Parents support coach’s reinstatement
By Michelle Knight
knight@theacorn.com

At last week’s meeting of the Conejo Valley Unified School District Board of Education, a group of parents told the trustees they were upset over the suspension of Thousand Oaks High School track Coach Robert Radnoti.

School authorities gave Radnoti a one-year suspension on March 11—in effect firing him—after he allegedly coerced athletes into practicing during last summer’s "dead period." The summer practices are considered a California Interscholastic Federal rules violation.

"He has been at the core of creating an outstanding program," said Andrew Hecker, a board member of United States Track & Field, the governing body for the sport. "Somebody had to have an axe to grind."

Radnoti’s suspension was reduced to three months after Superintendent Robert Fraisse intervened.

"I thought [the one-year suspension] was too strong of a punishment for the offense," Fraisse said.

One parent commended Radnoti for the personal interest he and his wife Jan had shown in her son. She said the frequent pool and barbecue parties hosted by the couple helped her son find a sense of team, camaraderie and identity.

Hecker told the board that Radnoti’s unique skill of combining business smarts with team motivation accounted for the success of the team.

Under Radnoti’s direction, the Thousand Oaks girls’ cross-country team finished among the top six in the state for the past three seasons.

Unlike many high school coaches, Radnoti is not an educator; he has a day job. After work, he coaches girls’ and boys’ track teams and is paid a stipend to cover his expenses.

"His track meets are enormous affairs simply because of his presence and the size of his team," Hecker said, adding that Radnoti’s ability to get about 300 students to participate in the track program may have upset other coaches.

The alleged violation fell into a CIF gray area. Did Radnoti intimidate his athletes into working out during the three-week dead period, or simply encourage them to keep active and safe by working out together?

Hecker says it’s the latter since Radnoti is meticulous about obeying CIF rules. The alleged infraction is an example of nitpicking on the part of his detractors, Hecker said.

"It was very unfortunate that it happened at all," said parent Anne Garai.

Neither Radnoti nor the athletic director for Thousand Oaks High School returned phone calls for this story.