At the end of practice Tuesday, Sept. 2, varsity coach Peach Draper, varsity assistant Melinda Lepko and junior varsity coach Jim Maiorino told the Quakertown Community High School field hockey team they had decided to step down, effective immediately.
Dr. William Harner, Superintendent, said he is “grateful for the service” of the coaches for the past seven years. “We are quickly assembling a new coaching team,” Dr. Harner said.
According to Sylvia Kalazs, QCHS Athletic Director, several team members reacted with surprise to the announcement. The team won its season-opener Friday, 4-0, over Plymouth-Whitemarsh, the defending champion of the Suburban One League American Conference.
The team plays at Central Bucks West Wednesday afternoon. Kalazs, a long-time QCHS field hockey coach through the 1980s and early ’90s, said she may serve as the acting head coach for the Wednesday game until administrators can find a replacement.
The field hockey squad has coped this season with issues related to the PIAA’s June 2014 ruling that girls' athletic teams with boy players are ineligible for the postseason. The QCSD School Board supported the PIAA ruling. Three boys have played with the Panther field hockey team for the past three seasons. Through his lawyer, senior Joshua Schwarz sought temporary relief from the PIAA and school board decisions until he completes a legal challenge of the law. A court injunction set for the morning of Wednesday, Sept. 3 was moved to Federal Court.
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