School's Decision Could Send Young Studs to a Different District

The race for the 2020 PIAA Class AA title might have been dramatically altered on Tuesday.

That’s when, Billy Dubler says, Glendale School District in PA’s District 6, gave him an ultimatum – sign an “improvement plan” or, in all likelihood, give up his position as head coach of the Vikings varsity team.

Dubler, a state placewinner at Glendale and Penn State wrestler who has helped build his alma mater into a force in the elementary levels, said in an interview Wednesday that he can’t do that.

“For them to say I have to sign this performance plan or else, it’s not fair,” Dubler said. “They should have a little more … gratitude for what we’ve done and what we want to keep doing.”

Read the plan here Improvement Plan-Wrestling-5-6-16

I don’t personally know Dubler, but I first heard of him and what he was building in Glendale a few years ago. That’s when a mutual friend, whose opinion I value very highly, told me that if the Vikings continued on the path they were on at the time, they could be legitimate contenders for the team title in a few years.

Considering the fact that Glendale has had 36 Pennsylvania Junior Wrestling state qualifiers over the past six years – half of whom placed – and a pair of state champions, it doesn’t seem that far-fetched, even though only five wrestlers have won a PIAA medal in the school’s history. Dubler is one of those wrestlers, and one of his assistants, Thad Francisco, is another.

Now it looks as though Dubler, who helped build the program into and up-and-coming power, will not be returning as coach.

The subject of Dubler’s future at Glendale first arose last month, and it sparked outrage among his supporters. The decision to open the position up to others, prompted more than 500 people to sign a petition supporting Dubler. The Clearfield Progress covered the meeting, which featured more than 50 people backing Dubler – including state Rep. Tommy Sankey of Clearfield, who has a family member in the Glendale wrestling program.

“It made everything we’ve done, all of the hard days, it made it all worth it,” Dubler said of the outpouring of support. “It was just awesome. The people in our community, reading what the other coaches in the area were saying about me was just awesome … rival coaches, coaches of kids that my kids compete against.”

Dubler joked about the petition, telling his family that he wanted it to be buried with him.

“When I die some day, you take this petition and put in my casket,” he said. “Prop it up under my back, so I’m not pinned for eternity.”

The “improvement plan,” which would require Dubler to meet with school officials once per month during the offseason and twice per month in season, had not been pitched to him at that point.

The plan doesn’t paint a pretty picture of Dubler, who is 16-24 in two seasons as the varsity head coach. Among other things, it alleges that he: took a van belonging to the school district without authorization in order to transport wrestlers to a media event (he says a maintenance worker gave him a key and with it came the understanding that Dubler could use it when needed); took his wrestlers onto the football field without permission and caused damage to the field (he says it was a game of two-hand touch for a workout during Christmas break and that no more harm was done to the field than is done during a normal high school game); and encouraged a wrestler to return to competition when he had not been medically cleared to do so (Dubler says he did no such thing and that the administration could not give him an example of when he did).

“If you think that I’m that bad of a guy, you shouldn’t be hiring me anyway,” Dubler said.

I agree. As I said, I don’t personally know Dubler, but I know his reputation among the wrestling community, and these allegations shock me. As written by the district, they sound very damning. But when I spoke with Dubler, it made me realize that some of the allegations could be made against any coach.

Among the other “improvements” that the school district is asking Dubler to make are to “establish realistic achievable goals for the team and individual athletes” and “use praise and encouragement to influence positive behavior.”

Again, I don’t know Dubler well enough to say that he is always Mr. Sunshine when it comes to his student-athletes, but from what I’ve seen on his Facebook page, he certainly shows a very positive attitude in public. Asking him to lower his expectations is not only doing a disservice to him, but also to the Glendale wrestlers.

I don’t think any coach worth his (or her) salt can be positive all of the time. Sometimes athletes need a figurative kick in the pants to get headed in the right direction. Coaching, like all forms of management, requires both the carrot and the stick.

Dubler says he won’t agree to the terms of the plan, which would be admitting that he has been deficient in a number of areas and warns that the district can terminate his services at any time if he doesn’t make improvements.

“I can’t sign it,” Dubler said. “It’s not a fair deal. The language needs changed to be fair and accurate if I’m going to put my name to it.”

Instead, Dubler says that he is looking to leave his hometown and the wrestling program in which he has invested hundreds, if not thousands, of hours. He and his wife, who is on the school board, have already talked to a real estate agent about selling their home.

Dubler works in Huntingdon, so he already has a long drive from Glendale. He is looking for a home in a school district that will be a better fit for him and his family. That includes his two sons, “Suds” who placed third 85 pounds in the 11-12 age division at PJWs this year, and Zeke, who won state title at 80 pounds for 9- and 10-year-olds.

“I’m not worried about my kids,” Dubler said of what will happen at Glendale if and when he leaves. “What about the other kids? That’s what I’m worried about They might not be able to meet their goals because the right guy isn’t there.”

And, the way Dubler sees it, there were some awfully big goals ahead of the Vikings.

“We’ve got some horses coming in that are serious about wrestling,” he said. “They’ve traveled all over the country for wrestling. Realistically, in four years, we could have three or four state champs on the same team. That’s unheard of.”

Now, because of what seems like a shortsighted move by the Glendale school board and administration, it likely won’t happen. Whatever school district Dubler moves into will be getting a knowledgable coach who is passionate about the sport of wrestling and two high-caliber young wrestlers who could make a major impact on the state level in the years to come.