Dreher leaving

Billy Dreher felt welcomed to the community when he was named head boys’ basketball coach at Catholic High in 2006.

His decision to leave for a job at St. Louis Catholic School in Lake Charles was still an easy one because of what he calls the “corrosive environment at CHS.”

“I hate to leave New Iberia,” said Dreher in a phone interview on Tuesday. “It’s been great to me. So many people have been great to me. But it’s just something I have to do.”

Dreher announced his decision with a press release, citing conflicts with the school principal Dr. Timothy Uhl. Repeated efforts to reach Uhl by phone Tuesday were unsuccessful, and voice mail messages were not returned before today’s publication.

“Leaving any school is always tough, but this decision was easy,” Dreher wrote in his press release. “It stems greatly from the administration at Catholic High. Nobody wants to work in an environment where they feel unappreciated, an atmosphere that is pervasive at all levels of CHS. Over 70 some employees have now come and gone in my three years at CHS, and every year it has been tougher to stay around.”

Dreher came to Catholic High after a stint as head coach of the girls’ basketball team at St. Thomas More Catholic School in Champaign, Ill. In three seasons at CHS, the Panthers went 64-34 and won consecutive district championships in 2007 and 2008, reaching the quarterfinals of the 2008 playoffs.

“The CHS boys’ team had never won a district title in its history before I worked with the program,” Dreher wrote in his press release. “In my career, my teams have won over 70 percent of their games, and I hope to continue those rigorous traditions at St. Louis.”

Dreher cited inappropriate budget cuts, lack of support and communication, constant changes in teaching schedules and the inability to get an athletic P.E. class scheduled for the boys’ basketball team among the issues prompting his departure. Seeing a listing posted on the Louisiana High School Athletic Association Web site for a new head basketball coach at CHS days before his resignation was the last straw, Dreher said.

“Imagine being named Coach of the Year and never even getting a congratulations from your principal,” Dreher wrote. “It will be a breath of fresh air to escape the corrosive environment at CHS.”

Dreher is the latest coach to leave the school in the past few years, either by their choice or by the administration’s. Others who have left in recent years include football coach David Comeaux, girls’ soccer coach Stella Arabie and longtime baseball coach David Jordan, among others.

“I’ve been there for three years,” said Dreher on Tuesday. “You keep hoping. Change is fine. Change can be good. But it’s just the fact that a number of good coaches have left. It’s really sad to see.

“He hasn’t said one word to me about leaving. He’s known for a long time I’ve been looking. And it’s not just about coaches. There are some great teachers he’s let go who would’ve stayed with some communication.”

Dreher said that the decision to leave was not only about money.

“Things could be resolved a lot of ways. (Uhl) knew Coach Jordan and I were looking (for new jobs) for months,” said Dreher. “He never came to us and said, ‘Hey coach, I can’t give you a raise, but what can we do to help you?’ You could offer an extra period off, or an athletic P.E. There are things you can do to help, especially at a private school.”

Dreher said he is excited to join the staff at St. Louis, which won the LHSAA All-Sports Cup this year in Class 3A. The school is moving up to Class 4A in the fall.

“It will be a challenge,” said Dreher. “It does offer some great opportunities to try to keep a nice tradition they’ve started the last 10-15 years.”