BY SARAH ELMS selms@record-eagle.com | Posted: Monday, August 11, 2014 5:34 pm
TRAVERSE CITY — Many Grand Traverse Bay YMCA members are worried about what's in store for the Y's gymnastics and tennis programs since the ouster of the organization's long-time executive director.
Tom Van Deinse, who left his post suddenly on Aug. 8, coached tennis at the Y. His two sons continue to run the tennis program, and his wife, Betsy Van Deinse, runs the gymnastics program with their three daughters.
Parents and children alike are left wondering how long the rest of the Van Deinse family will continue to work at the Y and if programs would last without them.
"We're very scared," said Jackie Dalke, whose two daughters are on the Y's competitive gymnastics team.
Dalke and Jamie Tabaczka have driven from Manistee to Traverse City four times a week the last six years so their daughters can train in Traverse City.
They could train at a gymnastics gym 25 minutes from their homes, but instead travel more than an hour each way to the Y's facility on Woodmere Avenue. It's not the gym that makes the commute worthwhile, they said. Rather, it's the Van Deinse coaching staff.
"If these coaches weren't here, we'd be gone," Tabaczka said. "The coaches make it."
Traverse City resident Nancy Earnest said the Van Deinses are more than just athletic trainers. They're family to her and to the other parents who leave their children in their care for up to 12 hours a week of gymnastics practice.
"The whole family, they are amazing role models. I don't know of any other place where I would drop my kid off for three hours (a day) and know she'll be safe," Earnest said.
Jennifer Gerling said the same belief holds true for the Y's tennis community. She calls the Y her "home away from home" because she and her two sons use the tennis courts five to six times a week.
"It's not the building that we love, it's the people," she said.
Lynn Schultz, the YMCA's board president, said all Van Deinse family members except for Tom Van Deinse continue to work at the Y, and the gymnastics and tennis programs will continue.
"It was never our intention to remove any other Van Deinse family employee from the Y payroll," Schultz said.
She refused to explain Tom Van Deinse's departure after 14 years with the YMCA.
Gerling said she's "desperately worried" about the tennis program's future and said the sudden leadership change blind-sided her.
"If we don't get this resolved within the next couple of weeks, instead of a grand opening, you're going to have 100 people picketing," Gerling said, referring to the long-delayed opening of the Y's new facility on Silver Lake Road.
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