Hopatcong jr Chiefs Wrestling

PO. Box 227

Hopatcong, NJ 07843

Date: 10/03/2007

To: Fred Orchard

From: Michael L. Cahn President

Mr Orchard;

            It has come to my attention that you have allegedly made some comments in your most recent meeting that the Hopatcong jr Chiefs Wrestling program is “in a shambles” which as the president I take offense to.  Your arrogance regarding our program is only overshadowed by your ignorance of what we have accomplished since I have taken over as president and your assertion regarding our program is not only incorrect but a reckless statement at best.

            Our move from the Tri County League to the Sussex County league was made as a result of much conversation and thought between board members, coaches and our high school coach and was a tough decision at best but one that we stand behind as being a positive move for our program. This decision was not made from being disgruntled or upset with the Tri County League but primarily for the fact that the Sussex League contains the teams and wrestlers the kids will face in High School as they progress though their wrestling years.

            Its my understanding that these slanderous comments came from a parent seeking an exception under a hardship to wrestle for another town other than the district the wrestler resides in.  Although this is done in specific situations where a true hardship exists or a parents employment at another town school is involved it is important that you understand that all of our resident children are welcome to participate in our program if they choose to regardless of their financial ability to pay. You would seem reckless as a league to support disgruntled parents in their attempt to wrestle for other town teams while residing in Hopatcong.  Our residents our welcome to join private clubs at their own expense and attend open tournaments if they wish; however, it goes outside the spirit of fair competition between towns to allow this when no true hardship exists and you are simply dealing with a disgruntled parent. If this type of activity is allowed for anything other than a true hardship then we might as well just all start recruiting from other towns.  This is evident in the Tri-County Bylaws, which require the wrestler to be a resident of the school district primarily served by the wrestlers team. A parent that is dissatisfied or disgruntled with the club is simply not a sufficient reason to allow this and we object to you allowing this.  If there is such a great importance to a parent on the wrestling program in his or her town, its quality of instruction or the decisions the elected board of directors may make then they should consider moving to a town that has a program that better suits their requirements or alternatively consider getting involved to change the program for the benefit of all our town families.  A more proper way of handling this situation would be to require the individual to discuss his hardship with our club and get our board approval prior to TRI-County voting on this issue. Again I must restate that true hardships would be taken seriously but are separate and apart from personal issues with members of the club or disagreements in the direction of a particular sporting club.

            I will also be discussing this issue with the members of the Sussex Matt Club at our next meeting to get their opinion regarding this issue and any possible effect your decision may have on the final championship matches. In the future we would appreciate you to direct anyone seeking an exemption to the Hopatcong jr Chiefs Board of Directors to discuss their exemption or concerns and gain our approval first.

Lastly, As President of the Hopatcong jr Chiefs our doors and facility are open to any of our neighboring towns to participate in scrimmages, open tournaments, novice tournaments or jamborees we may host and thank you for allowing us to wrestle in your league the past years.

Thank you ;

Michael L. Cahn , President