Youth Football Board Responds to Irwin Park Incident

"There's no room for the kind of behavior that was exhibited by these coaches," Ted Dumbauld, board chair of , told Patch Thursday.

"The board has responded quickly and elected to remove the coaches from the board and at the coaching level," he said, they would, "no longer be involved with our teams and players at any level."

He said this event, , was an aberration of what he has experienced in the years he's been involved with the program. "The New Canaan Football League, and also the Fairfield County Football League, of which we are a part, has a very definite mission of instilling good sportsmanship and integrity and safety as a part of our program."

When asked about a review of practices in general and going forward, Dumbauld pointed to the involvement of the town Fields Oversight Committee.

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A sub-committee of the , the Fields Committee has taken on, over about the last year and a half, an oversight role with the non-profit, private youth sports organizations in town who use town fields.

Bob Rogers, chair of the Park and Recreation Commission, sits on the sub-committee, which is chaired by . Rogers said of their involvement, "When we started, we sort of had a very, very general idea of just talking with them and seeing what kind of information developed." Their questions involved the groups' by-laws, meeting minutes and required government filings.

They also made suggestions about term limits for board members, and about holding annual meetings for parents to have a forum to discuss the programs, ideas that Dumbauld supports. "We think it's a good idea to coordinate with the town ... to make sure that all these organizations that have a real impact on our town are coordinating with the town," he said. The committee's intent is to meet with the leaders of each organization about two times a year.

"One of the things that the parents clearly need to understand is, what is their grievance procedure ... parents worry that their child will be singled out if they complain, whether that's legitimate or not ... what is the best way of having a parent complain, what's the best way to ensure anonymity," said Rogers.

He said this incident was a "vivid example" of a parent who "clearly felt frustrated, in my point of view."

The committee's recent meeting with Dumbauld, Rogers said, was to understand how the NCYF was handling this situation. He said they were satisfied with their response.

"The whole reason the group was formed was not because there was a perceived problem at all," said Rogers, "it's really with the recognition that people in town really need to recognize and give thanks to all these adult volunteers that do these programs." "These kids couldn't do it without these adults," he said.