Caudle dismissed from Battlefield baseball coaching position

Battlefield principal Amy Ethridge-Conti first notified parents of the decision Aug. 9 in a four-paragraph letter. The letter reads, in part, as follows:

"Recently, many of you have contacted the school to share your thoughts - both positive and negative - about our baseball program. ... As a result of our review of the program, there will be some changes made before the start of the next baseball season, including some changes in the coaching staff. Prior to the beginning of the season, we will have an acting varsity coach in place. For those who decide to try out for the team, more information will be made available at the start of the 2010-11 season."

She then continued writing, "I hope this information clarifies the situation and it is my hope that we can continue to work together to build a strong baseball program that will offer our student athletes a chance to compete and to come together as a unified team."

The letter does not state Caudle's name nor provide any information surrounding why he would no longer be on the team. Ethridge-Conti and activities director Ben Stutler did not reply to e-mails requesting an interview, submitted Sept. 8. Caudle, when contacted by phone, declined to comment for this article.

However, interviews conducted with those familiar with the situation, public statements and private e-mails shows Caudle is in a holding pattern, threatened with a one-year suspension or otherwise released from his coaching job outright. The reasons relate to his alleged treatment of his players, particularly citing verbal abuse and humiliation while also forcing the players into performing unnecessary physical activity as a form of reprimand.

The county school staff conducted an investigation into Caudle's alleged actions toward the end of the previous baseball season and Ethridge-Conti carried out the termination request.

Caudle's assistant coach and player parent Gary Williams spoke on the record and confirmed he is seeking the position of head coach. Other parents spoke out at the Sept. 15 school board meeting during citizens time while others exchanged e-mails with each other.

Ethridge-Conti followed up on her Aug. 9 letter 10 days letter with another letter stating, "An acting varsity coach will be named according to School Division athletic protocol. Once school staff returns in late August, the varsity coach position will be posted and the applications considered from candidates within Battlefield and other Prince William County schools."

In her closing remarks, she wrote, "Working together, we will be able to enhance our program while focusing on building a cooperative team spirit among our student athletes."

According to Williams, "everything in this investigation leads back" to the baseball team's spring trip to Florida.

"I'm going to say that the trip did not sit well as a coaching staff with the focus these kids should have as far as the upcoming season," said Williams. "It was pretty typical the way we went about it the rest of the season."

He added, "We lost games we should have won. We should have won a lot more games."

In a June 13 e-mail addressed to "friends, fellow varsity baseball parents, past and present," Prince William County assistant commonwealth's attorney Richard Conway wrote that, "Tomorrow will be one month since I walked into Ben Stutler's office with a list of complaints about Matt Caudle that ranged from verbal and psychological abuse of our kids to violating VHSL rules concerning the summer baseball team in order to enrich himself financially."

Conway, whose son played for the team last season, declined to comment on the record for this story but did say he planned to at a later time. His e-mail mentioned that he gave Ethridge-Conti "a list of parental concerns derived from my conversations with most, if not all of you." Those included: "failure to implement a consistent and uniform discipline program, failure to provide an atmosphere of mutual respect, failure to encourage open lines of communication (through his practice of reprisal and retaliation), abuse of authority through gross favoritism for some boys and mistreatment of others, failure to provide fair and equal opportunities for all the players, and failure to exercise good judgment."

Caudle's supporters claim otherwise. Jay Shepard, who runs the Old Dominion Baseball League and whose son pitched for Battlefield last season before graduating, requested on Sept. 2 a meeting with school superintendent Stephen Walts.

In his e-mail to Walts, he wrote that "The group of parents, which is the majority of parents at Battlefield Baseball, are deeply disturbed by the actions of the County schools, in regards to the suspension of Matt Caudle as the head coach of the baseball program. ... None of these folks have been consulted or were heard until after the decisions were made by your office. Which leaves the majority of parents in the program wondering why the views of the minority of parents, which can be proven by the majority to be petty and bogus, were allowed to carry weight."

In next week's story, Williams and the parents give their takes on incidents that caused the accusations, what parents said at the school board meeting and how some Caudle supporters are threatening to walk if he does not return as coach.