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KEITH NIEBUHRHall, investigated for questionable practices, says he would like to coach in the district again.
CRYSTAL RIVER - One year after his contract was not renewed by the school district after being investigated by it and the Florida High School Athletic Association, former Crystal River High School coach Brent Hall is publicly taking responsibility for his actions and saying he would like to coach in the school system again.
"Certainly there were things I should have handled differently and wished that I had handled differently," Hall said last Thursday.
"Ultimately you're responsible for things that happen to you. At the end of the day, all you have to stand on is your name. Once that's been taken down, all you have left is the opportunity to rebuild it."
All this came a day after Hall's successor, Robert Weiner, resigned to take a job in Tampa.
Hall said he is not angling for his old job but would welcome the chance to speak with Crystal River High principal Stephen Myers - who withdrew a tenure offer to Hall last year - and with superintendent David Hickey.
"I never intentionally did anything (wrong)," Hall said. "It was eagerness to get things done.
"I think I should have had better line of communication with Mr. Myers. Looking back, I think I might have left him out to dry a few times, and he deserved better."
Hickey could not be reached for comment. Myers declined to comment on this matter.
"I'm not going to comment on personnel decisions," Myers said.
Hall went 83-15 in three seasons but was ousted after investigations revealed questionable practices.
A series of Times articles described, among other things, Hall conducting an illegal Christmas camp, a claim that Hall recruited an athlete, the coach's use of a Cadillac provided to him free of charge by the father of a junior varsity player and his failure to report the donation of a $20,000 sprinkler system.
Hall took the blame for the sprinkler system and other gender equity issues but denied wrongdoing in regards to the car (though he acknowledged he would have done things differently if given the chance) and said he neither ran the camps in question nor recruited players.
The FHSAA ruled last year that Hall told Lecanto resident Walt Wunderly "to have his parents apply for a zoning exception to attend Crystal River High" when he was old enough.
The association reprimanded the school and placed the baseball team on administrative probation until the end of the 2004 school year, primarily because of the camps, said FHSAA associate commissioner Dan Boyd, the person who conducted the investigation.
The probation did not restrict the Pirates from postseason play, but the FHSAA warned additional violations could lead to more serious penalties.
During the Times investigation, Hall often lashed out at his accusers. He referred to one as a "drunk." That, he says now, was a mistake.
"I wish I'd been a little more mature in some comments I made," he said.
Hall now is a representative for the charitable foundation of county native and major league baseball player Mike Hampton, who hopes to build a community and athletic facility. Hall is one of the project's point men.
"I love Citrus County, and my family and I came to Citrus County because of that love," Hall said.
"We made tremendous friends in the community. We have three kids that really enjoy going to school here, and we felt like the responsible thing to do was to stick it out and show people what type of person I really was."
Hall wants to coach again. He said he has not talked to Myers since last year and has spoken to Hickey only about the athletic facility.
"I have great respect for Mr. Myers," Hall said. "I only hope he and Mr. Hickey and all the people involved know that I always had a good heart and always wanted to do good.
"I would like to have the opportunity to sit down and talk to people that make decisions in this county to show that I have changed. I still have a lot to give. If mistakes warrant a second opportunity, I would hope that the people who make the decision would give one. I would hope the penalties have been severe enough."
If Hall wants to return to Crystal River High, Myers would have to approve it.
After the school district completed its investigation into policy and ethics violations by Hall, it sent that file and its findings to Professional Practices Services, the investigative arm of the Department of Education.
The DOE cannot comment on pending cases unless a determination can be made that some disciplinary action is warranted against an educator's teaching certificate. If Professional Practices finds such probable cause, the investigation is open to the public. School officials said it can take up to several years to complete and finalize a case. The state can issue a variety of penalties for violations of law or of the Educators Code of Ethics ranging from a warning to the revocation of a teacher's certificate.
"I have received no correspondence from Professional Practices," Hall said. "My teaching certificate is still in place.
"I have not been suspended or had my certificate suspended to my knowledge. There is no investigation going on to my knowledge, and I think that if there were an investigation conducted in the last 12 months, I would have been notified."