SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — A South Tahoe High softball coach required any player who struck out in a May 1 game to drink soda out of a shoe, school officials have confirmed.

Eight varsity players who struck out against the Wooster Colts in that game at Todd Fields were required by coach Anneliese Neitling to drink soda pop out of a team member's softball cleat at a team slumber party that night.

The Tahoe Daily Tribune contacted Neitling on Wednesday and she refused to comment. She did not return additional phone calls before deadline Thursday.

James Tarwater, the superintendent of Lake Tahoe Unified School District, interpreted the action as a young coach's mistake.

“It was meant as a joke and obviously it went too far,” said Tarwater, whose office received one parental complaint about the incident.

Tarwater said the incident will be addressed during Neitling's postseason coaching evaluation.

“People learn from mistakes,” Tarwater said. “She does a good job pulling the team together, morale-wise and support-wise.”

However, the parent who complained about the event said it was a safety issue.

“I was not happy about this. She should have thought about this and acted with better judgment,” the parent said. “This is a safety issue. Each year there is a horrible story of someone killed because of hazing. I just didn't want this go any further and see someone get hurt.”

Many states, including California and Nevada, have laws against hazing, which is an initiation or act that subjects someone to possible bodily danger, physical harm, personal degradation or disgrace in order to be accepted in their group or organization.

Hazing incidents have been reported in the United States for more than a century and are routinely related to college fraternities and sororities, high school and college athletic teams and military outfits.

The parent was concerned that if the girls thought that being forced to drink out of a shoe was OK, that something worse might follow.

The parent's daughter who struck out and drank out of the shoe spoke to the Tribune about the experience.

“I thought she was joking about it at first,” the team member said. “I was a little shocked. I thought it wasn't a very smart thing to punish us with.”

Another player who didn't strike out in that game said no grade levels were excluded from the strikeout rule.

“If I had to do it, I would have been upset,” the player said. “It wasn't meant for harm. She was motivating us to do good, try hard and do our best.”

The reporting parent said that coach Neitling has apologized to the team and parents, satisfying his concerns. Tarwater also said that an apology has been made.

“I don't want her to be fired. That was never my intention,” the parent said. “She deserves a second chance. We've all made mistakes. We all deserve second chances; that's the American way.”

Neitling, an off-campus coach, just completed her second season in charge of the Vikings' softball program. She took over the team on the eve of the 2009 season as an emergency replacement when Joann Allister unexpectedly resigned.

“She stepped in, pulled them together and has done a good job,” Tarwater said. “Being a coach is one of the most difficult jobs that I see. Most of it comes from a passion from the heart. Sometimes that passion and enthusiasm get off the bubble a bit.”

South Tahoe Athletic Director Don Borges declined to comment on what he regards as a personnel matter.

Borges, however, did say that Vikings' coaches are required to attend a pre-season coaches' orientation meeting, and hazing is addressed during an online coaching fundamentals certification program required by the National Federation of State High School Associations.

“All coaches have to go through that,” Borges said.

Since South Tahoe is a member of the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association, the school adheres to the Nevada hazing law. The law states that hazing is a misdemeanor offense if there isn't substantial bodily harm, and a gross misdemeanor if significant bodily harm occurs. Consent of a victim is not a valid defense to prosecution, the law states.

In California, hazing incidents that don't result in serious bodily injury are still punishable by a fine of up to $5,000 and/or serving up to a year in a county jail.

LINK TO PHOTO OF COACH

http://www.tahoedailytribune.com/article/20100514/NEWS/100519906&parentprofile=search