Boys basketball: Michael Belcaster to remain as Hinsdale South coach after players, parents speak out at board

Players from Hinsdale South’s boys basketball team showed some of their best defense of the season Tuesday.

Their testimony before the Hinsdale Township High School District 86 board, along with statements from parents, family members and other supporters, may have spared the position of first-year head varsity coach Michael Belcaster.

After 71 minutes in closed session, Board President Catherine Greenspan told the coach’s supporters, including his wife and parents, what they wanted to hear.

Belcaster will not be placed on administrative leave and will remain the team’s coach for the rest of the season.

“I just want to really say thank you to the board for voting for him and making the right decision for all of us, not just anybody on the team but anybody coming up in the ranks to play for Hinsdale South,” said varsity guard Adam Flowers, a sophomore. “Even in the community, it doesn’t matter what school they go to, they know that they’ve got a great man on their hands.”

The board’s action Tuesday stemmed from a lawsuit against the district and several staff members by Erin Savage, the mother of senior basketball player Brendan Savage, a two-time West Suburban Gold all-conference selection who had been cut from the team in November tryouts.

The suit alleged that Brendan Savage had been cut from the team in retaliation by Belcaster for a bullying complaint filed in the 2022-23 school year against former Hornets head coach Michael Moretti.

Moretti, who teaches social studies at Hinsdale South, was replaced by Belcaster, a “close personal friend,” according to a letter exhibited in the lawsuit. Belcaster does not teach in District 86.

District officials investigated and found insufficient evidence to support the bullying accusations, but removed Moretti as head coach. He now coaches the Hornets freshman boys team.

On Nov. 27, 2023, Erin Savage filed a motion asking for a preliminary injunction to reinstate her son to the team. After missing the season’s first five games, Brendan Savage returned Dec. 1, 2023, and has since been with the team.

Several speakers on Tuesday said removing Belcaster would add to the coaching inconsistency in a program that’s had three head coaches in three seasons.

The special meeting was moved from the District 86 administration building across the street to Hinsdale Central’s library to accommodate the crowd of about 60 people, about half of them Hornets players from all levels.

Hinsdale South junior guard and two-year team captain Jack Weigus also spoke highly of Belcaster.

“The first thing that comes to my mind when I think about coach is his selflessness,” Weigus said. “His values he instilled in us will not only benefit us on the basketball court but will transfer to being the best version of ourselves in the real world.”

Alicia Belcaster, the coach’s wife, said the accusations were an inaccurate portrayal of her husband.

“When the lies came forward about Mike’s intentions for cutting a player, it shattered him. It is completely untrue and is in no way something Mike would ever do,” she said. “His name and everything he has worked so hard for in the 17 years that I have known him have been unfairly portrayed.”

https://www.dailyherald.com/20240123/prep-sports/belcaster-to-remain-as-hinsdale-south-boys-basketball-coach/