't long before Den was coming home disturbed and puzzled by what was happening and what to do about it.  He appreciated the extra help -- in fact, he welcomed it.  But it was after all his team for the past 30 years.  That program was his "baby".  Being the unassuming person that he was, he chose not to cause a conflict or raise questions.  After all, he was still doing what he loved - coaching.  Then it came down to giving him assignments like ISC (for students removed from class).  Instead of caring for facilities and having travel time, he was locked down to assignments like this that were very troubling.

It was in the fall of 2003 when Dennis was not granted permission to attend the Texas Swim Coaches conference in Austin that the real hurt began.  The assistant coach traveled to the conference and Dennis was delegated to stay behind.  No reason was given.  He had attended that conference for 30 years.  When he shared his disappointment and hurt, I knew it was time. 

It was time to encourage him to retire with dignity before something happened and he was asked to leave.  I knew it was a delicate situation with him coaching but no one had approached me about difficulties that may be observed.  All I knew was little by little his role as coach and Aquatic Coordinator had been diminished greatly.  He had an incredible history, tenure and reputation with both high school and summer league swimming.  I was not about to let him close that career with disgrace or sorrow.

Without Dennis knowing, I met with the Human Resources director.  He was aware of the situation facing Dennis and the district.  We discussed all the possible scenarios for retirement.  Dennis was eligible for full retirement.  In addition, he had so much sick time accrued that it was suggested he start taking that time in January with full pay and scheduling the retirement date at the end of that school year in May 2004.  This was going to be a win-win situation for the district and for Dennis.

With that information and with a full understanding of how the district had a responsibility to the parents and students regarding safety issues, I knew I had to encourage Dennis to retire.  Sometime in November 2003, I shared with Dennis what I had found out about retirement.  I explained what was involved and that we would need to make a trip to Austin for retirement counseling to set everthing up.  I made it even more inviting because I told him I was going to retire with him.  So at that announcement, he was accepting and enthusiastic about us retiring together.  We soon made that trip to Austin and finalized our retirement plans.

To this day I am so proud of how our district stood behind Dennis so he could continue working for that short period. I hear horror stories of people being fired and put to the curb. Looking back, I believe they did their best to honor Denny's years of service while maintaining a safe and orderly environment for students.