Longtime coaches shocked to find out they won’t have jobs after CT high schools merge

Last fall, Litchfield High school cross country and track coach Brent Hawkins and boys soccer coach Rob Andrulis were both inducted into the Litchfield Athletic Hall of Fame.

But neither one will likely be coaching this fall – at least not at the new high school in Litchfield.

Due to low enrollment and as a cost-cutting measure, Litchfield High and Wamogo Regional High in Litchfield will be combining into one school this fall, Lakeview High School, which will be housed in the Wamogo High School building.

The coaches at both schools had to reapply for their jobs. Hawkins, who has coached boys and girls cross country, indoor and outdoor track at Litchfield for 31 years, and Andrulis, who has coached boys soccer for 23 years, went through an interview process. Both said they were informed this month they were not candidates moving forward.

At a Region 20 board of education meeting on April 11, a number of residents spoke up in support of the coaches, both of whom were blindsided by the news, and others familiar with the two coaches have questions.

Hawkins, who is the former Litchfield parks and recreation director and now works as a building substitute at Wamogo, said he had two interviews – one including a parent and some of his runners and then another with Kyle Weaver, the Litchfield High athletic director who will oversee Region 20 athletics, and the vice principal of the new school.

“I thought the interviews went pretty spectacular,” said Hawkins, who is currently coaching outdoor track. “But in a couple days, I get a call from the athletic director Kyle Weaver saying, ‘Um, thank you for coming in, for the interviews, thank you for the interest in the position’ – I’m like, ‘He’s reading a script’ – and he said, ‘But we’re pushing for another person. Goodbye.’

“I was stunned. What just happened? I don’t have a black mark on my record in 31 years. I re-started the indoor track program 30 years ago. I’ve been the head coach of boys and girls cross country for 31 years. Indoor track, head coach for 30. Outdoor, probably 25.

“It’s just crazy what they’re doing.”

Andrulis is a Litchfield High graduate who had a record of 234-140-30, the most wins of any boys soccer coach at Litchfield. He didn’t want to comment at length but said via text: “I was told by the new AD (athletic director) at (Region) 20 that they would be moving in a different direction. When I had to apply, I sent in my resume that spans 40 years and three letters of recommendation, one from the current (athletic director) at Wamogo.

“I have decided to stay out of it and will be moving on. I’m proud of everything that my teams have accomplished over the years and certainly proud of every player I’ve had the privilege to coach. Time to climb a different mountain.”

Weaver referred questions to Litchfield superintendent Christopher Leone.

Leone said in a statement: “The creation of a new regional school district has not occured in our state in over forty years. The blending of an existing town district, with an existing regional district, is unprecedented work. The process of staffing the new district involves over 300 employees. With staffing, and in this case coaches, it is an ongoing process that will ultimately culminate in Board of Education action.”

Enfield superintendent Christopher Drezek was the assistant superintendent when Enfield and Fermi High Schools combined, with the first senior class graduating from a combined Enfield High in 2017. He didn’t want to comment on the Litchfield situation but said sports were the biggest flashpoint during the process.

“We got really lucky,” Drezek said. “We started the transition early and we were building a new school, so it was a lengthy process. There was time for the community to get their heads around it and staff. We knew the biggest thing was going to be sports. There was a handful of coaches who were disappointed but understanding. There was one that was a bit contentious, but it was kind of understood. The contention was more with parents in sports because there’s only five starters in basketball, there’s only one quarterback, one No. 1 tennis player. That was more of the challenge.”

Two of Hawkins’ letters of recommendation were from notable runners: Olympic medalist and New York City Marathon winner Rod Dixon, who visits the town for the Litchfield Hills Road Race, and two-time Boston Marathon winner and Olympian Geoff Smith, who also comes to the race.

Hawkins has been involved with the annual Litchfield Hills Road Race in June since he came to town to run it years ago, and it was the reason he moved to the area in the early 90s. He has been the long-time announcer for the race.

“They brought me to (run) Litchfield in 1985,” Hawkins said. “I loved it so much. They put me up with the Murphys, a great family; I’m still great friends with their kids. I would come up earlier and stay later and come up earlier and stay later.”

Eventually he moved there.

Hawkins’ girls cross country teams won six of Litchfield High’s 24 state titles, with a string of Class S championships from 1992-2001 and his teams won eight Berkshire League titles. He restarted the indoor track program at the school a year after he started coaching. Numerous runners he’s coached have gone on to run in college.

Andrulis’ teams won five Berkshire League championships and are regulars in the Class S state tournament, even as enrollment has dwindled at the high school. Four of the last eight years, his teams have advanced to either the semifinals or the quarterfinals of the Class S tournament and Litchfield was a Class S runner-up in 2011. One of his players, Timmy Donovan, was named a U.S. Soccer Coaches Association first-team All-American in 2019.

Andrulis was behind the merger, as evidenced by comments he made to the Waterbury Republican-American in 2022, before the residents of the town voted in favor of it:

“The past few years both schools have been low in numbers and have struggled to get enough players for jayvee teams,” Andrulis told the Republican-American on June 25, 2022. “I am a big proponent of the merger. It’s an awesome idea that benefits everybody: the kids, schools, programs, educationally and fiscally in every way.”

Rich Morin, a long-time Litchfield resident and a former Litchfield Hills Road Race director, has known both coaches for a long time. He was shocked when he heard the news.

“I think it’s great that these two schools are getting together, because Wamogo always had 1-2 good players in each sport and Litchfield had the same thing and now they’re going to be combined,” Morin said. “They can pick who they want, but when you deny two coaches, with the experience they’ve had – and you can’t explain it or you don’t want to explain it – there’s something wrong.

“I know they don’t have to comment if they don’t want to but I think these two coaches, because they’ve coached for 25-30 years (each) – show them some respect. Give them a reason. Then people maybe will say, ‘Oh, you know what? Maybe you’re right.’ But they can’t say that until you give them a reason and it better be a pretty damn good reason why you are not hiring these two coaches, especially for a new regional school because you want to get the best coaches you can to teach these kids and to coach these kids.”

Morin was planning to go to the next board of education meeting, which is scheduled for an undetermined date in May, to complain. The coaching hires for the fall have not been announced yet.

“Hopefully, they’ll have public comment and I’ll have a few things to say at that meeting,” he said. “You can’t find a better guy (than Hawkins). You just can’t. His record speaks for itself. Same with Rob Andrulis. Their records speak for themselves.”