The Jersey Wahoos have removed longtime head coach John Carroll from his duties effective immediately, posting a statement on their website.
The statement, which didn’t mention Carroll by name, states the board has initiated a national search for a new Director of Competitive Swimming, and that Karen Clemens will take over that role in the interim. Clemens has been with the team since 1981, and most recently was the assistant of the Junior A-1 group and was the coordinator of the Safe Sport program.
The statement also states they plan to have a new director in place by the end of the summer, and that they’ve hired Ed Abele as their new Director of Business Development. Abele will be “restructuring the business side” of the Wahoos, and has worked closely with the team’s staff over the last few months, per the statement from Club President Brad Glenn.
This abruptly ends Carroll’s time with the team he has been with for 40 years. Starting out in 1978, he became the head coach of the Senior A1 program and the Wahoos’ full-time facilities manager in 1987. He was twice named Middle Atlantic Coach of the Year in 1987 and 1992.
The Wahoos are based in Mount Laurel, New Jersey.
Update: John Carroll has released a statement after his separation from the club.
I would like to thank all of the coaches, parents and swimmers with whom I have had the pleasure of working with over the past 40 years at Jersey Wahoos. Coaching has never been a job for me – it is my passion.
I am saddened by the way the new Board of Directors released me from coaching our senior swimmers during such a critical time in their long course season. Top priority should have been given to our dedicated athletes.
To be clear, there was no wrong-doing on my part in any non-coaching related reasons which led to my release.
The reason I have coached the National Team at Jersey Wahoos for over 30 years was not only to help coach the best team in South Jersey/Middle Atlantic, but to help create young men and women of good character. Having received such an outpouring of support, with so many touching messages, in the past three days from coaches, swimmers and alumni – I truly believe this is the case.
I hope to continue pursuing this passion of mine in the very near future. Stay tuned for the next chapter!
Yours in swimming,
If he were here today, we would not be discussing this situation. Mr. Burt German could see talent when it was present. He understood the fact everyone has flaws, but could work with this in light of the better good. John may not have been perfect in all aspects of his position, but when it came to coaching, he was on mark for Jersy Wahoos swimmers. Burt realized the talent in John and need to have him as head coach for Jersey Wahoos. Burt stated there were previous Board attempts to remove John, but Burt made sure he remained in place for the better good of the club. Without Burt’s presence, the Board finally succeeded in their previous efforts concerning… Read more »
WE ARE JC-WAHOOS!!!!!! “On the bottom 60”
As has been said several times through this thread, John is a class act that always wanted to do right. He has gone way beyond expectations for his swimmers. It has been 22 years since I swam for him and I still look back in amazement at what he did for me and my teammates. He has earned our respect and deserves to be treated better.
All the best to John and the Carroll family.
Anyone that thinks going from a top 5 NCAA team to a club(no matter how good) is an upgrade is completely out of thier mind. Even the great Bob Bowman went back to the college ranks.
In related news, the Board voted to change the team name to Yahoos, to better reflect the Board’s decision-making.
John is a great coach and a great person. The Jersey Yahoos (thanks OL’ Longhorn) are in for a rude awakening when they see how impossible it is to replace his passion, trust and pure dedication.
John will be fine because he’s genuine.
The damage to the kids in the club will be evident in the short term and long term.
– 2 Olympians (1992, 1996)
– Multiple Top 10 Team Finishes at Summer Nationals
– Multiple N.A.G. Individual and Relay Records
– Handfuls of Olympic Trial Qualifiers every quad
– Countless Division 1 Power 5 schools + scholarships
Good LUCK finding someone with that resume / wants to deal with that board
Does anyone have Me Glenn’s email or phone number so we might share our thoughts?
The membership should call a General Meeting and remove the Board of Directors or confirm their decision. Removing a Coach of this Statue shouldn’t be done behind closed doors. Big question, how did it ever get this far? How long has the Board been working against the Coach, with or without his knowledge?
PS I have known BG for 45 years and he has always been a snake.
He was pretty much blindsided. Brad Glenn is a complete snake. These people were working behind his back for weeks.
John is Jersey Wahoos… jumping off the earlier comment about “the parent board thinks they’re gonna get dave durden” is exactly correct… they have no idea what they are going into…
their business is building a team and a culture, and providing exceptional coaching to their athletes… John is one of the best in the business, and has proven it over decades…. they’re not going to Wahoos for the “Wahoos brand”, and certainly not the facility… nicer pools and plenty of other teams in the area
They just kicked their number one asset to the curb. Feeling for John and his family, and for the swimmers that are gonna be the collateral damage here