Parents, Players Seek Firing of Taft Coach

A group of Taft High baseball players and their parents are trying to persuade the school to fire Art Martinez, the varsity coach, and Rolfe Rahl, a varsity assistant and junior varsity coach.

Martinez and Rahl were the targets of a petition by Taft varsity and junior varsity baseball players last month.

The petition, delivered to Taft Principal Ron Berz in the first week of May, called for the firing of Martinez and Rahl as baseball coaches. It was signed by 7 varsity players, 11 junior varsity players and 2 former players.

Berz also received a letter, bearing the typed names of the parents of 12 players, that said, in part, that Martinez lacked “the ability to motivate, has poor communication skills. He confuses discipline with fear and rules the team that way.” The letter also accused Martinez of talking to players in “a degrading manner, putting them down instead of trying to encourage them.”

Rahl, the parents said in the letter, lacked “any knowledge of the game of baseball.” Rahl is coach of Taft’s B football team. Martinez is his assistant.

Martinez, who has been varsity baseball coach at Taft for four years, would not comment on the petition or on the status of his coaching job at Taft.

A group of parents will meet with Taft administrators this morning to discuss the coaches.

Larry Messenger, assistant principal at Taft, said Martinez will not attend today’s meeting, but will be “on call.”

The Taft varsity finished 2-13 in the West Valley League. The Toreadors were 3-12 in 1985, but no parents or players interviewed for this story said the team’s won-lost record was their reason for wanting the coaches fired.

Matt Gilmore, a junior who has started on the varsity for two seasons, said Martinez never had anything positive to say about the team or its players. “We couldn’t do anything right in his eyes,” Gilmore said. “He’d embarrass his players in front of anybody, calling them a jerk.”

Gilmore and Michael Swartzner were kicked off the team by Martinez with two games left in the league season after they admitted to signing the petition.

Gilmore said Martinez told the varsity team during an informal meeting before Taft’s game with Reseda on May 13 that he had found out about the petition. Gilmore said Martinez told the group, “Whoever has the guts should stand up and admit they signed it.” The two players stood and were dropped from the team.

Two more varsity players were expelled from the team after the game when they also admitted to signing the petition. The next day, seven junior varsity players quit after being confronted by Martinez.

The four varsity players were eventually invited back to the team, but only one--Swartzner--accepted the offer.

Brian Barry, a freshman who played on the junior varsity, was a teacher’s aide for one of Martinez’s physical education classes. Barry said that Martinez told him “he never wanted to see me again” after he learned that Barry had been one of the players who started the petition.

“If he stays, I’ll probably go to another school,” Barry said. “All I can do is wait. I know other guys won’t play at Taft either.” Gilmore also said he will transfer if Martinez is the coach next season.

Said Messenger: “Hopefully, what will happen is that eventually the parents will express their concerns to the coach. And the coach will tell the parents what he feels so we can have a meeting of the minds and resolve this thing so everybody is pleased with the outcome. I guarantee that the goals of both sides are the same. They want what’s best for the kids.