frog88 if you wanted to let this go, you wouldn't have made a point of it to dig at the parent and his child mentioned in your message. You also didn't need to comment about the Coaches personal life. It's not for public debate and it's certainly none of your business. Let sleeping dogs lye and don't personally lash out. What's done is done and what's said is said. If you want your children to succeed, don't rub salt to wounds or you'll paint a giant bullseye on them. Instead of being so harsh on the parents involved, step outside of the box and put yourself in their shoes for a second. As a parent, how would you feel if this were one of your kids? As a parent, it's painful and heartbreaking to watch your child go through this. Some parents handle that pain and heartbreak differently than others would. Don't be so quick to judge and try a little kindness for a change.

What is failed to be mentioned is what is happening to the coaches family...How this is effecting Them. Something that is by far a personal situation from the begining has turned very bad. The parent that started this whole thing had a problem with his child even when he was in youth sports thinking he was better than he was. Parents at one point have to look outside the box, yes you would like your child be the best at everything but this is not always the case. I agree so much that the kids have acted more as adults than the adults have.
The Bluebirds had a awesome season let's just be happy for what these young adults have done.
Enough is enough let this go..........
Great job to the coaches and the boys can't wait until next year!!!!

What is failed to be mentioned in all of this arguing is the simple fact that this begins way before highschool! Let's try 6th grade. I agree, skill level doesn't always come into the scene. One of my children plays 6th grade basketball, in-house and travel team. In the in-house program he/she is one of the top scorers on his/her team, scoring most of the points in each of their games. On the traveling team, there are 10 players selected out of over 60 trying out. Unfortunately, our child has been disliked by one of the coaches for several years. He/she went from playing an entire game to sitting, without playing, in ALL of his/her traveling games. Sadly, this heartbreaking experience has made him/her to question /hisher abilities and has really taken his/her self-esteem down. He/she doesn't even want to play a game that he/she thrives on. On the other side, we also have a couple children who have started every game (different sport) since they were young. As a parent, I feel both sides of this argument and rather than holding this as a public forum for all of us to argue about, maybe we should work together and help our children by supporting them. Mr. Barry you have been an avid supporter of one of our children and thank you for taking notice of his/her abilities. One of our other children has also been the spotlight of the local youth sports, but in a completely unique sport that isn't relevent to this particular area. The same child that is experiencing heartbreak in another sport. We can't chastise the coaches for the decisions they make if we don't have the courage to speak with the coaches personally. Shame on the parent(s) for the situation that occurred this past year and shame on us for not being adult enough to support our children. This should have never been a community argument. Unfortunately, those who really know the story behind this ugly situation know that there were more involved than just one parent. It's time to move on and stop making such a stink about whose right and whose wrong. It's a sad day when kids act more adult than adults do! Support the kids and act like adults for a change!

Is this what high school sports are about? Selecting a few for a future and disregarding the rest. Giving a freshman who may at the time be less skilled oportunity over a upperclassman just so they might win a championship when they are seniors. At what cost does that do to a young athlete that we as a community are saying to them? "Get over it your not the coach's chosen one because you do not have a personal connection with him by relationship or friendship?" Is that the lesson we want our youth to learn? Then tell me what should high school sports stand for when dedication and hardwork are no longer the standard for advancement.

John Barry - all I can say is "you are so high school."

Not sure I agree with opening an old wound?!?
I was hoping we were past all of that.
I'm glad the kids were able to get past everything and have such a wonderful year. It was truly a joy to watch.
I also want to commend the fans that supported the team all year and at State. The following was terrific. The number of Janesville fans far surpassed the total of any other team at the State tournament.

As a graduate of Craig High School four years a go and having spent all my life in Janesville, I could NOT wait to get out of there because it is people like YOU who sit and blog daily to complain about things in Janesville that makes us as a town look horrible. Do you ever stop to think about not complaining and start to realize that people should be praised for doing good? Do you have nothing better to do than sit here and make snude remarks on each article posted?

I COMMEND THE BLUEBIRDS ON A JOB WELL DONE.. A SEASON THAT WAS REMARKABLE!

It is not their fault that the bus company messed up and left children outside, STOP FINDING THINGS TO BLAME ON OTHERS.. and GET A LIFE OF YOUR OWN! :)

It's embarrassing that our city only cares about others' lives and doesn't stop to care for themselves.

Well, I guess that we all know now that the Bluebird fans are top priority in Janesville or at least to the bus company! As I was driving down River street on Thursday afternoon, I saw some teachers and children standing in the Riversedge parking lot. I recognized one of the staff and later asked what they were doing out there as it was cold out! She then told me that the bus that was there to get them was ordered by the bus company to unload their cognitively disabled children, some severe with several different conditions such as seizures, because the wheel chair bus was needed to pick up the passengers going to the Bluebird game because they were standing out in the parking lot! They left children out in a parking lot to go pick hockey fans up and the game wasen't starting for two hours! The bus driver said to just wait there as a new bus was on its way. A different bus came about 20 minutes later to get the Marshall students and the guy driving the bus said, "I really don't know how to secure those wheel chairs in." So the staff who weren't sure either secured those chairs in to the best of their knowledge from helping unload on the bus at school and they finally returned to school around 3:30. When I heard this story, I was beside myself with disbelief! I am really glad that we all hold our priorities! If I was a parent of one of these children, or any parent with a student who had to be late that night due to the bus not getting there I would be livid! Thank god all the students were safe in getting home!

Using the Gazette to taunt a group of parents for something that happened three years ago. I'm not saying they went about it the right way or that they were right or wrong but I will say, "How adult of you."

In the future you might try a tad harder to emulate the class of the team you so loyally follow.

Finally !! Someone has the guts to put it in words. Parents need to remember that just because you have PAID for years of camps,private coaching sessions, etc...does NOT mean that your child is entitled to a starting position. As parents we need to let our children play for themselves !! Not for what we may have missed in our glory years.

I am sure Coach Maurermann is a very strict coach. Displine and hard work pay off. This year's season is proof of that.

Kudos to Coach Maurermann and the group TALENTED young men !

That's great that the freshman kids are doing great now, but it was at the expense of the kids who had every right to play at the time, the Jrs and Srs. It wasn't that the kids were better at the time, but Coach wanted to make sure that they got all the playing time, so that they could become the great players.

Frankly, I say shame on the Gazette for bringing this back up again, and by a personal friend of the coach. Things have finally settled down enough so that all the parents and kids can function, you just ripped open the wound. It's time for everyone to just move on.

You said it all, John Barry! Perfect! As long as the district administration allows a few parents to adversely impact high school programs they will continue to do so. These "my son this" and "my daughter that" parents only serve to harm quality coaches like John Mauermann and quality programs like Janesville Bluebirds hockey.

Well said and I agree with you 100%. It is always a parent that thinks their kid should be the star or should be playing more that creates all the problems. Does that parent ever go to a practice and see that there is a reason their son/daughter doesn't get more playing time. It is because there are better athletes in front of them. High school is not middle school. In middle school kids should get equal playing time or try to any way. High school sports are not for everyone. You have to be good or don't go out. Too many parents cause great coaches to hang it up. It doesn't help when the administration doesn't back up the coaches either.