Parents-Coaches-Admin Dispute Comes Poolside; Team in Disarray

Meeting that turned confrontational on December 20 at Riverbend High School has origins in November change to RHS Swim Team leadership model.

by Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT

The Riverbend High School swim team is in turmoil following a contentious meeting on December 20. The following day, both the school principal, Xavier Downs, and the head coach, Rachael Adriani, were put on administrative leave.

The conflict leading up to these events began in late November and, according to text messages and emails shared with the Advance, appears to have stemmed from frustration on the part of one parent over the change in the team leadership model that Adriani, with input from assistant coach Theodore Marcus, announced.

Marcus resigned earlier this month due to escalating tensions with this one parent. He offered to return on an interim basis after Adriani was put on leave, but was told by athletic director Jesse Lohr that his resignation had already been processed by the school division’s human resources department.

Left in the wake of these events—which superintendent Mark Taylor informed the Riverbend community of via email on December 21 and said are under an internal investigation—are the coaches, student-athletes and peer leaders the coaches hoped to develop through the new leadership model.

The Advance spoke to some parents about their children’s experiences on the team and their reaction to recent events. The parents, who asked not to be named to avoid identifying their children, said their children are “upset,” “in tears” and “in a state of gloom” over the situation.

Marcus and Adriani announced the new leadership model, called Bear Pods, in late November. It was an attempt to create smaller groups within the large, 45-member team.

In an interview with the Advance, Marcus said it was difficult for Adriani to run effective practices and communicate her vision to such a large group.

Under the new leadership structure, there would be eight pods—one for each lane in the pool—led by a captain chosen ultimately by the head coach.

Marcus said he and Adriani felt the pod model could also allow interested students a chance to develop leadership skills.

The parent who did not like the Bear Pod model told Marcus in text messages in late November that they felt the team was too large and would never be successful at that size and that declaring multiple pod captains would be like handing out “participation trophies.”

But other parents told the Advance that this was not the majority opinion.

“We loved this coaching model that they came up with, having all these captains, because there’s so many people involved,” one parent said, continuing to say that being part of the Riverbend swim team was “one of the best experiences (their child) ever had” and that their child “could not say better things about” everyone involved.

Another parent said that swimming can feel like an individual sport, but that the pod model made the team feel “like a little family.”

“It bridged the gap between those kids that swim year-round and those that don’t,” the parent said. “The coaches said the intention with the pods was to create a family and a team where everybody feels included, and everybody is equally valued and respected and supported.”

The parent said that at the December 20 meeting, another parent expressed that Marcus and Adriani had created an environment that made their child feel like part of a team for the first time ever.

The parent said the team members miss their coaches.

“At the meet last week, three of the boys wrote ‘Free Theo’ on their chests,” the parent said.

Marcus was there to support his daughter, also a student-athlete on the team, and the parent said the other kids “flocked to him.”

“Just seeing that was very telling,” the parent said. “He really is the heart and soul of the team. It’s been a mess. This has blown up way more than it should have.”

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