November 1, 2007

ValleyViewpoints

Response to Leland debate letter: Yamamoto letter contains inaccuracies

Editor,
My name is Mike Carrozzo and I am the head football coach at Leland High School. I am writing in response to the letter from Yutaka Yamamoto.

I was terribly offended by this letter as it contained very few facts. It was loaded with inaccuracies. It seems that Mr. Yamamoto believes that all the money funneled into Leland High School is used for a very selfish football program and that we will absolutely not allow any other sports to use the athletic field in season or out because football needs it for practice 12 hours a day.

This is insane. If he had talked to me for five minutes I would have been glad to let him know how wrong he is. He did no research. This surprises me primarily because Mrs. Brasher’s led teams are usually very detail-oriented and research-driven. The speech and debate program is a powerhouse in their field, and we should all be extremely proud of what they have accomplished and continue to support them in any way we can. This is all the more reason I was very upset by the letter.

FACT: Football uses the field weekdays during the season from 2 to 4:30 p.m. for varsity and 3 to 5 p.m. for frosh/soph. At 4:30, field hockey uses half the field, and at 5 p.m. they take over the rest of the field. Field hockey uses the field from 4:30 to 7 p.m. When field hockey has a home game, football moves their practices to the Bret Harte field.

FACT: During the off-season, Leland's football program does use the stadium field. We use it two to three days a week at 6 a.m. and are off the field by 7:30 a.m. We do this so that all other programs that need to use the field may do so. We are usually finished before most teams are even awake. I urge you to find another athletic or academic program that makes that kind of sacrifice. While Mr. Yamamoto was still asleep soundly in his bed, the football program was working their tails off to improve and prepare for the upcoming season. You now should start to see the reason for my disappointment. These young men shouldn't be degraded as athletes; they should be admired for their commitment.

FACT: The stadium lights were not purchased by Leland High School, nor were they purchased by San Jose Unified School District. To the best of my knowledge the lights are funded by State Bond Fund 211.

FACT: The football program has 84 dedicated young men, not 30. Next year, once we take the necessary strides to build a program that we can all be proud of, we are expecting 140-150 young men.

FACT: Football players pay roughly $400-$525 each (including fees for football camps). We too have a portion of that money that is directed to the Booster Club and ASB. It is a necessary component of supporting all sports at Leland. That's why Athletic Boosters exist. They are a very hard working group of parents who have done amazing things for all athletics at Leland. They too should be honored not admonished.

FACT: Leland does not fund the athletic renovations. Most of the money for the new fields, concession building, restrooms, etc., are being funded by a combination of the city of San Jose and Measure F Bond Fund in an effort to develop more places for our youth soccer and adult soccer programs to play. This is an unbelievable collaborative effort that is resulting in Leland High School being the crown gem of public high schools from a facilities standpoint, and we didn't have to pay for it. If that doesn't get you excited for your school, I don't know what does.

FACT: The community did not reject the plan for lights. There were three community meetings at Leland to hear all of the concerns from local neighbors and to address them so that everyone would be as happy as possible. I attended each of the three meetings and there was far more support for the lights then there was complaints. The issues were heard, a full report was generated to address each issue and the San Jose Unified School District board voted unanimously to approve the lights. It was not a decision made by Principal Setterlund. I very much doubt that Mr. Yamamoto was at any of the meetings.

FACT: According to the San Jose Unified Board minutes from the meetings dated Aug. 2, Aug. 16, Sept. 4, Sept. 26, and Oct. 4 there were financial outlays totaling $103,000 to coaches for Speech and Debate approved. So if Mr. Yamamoto's figures of 300 participants each paying $500 totaling $150,000 are correct and Mr. Yamamoto says "the school district takes all the money and distributes it throughout the school," I would encourage him to spend even five minutes on research and he would find that most of the money goes right back into Speech and Debate by way of Leland's ASB fund. These numbers reflect only the last two months.

FACT: Track and field and cross country use the sports track now. There is no need for them to use the field. Soccer teams practice on the Bret Harte fields now as football and field hockey are in season. As soon as our seasons are over, the priority is soccer first, everything else second.

There are many more offensive items that I can elaborate on to defend our hard-working cheer squad and football program but if Mr. Yamamoto wants to do a little homework I think he will find that most of his allegations are unfounded and false.

I would very much like to reiterate that I am a big fan of our Speech and Debate Team and wish them all the success in the world. I am sure all of their hard work and sacrifice will result in tremendous success. I would also like to thank Mrs. Brasher for all she does for that program. She sets an incredible example for all of us coaches to follow.

Mike Carrozzo
Head football coach, Leland High School

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