When Berkshire announced last week it would not be recommending Steve Orr be the varsity wrestling coach next fall, an unusual outpouring of support rallied behind the coach, who has been at the helm for five years, leading the small program to a CVC championship in 2013-14.
An online petition called “Renew the contract of wrestling coach Steve Orr” gathered 74 signatures in the first 24 hours and about 123 by Monday morning.
“His success didn’t come at the expense of doing things the right way,” wrote Steve Hare, who started the petition. Hare is a local journalist, Burton resident and former Berkshire athletic director. “Coach Orr was a positive role model for all of his wrestlers as well as the coaches on his staff. Coach Orr developed a strong rapport with the parents of his wrestlers, and this petition should prove that Coach Orr has the support of the Berkshire wrestling community and should be retained now and in the future.”
A letter was also being sent to the Berkshire Board of Education in support of Orr.
Almost 60 people left comments on the petition, through change.org, including current and former wrestlers and their parents, like Tony and Lisa Urban and Brandon Vander Maas.
The decision to not renew Orr was presumably made by current Athletic Director Brian Hiscox and Berkshire Junior/Senior High School Principal Steve Reedy.
Hiscox, who was aware of the movement, wrote in a text message: “We decided to go another direction.”
Orr was disappointed when he heard the news, and said he was not given an adequate reason why he would not be the coach.
“If there was a reason for it, it would be different,” said Orr. “They told me they wanted to hire someone to increase the excitement of the program. As far as Berkshire goes, we won the CVC championship, the sectional …”
The decision also created excitement amidst current and former wrestlers and their parents.
Tim Malkus, whose son TJ was a standout and member of the 2014 championship team, and whose older son David was an assistant coach under Orr, was surprised and said he wanted to hear what the school board had to say about the decision.
“I don’t know what stipulations they have, and I don’t know what they have to say,” Malkus said “I don’t know if they have something that everybody is missing yet.”
He said Orr got the families involved in the sport.
“Grandparents, uncles and aunts,” Malkus said. “He tried to make everything a family affair. That’s what’s sad about seeing him leave — part of the family is gone.”
Bonnie Charvat is one of the grandparents who watched her grandson Cody have a successful wrestling career. She considered coach Orr a friend since Cody was a freshman.
“He made wrestling so exciting for us,” said Bonnie, who continued to attend matches even after Cody graduated last spring.
Noting team numbers are down all over Northeast Ohio, not just at Berkshire, she also said, “This was a rebuilding year.”
A new head coach had not been named as of the deadline for this article. The next school board meeting is May 13.
John Kumher was a captain this season as a sophomore who was “extremely torn up about it,” said his dad, Steven, when reached via cell phone. “From what my son has told me, the school district is looking for someone to bring more enthusiasm and spark to the program.”
John wrote online “I’m signing because he’s my coach. He’s a good man and what happened was wrong. He taught us how to be men … I want him back.”
Kumher finished second in the CVC at 106 pounds.
With just six wrestlers on the roster in 2014-15, many of them young, Berkshire struggled this season. Injuries also hurt.
But even after Berkshire had finished last in the 87 Rumble, an event against Newbury, Grand Valley and Cardinal, Orr remained optimistic about the future inside Cardinal High School.
“We’re young pups, but numbers are numbers, and we’ll pick it up next year,” Orr said back in February.
Presumably an influx of some Ledgemont students next year would also help Berkshire regain its top form from two years ago.
But that will likely come up without this Orr steadying the ship.
