Letters: AC Flora baseball program does much good

I respect the intentions of those questioning the booster club of the A.C. Flora baseball program, and I’m sure it could improve its procedures (“A.C. Flora booster club, baseball program finances questioned,” Feb. 19). But in your rush to expose a scandal, you’ve missed the larger story: the impact that Coach Andy Hallett’s program has had on thousands of student athletes.

You imply that the program is a machine, valuing money above all else. Its alumni would tell you, instead, that what it truly values is the development of young men.

I played for Coach Hallett for five years, from eighth grade until I graduated in 2004. I can say unequivocally that this experience was one of my most formative. Since then, I’ve been blessed to find success in academics, military service and the private sector. Among other notable experiences, the values upon which I relied when leading Marines in Afghanistan were, in great measure, honed on Falcon Field.

I hope future coverage will paint a more complete picture of the baseball program, seen through the eyes of those for whom it’s most relevant: its players.

This story was originally published March 19, 2017 at 6:29 PM with the headline "Letters: AC Flora baseball program does much good."