Lower Nazareth Baseball Coach Hit the Fields Without a Mandated Background Check

The Lower Nazareth Recreation Association, which sponsors baseball and football programs in the township, mandates background checks for all coaches. However, one coach slipped through the cracks, the board was told.

Township manager Timm Tenges told supervisors Wednesday night that a baseball coach, who was not named, coached the entire season last year without ever going through the background check process.

Tenges mentioned the unchecked coach during a motion to reimburse the LNRA $17,000 for the cost of safety equipment, insurance and background checks.

Supervisor James Pennington analogized the situation to parents who want to chaperone field trips.

“We used to do [background checks on] parents,” he said.

Supervisor Eric Nagle said at Wednesday night's meeting that when the board decided that all coaches must pass background checks, the discussion was heated. However, the board stands firm on its decision. 

Supervisor Martin Boucher volunteered to personally visit the fields and get coaches’ names, but Pennington argued against it.

“We shouldn’t have to police the fields,” Pennington said.

The motion to grant reimbursement was passed unanimously, on the condition that the information from the LNRA would be received by Friday, April 15. According to Pennington, as of April 17, all of the required information had been received.

Editor's Note: The quotes in this article have been changed.  Quotes in a previous version were attributed to Supervisor Eric Nagle, when they should have been attributed to Supervisor James Pennington. Patch contributor Anthony Rando performed a phone interview Sunday with Pennington and the proper quotes have been put in place.