North Lincoln fires baseball coach

North Lincoln baseball coach Sean Andrews says he has been fired because of unhappiness among parents and players.

Andrews, the Knights’ only coach in the six-year history of the school, said principal Rick Freeman fired him in a meeting at the school Monday.

“The parents won. I lost,” Andrews said.

Freeman was not available for comment. Athletic director Jon Carpenter, hired from the existing coaching staff this summer, wouldn’t confirm the firing and instead directed comment to Freeman.

According to Andrews, parents and players had complained about playing time, especially for upperclassmen. Andrews stands by his coaching decisions.

“I’m going to play the best nine and I can only play nine at a time. Unfortunately, there’s going to be people sitting on the bench,” Andrews said.

Although Andrews said he was “blindsided” by the firing, he admitted that he had encountered several run-ins with parents in the past. Two years ago, he was suspended four games after he said parents made false accusations about him.

Andrews guided the Knights to a 7-13 record this past season, including a 7-9 mark and sixth-place tie in the Southern Piedmont 1A/2A Conference. He compiled a 61-85 record over six seasons, with his best team going 18-9 in 2006.

“It’s tough because I’ve put everything I had into that program,” Andrews said. “And parents don’t understand that I did what I thought was best in my opinion. I did what I was hired to do.”

Andrews retained his job as a special education teacher at North Lincoln but said he’s looking for a teaching job elsewhere.

“It’s going to be extremely tough for me to walk down those halls and know I’m not the baseball coach,” he said.

You can reach Phillip Gardner at 704-869-1843.

Sean Andrews’ year-by-year record as North Lincoln baseball coach

(Conference records in parentheses)

2004     7-16 (3-9)

2005     11-15 (8-4)

2006     18-9 (8-6)

2007     12-14 (6-8)

2008     6-18 (3-11)

2009     7-13 (7-9)

Overall: 61-85