Chris O’Dell is a 1995 graduate of Staples High School. He is also head of operations for The O’Dell Group, a design builder of environmentally friendly homes.
And he is the longtime freshman boys soccer coach at Staples. Last week, he learned that his contract would not be renewed. Chris writes:
I have been a part of the Staples boys soccer program for over 30 years. I was a player and captain in the early ’90s for head coach Jeff Lea. I have coached in the program since 2005, first under head coach Dan Woog, most recently under head coach Russell Oost-Lievense.
My business has built many homes, kickboards for the soccer team, sets for Bedford Middle School plays, and sponsored local PAL basketball teams. Dozens of Staples students have interned for me.
Chris O’Dell built this, at Loeffler Field.
My brother, his family and my mother all live in town.
My best friends from high school are still here. They coach youth sports, they are PTA presidents, they open up local restaurants and other businesses, all to make Westport a better place.
I have been to weddings of former players, seen the birth of their children, written job references, and worked in their homes and the homes of their parents.
I was one of the Staples coaches whose contract was non-renewed. I was told the reason was because I was a witness to an event, and did not report it.
The facts and back story of this “incident” are concerning for coaches, but I think it is unproductive for me to discuss them here. I will state with 100% certainty that there was no physical contact. It was over quickly, and resolved.
As a coach (and a parent), I have always preached one main guiding principle that is more important than anything else. When things go wrong, your energy needs to be spent fixing it, not placing blame or focusing on what went wrong.
Chris O’Dell
I tell my players there is one guarantee when they step on the field. Referees are going to make bad calls, teammates and coaches are going to mess up, and bad luck will find you.
I then point out that their reaction will go a long way towards determining their success as a team.
If they spend time yelling at the refs, blaming teammates or sulking about the bad luck that befell them, that means they are not spending time correcting the problem.
In soccer, where one goal is all it takes to decide a game, that decision could be the difference between winning and losing.
I take a similar approach to my business and life. I tell the people I work with, the one thing we know is that things will go wrong. Our first reaction needs to be, how do we work together to fix it, and then learn from that mistake.
It has been disheartening to see this situation evolve with the Staples soccer program that I have loved so much, and given so much to.
It has been painful to watch lines drawn in the sand, and hurtful misinformation lobbed so freely.
Chris O’Dell urges his players on. (Photo/Frances Rowland)
I was at the Board of Education meeting last week, and listened to the player’s speech. I have never coached the player, but I have gotten to know him.
We hung out at the retreat. I encouraged him to bring the team together at his house during the season. He was on the phone with me 4 nights before the anonymous call was made, as he came to me for help navigating his place on the team.
This is a young man filled with the emotions of being a teenager. Those same emotions caused me to make a lot of mistakes when I was his age.
But I don’t think it’s productive to talk here about his role. I think we, as adults, need to discuss our roles and our reactions.
I feel for the player, as I believe it is true that the actions (or more accurately inactions) of the administration have led to much needless suffering for all of us caught in the middle of this. I don’t think any of us want to add to that suffering.
But, and this is important, I also do not want to focus my blame on the administration.
It has been easy for community members to state that a lack of investigation with blurry communication of the results is the problem.
But it’s not so easy to admit that the results of the investigation were not going to solve the underlying problems which led us here.
Those underlying problems derive from the modern structure of youth sports. Our antiquated policies and procedures do not properly address them.
The 2024 Staples boys soccer program: freshman team (front), junior varsity (middle), varsity (rear). (Photo/Mike Beebe)
I think there are some good people involved in the administration who are trying to navigate some difficult situations as best as they can. I think it is important that as we talk about and comment on these issues, we focus on the work that needs to be done.
That is why I think we all need to focus on fixing the problem.
All of our children are watching this situation. We have an opportunity to teach them one of the greatest lessons: conflict resolution.
It is a lesson that is desperately needed for the next generation, to hopefully be able to improve upon our generation’s seeming inability to properly navigate our differences.
I have sat in meetings with some concerned community members who are trying to drive all of us towards creating some processes and policies which will assist our administrators, coaches, parents and players in improving our approach to the current environment for youth sports.
The pursuit of happiness can only be achieved if we are all allowed to make mistakes, and then learn from them.
In this case it is obvious that we, as a community, have not provided enough safeguards for our players or coaches. We need to take this opportunity to be the leading, inspiring town that we always have been.
Something is clearly wrong with our society when good men like Chris O’Dell are fired on such flimsy grounds. Such men are already in terribly short supply; we must fight the systemic reasons behind such actions. “Witness to an event”? Seriously? Was it a completely unprovoked physical assault? Doesn’t sound like it. If not, Chris did the correct adult thing in “fixing” the situation by engaging teens (have some adults lost all sense of what it means to be a teenager?) in a learning experience. He did what we all should be doing, given the multitude of such events faced by coaches and teachers on a weekly basis.
We seem to have become so lacking in common sense and a sense of proportion that we ignore the socially-constructive solutions staring us in the face and resort to fear or intimidation of the actions of those with extremist views, if I’m reading Chris’s and Dan’s comments correctly.
As a former Westport youth soccer coach myself, and now President of the CT Mediation Association, it seems obvious to me that this issue could be much better resolved by professional mediators than firing coaches or the inevitable fear of litigation that seems to hound school administrators. The CTMA provides just such services, often gratis, yet we’re rarely given a call for help. The reason is that litigation in Connecticut is big business, and this state is dominated by those seeking to keep it that way. CT is far behind New York, Massachusetts, and even Rhode Island in promoting mediation, because former judges and large law firms have the systems so locked up that cases such as Chris’s ignore the obvious legal, financial, emotional and psychological benefits of mediation.
– Brock Hotaling, author of “Why Things Don’t Work – It’s Systemic and We Can Fix It”.
Chris, I am so so sorry for Staples loss. We are becoming a litigious society. Going forward, hoping things get straightened out since it’s mostly hurting the kids standing on the sidelines Sadly watching this controversial issue … hopefully it will get resolved. Thank you for your service I know you will be missed .
As the proud parent of a young man who gained skills, grit, strength and wisdom from Chris and Dan and Russ and the Staples Soccer family, I can only hope that the parents of future Staples athletes have the opportunity to see their kids so inspired.
I have been involved with Westport and Staples soccer for over 20 years as a referee, past president of the Westport Soccer Association and as part of a group of volunteers who organize our annual WIN tournament. I have refereed many Staples boys and girls games over the years and many club games involving Staples players. From my perspective the Staples coaching staffs – Russ and Barry and their staffs – are among the best I have seen. That Russ and his staff have not had their contracts renewed because of an incident that didn’t happen and wasn’t properly investigated is truly unfortunate. The Staples administration has acted inappropriately here to be sure. My understanding is that they can’t or won’t undertake an investigation that should have been done prior to not renewing the contracts for Russ and his staff. Current and future coaching careers have been needlessly impacted. Let’s hope people in positions of authority here do the right thing and agree to take a second look at this entire situation.
Albie Loeffler would be rolling in his grave. Chris O’Dell has been guiding freshman from boys to makers of young men for 20 years. We should be lucky to play for that team.
From 50 miles away it looks like the athletic program has a systems issue that they are attempting to ameliorate by replacing the components of the system rather than tackling the root cause of the problems.
Firing everyone isn’t going to fix the situation. It’s shortsighted and almost guarantees the problem will recur.
Interview everyone involved. Figure out where the breakdown in the system occurred and then find a solution that provides non-complicated safeguards so that it doesn’t happen again.
Wow, I read this and wonder why Westport’s adults are so comfortable skewering children publicly?
The tone and content of this article support the accusations of an abuse of trust. I can’t imagine being so entitled to the role of leading children while having so little consideration for the impact of his behaviors and leadership.
100% agree. Stop talking about the kid publicly. Just stop. Ask for another investigation. Call the superintendent. Lobby the board. Shut up about the kid. A kid didn’t fire you. Parents didn’t fire you. The administration did after an investigation.
This is a great case of a millennial entitled adult whining publicly that the world isn’t fair. Go fix it. Leave the kid out of it. Shameful
A good start to admitting our mistakes would be to reinstate Chris. Will anyone step up? Lots of “leaders” with lordly titles should be proud to fix this promptly. 🇺🇸
Bravo Chris…well said! Let’s get the basic issue fixed and stop the derisive dialog like above..that’s part of the problem.
Wise words from a mentor, coach, boss and friend to myself and so many other soccer players in the community. These types of speeches and life lessons were common at an O’Dell soccer practice and I’m sorry for any rising freshman who will not get to learn from them if O’Dell is not reinstated. Coaches like him are irreplaceable.
-Ryan Fincher Class of 2018
This is a huge loss for the Staples Soccer program. Chris is generous with his time and spirit, and adds so much to the community. I have seen his positive impact on people, both as his player, and later as his assistant coach. He pushes everyone to be their best, builds a strong sense of camaraderie, and teaches important life lessons.
From the boy’s statement, neither he nor his parents initiated the complaint; according to him the AD received an “anonymous tip” about an incident that occured in August during a team reatreat, and the AD then asked the boy what happened. The boy then provided his version of the events that occured in August.
However, according to him, he (and his parents) did not suggest how the AD should respond. The idea and decision to punish coaches in some manner was from the school’s side.
I don’t know the boy or his family; I don’t know if he is unnusually sensitive or especially tough, and that doesn’t matter. It is clear that he did not initiate a complaint, and he didn’t ask that any coach’s contract be non-renewed. That was the result of an internal review and a determined by the school of the responsive actions to be taken. If their review was inadequate, or the puunshment excessive, that’s a matter for the coaches and the school (and apperently not a matter for the BoE it seems).
I certainly feel for the coaches and the damage to the soccer program. But leave this kid alone and don’t suggest, even via innuendo, that HE caused this problem.
Thanks to Dan for continuing to allow this discussion to occur on this 06880 blog. Painful transparency!
This coach said “I will state with 100% certainty that there was no physical contact. It was over quickly, and resolved.”
From the now public and published statements of the student, two coaches and the public it seems that there are still unanswered questions on what happened, how it was handled both initially and after the anonymous tip”
This should now be a priority agenda item for both the school administration and the Board to get resolved. Delay is terribly unfair to the student and the coaches.
A complete picture from the coaches and the soccer players who were in the “room where it happened” of what was seen would be a basic necessity for reaching a resolution. This should have happened before coaches were fired and a student was unfairly blamed for causing their firing.
Sad to say in the old days a team meeting would have resolved this. Now school administration and Board involvement or a mediator or lawyers will be needed and will just continue to drag this out.
My understanding is that there was no physical contact because the coach was physically restrained. Kind of puts into perspective the “no physical contact” argument
Could you imagine this happening under Adam Behrends? What about Dave Goldshore? Would this have happened under either coach? Would it have spiraled out of control or been litigated on dan woog’s blog? Would they have allowed the player to be shamed in public?
Sometimes it’s important to have adults in the room.
I really enjoyed playing under Coach Odell in 2010, and staying in touch with him as I progressed through the Staples Soccer program. He was tough, but fair, and you always knew where you stood. He fostered camaraderie amongst our freshman year team, whose members I still consider close friends to this day. It’s a shame to know he’ll no longer be part of the Staples Soccer experience, and I agree that the whole coaching-evaluation process needs to be reworked.
Truly disappointing to see this situation handled so poorly. I speak for myself and so many others when I say that O’Dell served as the perfect introduction to my time within the Staples Soccer program. He also remained a consistent mentor to me throughout, something for which I will always be very grateful. The lessons I learned on his field undoubtedly stick with me today and the stories / fond memories are regular features in conversation with former teammates.
My hope would be that 20+ years of immeasurable positive impact on the community and unwavering support for his teams outweighs a single, extremely unclear situation…
Odell has been an exceptional leader and mentor to countless generations of Staples Soccer players. Personally, I will never forget the lessons he passed on—through both triumphs and hardships—that have stuck with me until today. I hope he returns to the Staples sidelines, and can continue to be a positive impact in the Westport community.
Throughout my years in youth, high school, and collegiate athletics, no coach has had a more profound and positive impact on my life than O’Dell. Beyond his support for the Westport community, his ability to motivate, instill confidence, and develop a cohesive team from each freshman soccer class will be greatly missed.
My son has become a better man thanks to playing under Chris, Dan, and Russ. He learned valuable lessons about leadership, grit, teamwork, and problem-solving. They played a significant role in shaping his future and continue to offer advice and support whenever needed. It’s disheartening to see an avoidable situation escalate into such a public controversy. I’m truly sorry that future Staples Soccer players will miss the opportunity to be coached by these men.
It’s very unfortunate to see this scenario unfolding. O’Dell has always been a terrific mentor and coach, heavily impacting my career during and after my time playing at Staples. O’Dell has helped countless players on and off the field, teaching important lessons beyond the game. It would be extremely disappointing if future generations of Staples Soccer players would not be able to receive his coaching and mentorship. I hope he will be back on the sidelines next season continuing to grow the program and helping out the Westport community.
I played under Coach O’Dell for most of my soccer career at Staples. The lessons, skills, & mentorship I gained from him during our time together will stick with me for life. From a personal standpoint, he not only wanted to see me be the best soccer player I could be but the best human possible. It is truly sad that future players will not have the opportunity to learn from him as I did.
I’m extremely disappointed to learn that Coach O’Dell may not coach in Westport anymore as he is the epitome of a great coach, leader, and mentor for young kids. I played under Coach O’Dell in 2017 and I cannot say enough about O’Dell’s ability to better those he coaches. O’Dell has a special ability to push kids beyond what they believe is possible and bring them together to achieve a common goal. Everybody I know who played under O’Dell walked away brighter, tougher, and a better human being.
I was fortunate to play under Chris O’Dell as a freshman at Staples in 2010. Chris wasn’t just a freshman soccer team coach. He was a mentor to myself and countless other Westport kids during such formative years, and he still serves as a mentor of mine 15 years later. He taught us the importance of hard work and discipline. He instilled confidence in us. Perhaps most importantly, as noted above, he taught us how to find solutions to problems that inevitably arose and how to do so in a respectful manner.
Losing a talent like Chris is a significant blow to the Staples soccer program. Throughout his 20-year career he’s proven time and time again not only how to make Staples soccer players better athletes but ultimately how to make them better people. I hope he’ll have the opportunity again in the future to do what he does best on the sidelines for Staples soccer players.
Hey Chris. Love ya buddy! Did I ever tell you soccer might have been my best sport. Stay out of trouble!
Brad, were you on the Weston HS team that made it to the state finals in 1970? I think Mickey Mesa’s brother played on that team (although I can’t remember his first name). Thanks.
Dave Mesa, really good fullback. We were the 1st class through Weston High. I wanted to play for Staples.
How wonderful to have so many people vouch for this person’s character. However, in the interest, again, of looking at both sides, I am happy to say something about the “kid,” the student-athlete of whom so many claim to know his experience and motives.
I’ll repeat again. There is a living, breathing, suffering human – a Staples student – at the center of this controversy. That fully grown adults continue to assume, question, and gossip is appalling.
For all of the years I have known him, this kid has overcome any challenges with grace. He has worked hard. He is always polite. He has loved his soccer team and teammates. He is a stellar player who has been recruited to play soccer at a wonderful college. His family has been nothing but generous with their time and energy, contributing meaningfully to the Westport community.
This kid is at the center of all of this unwillingly. He was not ready to report what happened to him, he (and his parents) did not ask for the coaches not to have their contracts renewed, and yet he has been blamed, his name dragged through the mud (see why he wasn’t ready?). It has been five days since he asked for help at the BOE as a result of acute bullying and isolation arising from the lack of communication and transparency by the AD and the school. I am stunned that silence persists.
This family wanted none of this. They weren’t looking to sue. They weren’t looking for remuneration. They just want this conversation and continued negative impact on their son – including what is happening on this platform – to stop.
Hi Ms Elizaga-
I just read through this thread. No one on this blog is questioning or blaming the student athlete for the coaches being fired/ not renewed.
Unfortunately, because this was not done with transparency the student athlete was burdened with the blame of the coaches being fired unfairly! At this point the writers into this blog would like to know what happened, what investigation was done, why it was decided to not renew, who sent in the tip and why wasn’t the student athlete given the support needed before this escalated.
Multiple recent and past soccer players are attesting to their experience with this particular coach and I would bet this student athlete if given the opportunity would probably have nice things to say about this freshman coach as well.
So I repeat what I wrote earlier- how does the school administration and Board remedy this quickly to give both the student athlete and the coaches a fair speedy hearing and a satisfactory resolution.
Hi Mr. Stein,
I think you are missing the point and are missing a lot of the subtext of this thread. Nobody is explicitly blaming the child here, although that is happening every day at Staples. And half the comments of this thread will be viewed as support for that crew and against that child.
I have no doubt you have good intentions, but the mental safety of this child is important and local parents shouldn’t be blogging about this issue knowing the larger context. So go ahead and exercise your right to free speech. But public mob commentary isn’t going to help your cause and it is making things worse for a local kid. You want to help your cause, pick up the phone.
Did the Staples soccer alumni create multiple response templates and share? We’re the replies AI generated?
Reads like a typical soccer player ‘flop’
Very creative, Jason!
Losing a coach like Chris O’Dell to this situation is a tragedy. He’s more than a coach — Chris is a teacher. And his subject is life. Chris set aside win/loss records and goals for/against in favor of the metrics that matter. Are you willing to work hard? Are you passionate? Will you refuse to quit? Are you becoming a productive member of your community? Through this approach, Chris O’Dell helped transform me and so many others into the men we are today. I can confidently say I would not be the man I am without his mentorship.
Chris has dedicated countless hours giving back to the town, school, and team that he loves. As a captain of the last State Championship team, I’m appalled at the treatment of such gifted coaches like Chris O’Dell. We are truly worse off for their removal, and Westport’s youth will suffer for it. Like so many others, I’m calling for their immediate renewal.
Chris – you’ve had huge influence on hundreds of players as a coach and made an indelible mark on me, personally. Russell – you were a great teammate and no one can question how much you care about the Staples program and the success of all its participants.
It’s a sad day when years of hard work, and loyalty, are discarded with so little transparency. This player deserves to have his story told, and the Board of Ed should take a firm stance on the events in question, but it is unacceptable to attempt to sweep the situation under the rug and dismiss coaches who have personally meant so much, to so many. I hope that the Staples community can do better.
Chris was always an amazing coach and boss to me and my teammates. A hand full of us did our senior year internship with Chris and went on to work for him going into/during college. Chris was always looking out for us and I don’t know anybody that didn’t have a good experience with O’Dell as their coach. Staples Soccer is lucky to have him.
This is a massive loss for not only the soccer program, but more importantly for the individuals that pass through it. I can say without a shadow of a doubt that O’Dell had more impact on my personal growth than any other coach I have had. He taught my teammates and I the value of discipline and hard work both on the field and off of it. He has been a continuous mentor and helping hand for his players, even going as far as giving myself and dozens of other players their first job at his construction company. There have been numerous times that I have reached out to O’Dell for advice, even after I finished playing for him, and he has never hesitated to give me his full support and guidance. O’Dell the definition of a positive influence and is a coach that Staples should be fighting to keep, not letting go.
Having played on Chris’s freshman team & helping coach his teams I can attest to the meaningful impact that Chris has had on so many Staples Soccer players & alumni.
While he cultivates winning teams, I’d argue that the personal life lessons he preaches are much more important.
Chris teaches many powerful lessons:
1. not setting limits on yourself – he constantly used to talk about setting goals, breaking them & then setting new goals
2. the power of working in teams & holding everyone on the team to the same standard
3. fostering process focus – paying close attention to each individual input rather than just the outcome
I can personally say (and I’m sure other Staples Soccer alum can verify) that these life lessons have aided many in both personal & professional endeavors. Moreover, many of us look back at our time playing for coach Odell as a key experience in our high school careers.
Chris is a massive asset to the Staples Soccer community and I hope he’s still able to coach going forward.
Thank you for this very article from a coach that no doubt has had a profound effect on many. A shame for the Westport schools to lose such a mentor.
As another former player chiming in, I want to +1 Chris O’Dell’s impact on Staples Soccer. He’s dedicated so much to the players who have passed through. For me, he was the foundational teacher of work ethic, teamwork, perseverance and resiliency. While a tough coach, he’s exactly what Staples freshmen need – a selfless, well-intentioned leader who pushes you to get the best out of you. He also cares a hell of a lot about his players. I think if youth sports had more coaches like Chris, our world would be a better place.