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Pirates' volleyball coach let go

 
Published June 23, 1993|Updated Oct. 9, 2005

Crystal River High volleyball coach Pam Woznicki said principal Craig Marlett presented two options regarding her job status for next season: Resign, or be let go.

"Basically, he offered me the two choices," Woznicki said. "I definitely didn't want to resign. I didn't want to quit on the program. I wasn't about to quit, so he fired me."

Woznicki said she was not asked to return to the post she held for one season.

Crystal River High athletic director Earl Bramlett confirmed the job is vacant, but said he did not know why Marlett made the decision he did. Marlett is out of his office until Monday and could not be reached for comment.

"I'm sorry I can't tell you any more," Bramlett said, "but he handled that."

Woznicki said Marlett cited two reasons for not rehiring her: the fact she does not teach on campus, and a "personality conflict."

"It's funny," she said, "because when he did release me he said there's no doubt in his mind I know what I'm doing. It's just a personality conflict, which is hard to swallow."

Woznicki said Marlett did not say who was at the other end of the conflict, but she said she assumed it was Bramlett.

"Marlett didn't come out and mention any names," Woznicki said, "but there was nobody else I clashed with over there."

Bramlett would not comment about their working relationship, but did say he originally recommended Woznicki for the position.

"I really don't want to respond to the whole thing," Bramlett said.

"To me, they're going on the personality thing more than qualifications," said Woznicki, a 27-year-old former Citrus High varsity assistant and junior varsity head coach who played for Edinboro (Pa.) University.

"To me, what they're saying is they're not real concerned with having a quality program. I asked Marlett, "When it comes down to it, when you can't find somebody, what are you going to do?'

"

Bramlett said he thought Marlett had spoken with prospective candidates, but he did not know if there was a timetable for deciding who would coach the team.

Woznicki, who has reapplied for the post, is a physical education teacher at Inverness Primary School. She said the cross-county commute was manageable.

"To me, it was not a problem," she said. "With a little communication, I think the gaps can be worked out."

Marlett, Woznicki said, was supportive of her and her program throughout the past season.

Crystal River went 11-10 and won the Class 2A, District 8 championship, but was stripped of the title and denied an opportunity to play its region playoff game because an academically ineligible player was on the roster.

Woznicki said at the time the error was an oversight on her part. The player was one of three promoted late in the season from the school's junior varsity program, and didn't play in the district tourney.

"He (Marlett) said that has nothing to do with his decision," Woznicki said. "He realized that it was obviously unfortunate, and said that in no way determined his decision to release me."

Woznicki said she didn't know if she'd be reconsidered seriously for the position.

"When it comes down to it," she said, "the bottom line is I love the sport so much that I can put up with all the red tape."