By PATRICK And SHANNON TRUJILLOOur family was greatly disheartened and disappointed this evening when logging on to the Los Alamos Daily Post. We look to this resource for reliable, objective reporting from staff, only to find subjective, second-hand information reported. The “staff report” on complaints against LAHS head wrestling coach, Bob Geyer, were in our opinion, irresponsible reporting by the Daily Post, printed only to put in question Coach Geyer’s reputation. We believe it was poor judgment to take calls from disgruntled parents and print this information as a “staff report”. We also question the reporting parents’ reputation for taking their school issue to the newspaper. A school issue can never be solved in the newspaper, these parents only reported to the newspaper to publicly discredit Coach Geyer.
We also question Los Alamos Public School’s response to questions from the Daily Post. Earlier this year, every athlete and their parents are required to attend a mandatory sports meeting. It is made very explicit that any complaints should be made first to the Coach and Athletic Director, then follow the chain of command to the Assistant Superintendent and finally the Superintendent. We can only assume that if disgruntled parents are resorting to anonymous reports to the LA Daily Post, their claims have so far been unfounded by LAPS. We believe when administrators were questioned by the LA Daily Post on this situation, their response should have been only to reiterate the procedure of “following the chain of command”. We don’t believe other disgruntled parents should have been encouraged to comment on a “personnel matter.”
Our family also feels that we must publicly support Coach Geyer’s honor and reputation. We met Coach Geyer 14 years ago when he coached our son in football and wrestling, and continued coaching him for eight years. We believe his passion and intensity for working with kids has helped our son become a responsible, hard-working college athlete. Our son continues to value the skills that Coach Geyer has taught him, and practices Coach Geyer’s lessons everyday in the rodeo arena. Our daughter is a JV basketball player, who appreciates Coach Geyer’s presence in the stands. Just seeing him in the stands reminds her of the hard work and intensity that Coach Geyer stands for. Hearing his voice is a great encouragement to her.
We think it a shame that the LA Daily Post reported such a one-sided story. It is important to our family to make sure the “other side” is publicly reported. We appreciate Coach Geyer’s life lessons, and hope that others do, too.
