Canon-McMillan opens baseball, girls’ basketball positions
Frank Zebrasky has spent the past seven years as the varsity baseball coach at Canon-McMillan, leading the Big Macs to three consecutive WPIAL playoff appearances, including back-to-back trips to the quarterfinals.
During his tenure, the program sent 19 student athletes to compete in college and over the past three seasons the Big Macs were a combined 23-9 in section play. The Washington High School graduate also had the girls’ basketball program on the cusp of a playoff appearance last winter in his fifth year as head coach.
Yet, Zebrasky’s time at the school has come to an end as six members of the Canon-McMillan School Board unanimously voted to open all coaching positions for varsity baseball and girls basketball effective immediately.
Zebrasky was told before the June 19 meeting that the board would vote to open the baseball coaching position. He was invited to reapply but Zebrasky does not intend to do so. The girls basketball position opening came as a shock. Zebrasky ran a practice with the team Thursday morning.
School board president Paul Scarmazzi declined to comment on the reasoning behind the dismissal.
“I don’t know what to think. It’s an unfortunate thing for the members of the girls basketball community,” Zebrasky said. “Hopefully, we can work together to get things in the proper direction and expectations were high for them.
“I can’t say it was totally unexpected with baseball based on some of the actions during the season. There are an abundance of talented players coming back on that team, as well.”
Zebrasky’s final season as baseball coach did not start smoothly. A group of players were indefinitely suspended for allegedly using marijuana during the team’s trip to Myrtle Beach, S.C. Zebrasky was suspended three games while the district investigated the matter.
It is unknown whether the incident played a role in the board’s decision, but Zebrasky hopes a protocol is created for any future trips.
“It’s pretty hard to ask someone what would you do in that situation because we did exactly what we needed to do,” Zebrasky said. “Should there be other protocol put in place? Yes, but that’s something that probably needs to be done for all trips and activities. Nothing happened in previous activities. We had to deal with something and we did to the best of our ability. I’m just proud of the way the kids responded.”
One week before the trip, senior Luke Blanock experienced a relapse with Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare type of cancer. The Big Macs, led by a young pitching staff, fought back to reach the WPIAL Class AAAA playoffs behind a six-game winning streak. Though the run ended with a first-round loss to Shaler, the program was surrounded by excitement about next spring.
That excitement quickly turned to uncertainty June 19. Several parents of baseball players attended the board meeting and two spoke on behalf of the Canon-McMillan coaching staff. Despite the messages, where one mother voiced her displeasure with the pending decision, assistant coaches Brandon Dittmar, Dan DeVitis and Kurt Blanock also saw their positions opened.
Larry Berger, whose son, Austin, will be a senior this fall, was one of two parents to address the board. He stressed to the board members the staff’s commitment and the performance on the field.
“The coaches have done a really good job for the boys,” Berger said. “The last three years the team has never underachieved. We love all the coaches. Some are working with the kids as we speak. We all kind of figured it was a done deal and the decision was made. We were in Myrtle Beach. I don’t think anyone could have handled it better. They called it in as soon as it happened. There was almost nothing else you could do.”
Zebrasky declined to speculate about the reasoning behind the decision, but stressed his disappointment. His record as the head baseball coach was 68-63, including 38-21 over the past three seasons. He also helped resurrect the girls basketball program. The Big Macs went 8-14 last winter, but they lost junior center Rebecca Turney, an Eastern Michigan recruit, to a serious injury. The bulk of their roster in 2015-16 iss returning.
“I’m very proud of the fact that I was the baseball coach and girls’ basketball coach at Canon-McMillan,” Zebrasky said. “We did some really good things, including recently. We had a very cohesive bunch of kids that were able to perform together. We were a team that represented Canon-McMillan through and through.”