This reminds me of a push poll. Who ever wrote it doesn't have a clue as to how a high school football program works.

Carlos your poll implies that the Principal didn't ask Hensley back because he was a bad coach. That wasn't the case as reported here and the tribune.

We are aware that users can vote multiple times on these polls, this is why we use the disclaimer that the polls are not scientific. They cannot or should not be treated as otherwise. Our engineers are working hard to fix this problem Patch-wide and we will let everyone know as soon as we do.

Chris, we are aware of the problem and are working hard to fix it. However, we strongly feel that this a story that people want to talk about - given the number of comments and Facebook postings - but have no central place to do that. Others will not comment because they don't feel comfortable doing so. This is why we posted this poll, to give those individuals a voice in this matter.

I've been following this story and I have no idea if Troy is a good coach or not but if the players are so passionate about him coming back then I think the school should listen to the players. I'd really like to know why he wasn't asked back...that concerns me a little like they're hiding something. I hope it all works out for everyone.

Bottom line is that this is about Dixon politics and bureaucracy. All around town from students, to parents, to concerned members of the community people are outraged and confused. These people are the players, fans, boosters, and fund raisers. Everyone that matters in terms of Dixon High Football. Their opinions do not seem to matter to the powers that be. Mr. Barsotti it is still not to late to do the right thing. I haven't found one single person who has offered any insight as to why, which in all fairness is an important question.

RE-HIRE TROY HENSLEY!

People are really quick to make a gut choice when they know nothing about the underlying reason for Troy being let go. You just have to look to Penn State to realize that.

Hire Troy Hensley, Troy also has a strong connection with all the youths that are future Dixon High School Rams... Troy is great at recruiting kids for the program and thats what we need...

Please refrain from using profanity in these comments.

To Greg Coppes. Although you are fully entitled to your opinion you are utterly wrong and you are interjecting yourself into a situation you know nothing about. Stick to your legal issues with your past fundraising efforts and concern yourself with the legal affairs of the new veterens hall which you so brilliantly organized. When you feebly attempted to portray yourself as a coach you were promptly run out and this was at the youth level. You have never worked with Troy. Nor have you ever had a kid being coached with Troy. So please do us all a favor and stop spouting off as always just to hear youself talk.

I am currently working with my lawyer to sign a disclosure to release Dixon Unified School Distirict from any liability for stating the reasons for them not rehiring me. I have nothing to hide and welcome the opportunity for them to reveal any reasons they feel they might have.
To Jill- I'm sure Jill is not your real name and that comment was uncalled for. I have volunteered my time and money to the betterment of this community and do not deserve for you to try and smear my name in that way or in any way linking me to the Penn State scandal. You should be ashamed of yourself!! If anyone has coached with me or been around me I know that thought never or anything like that would cross there minds. I am meeting with Carlos to discuss the reasons given to me for my dismissal. I have nothing to hide Jill.

To "Jill" how could you be so absolutely desperate to make an insinuation to the Penn State scandal and Troy? Your comments are so completely unwarranted and are really grounds for a slander lawsuit. How irresponsible can you be? You have single handedly taken this to a whole new low. Come out and show yourself coward.

We've all gotten emotional about the situation. I agree with Anthony. It comes down to Dixon politics, basically furthering someones personal agenda. This whole situation could have been handled so much better, so we could have avoided the personal attacks & comments made in frustration. I agree with Mr. Short's comments at the School Board Mtg. The whole athletics program at DHS needs to be overhauled. While it needs to remain part of DHS Administration, it needs to also include parents, students, & the public. There needs to be accountability, respect, teamwork, & professionalism. We have none of that in the current process. This is a public institution & as such, there should be transparency. I am in support of Troy Hensley, based on my Son's experience with him as a coach. Based on my observations at the games, I am in support of the Cheer Coach position being posted to recruit the best possible coach for the DHS Cheer Program.

Just wanted to post a reminder about staying on topic here. This is not Penn State, nor should it be compared to it. This is Dixon High. Let's stay on topic folks.

Thank you Carlos! "Jills" comment should be flagged as completely inappropriate.

Troy has always been extremely dedicated to whatever task he takes on. I really hope they reconsider their choice about Wes. Troy is the man for the job!

After hearing Crumpackers comments about recruitment, Dixon has a handful of student Athletes that can compete at the next level. Just because we are a small school does not mean that we do not have the talent. It just means we have to work a little harder and get support from our coaches and AD to help our kids get to the next Level . Bring Troy back, then move on to help these kids get looked at by these colleges. Thats what we should concentrate on......

you no what it comes down to is that this problem has been going on for years and needs to be fixed let the kids play for the the coach they really want. This school district needs to open there eyes,ears and listen to the players,parents and public.
As for the current Head Varsity Coach you say you want whats best for this football program and you want to move foward well if you care about the kids and this program then istead of bringing it down to all this do whats best and step down

Good coaching may be defined as the development of character, personality and habits of players, plus the teaching of fundamentals and team play.
Claire Bee

Please pay attention of how your actions and reactions are being seen by the youth of our community.

Greg Coppes I hide behind an alias because due to the state of athletics currently and the fact that I have a student athelete currently at DHS I want to avoid any backlash that he may suffer because of my opposition to the current staff. i have personally witnessed backlash. It is my hope that you could at least be intellegent enough to understand this.

I was at the meeting the other night and believe I witnessed the kids speak out on this isssue. Isn't that what's important here? The kids were happy under Troy's leadership and as parents we witnessed Troy's commitment and hold him in high regard. Let's work together as adults and make it a better program. Start by listening to the kids!!!!!

Re-Hire Troy!.. Where you gonna find another coach that can connect with the kids like he does? He knows how to have fun but at the same time, he knows how to get the job done.. He has won two back to back championships for JV... The kids love him and he Is a very good coach as well as a very good person

So sad :( Let's all work as a community together and get along. I love my town. I will make a commitment to go see the high school play and cheer them on this year. Let's have another good year right :)

Bottom line is, every coach serves at the invitation of Coach Besseghini. If he doesn't believe he can build the program he wants to build with any one of them, he has the discretion to replace them. And he doesn't owe an explanation to anyone except his superiors. It's not a popularity contest, it's not politics -- it's leadership. The parents of this community would do well to train their children to 1) handle conflict directly and respectfully, 2) "we can't always get what we want", and 3) that sometimes we play the game (or work the job) with excellence no matter who's in charge. The whining and slander needs to stop. Put it to rest and carry on with building a great community!

I am a former Dixon High Alum and currently a coach for another district. I have been following the story from the outside and can see both sides. I can see that if Troy has had a positive influence on many of the students and has done a good job there is no reason to have let him go. I also see the view that if Wes is the head coach, the coaching staff under him is his decision to make. A varsity head coach assumes responsibility of that entire program. I think at this point the school needs to decide to stand by it's decision and move on, or to put the precedence that the students run the program not adults.
As an outsider looking in I question many things that have happened with Dixon High athletics as a whole. We used to pride ourselves on being one a small town united. Now it is nothing but divided. There was plenty of talent 10 years ago and I am sure there is plenty of talent now to compete at a high level. Dixon needs to reunite get a strong, solid, respected coach at the varsity level in each sport and work together with JV, freshman, Junior high, and youth coaches to develop the student athletes so they can reach there full potential.
With all this being said everyone needs to show respect to every coach who is out there giving there time. Many people think this is a high paying gig, but every coach I have ever meet does it from the heart. It is there passion and there time should be appreciated.

jeff and matt have really great concepts. HS sports is about the kids, not the coaches. this whole coach talking bad about other coach is showing the kids nothing but the wrong way to act. this is just dividing the kids and the community.

I'm a Dixon alumni and I feel Crumpacker is arrogant and has never listened to the community or players he has been hired to represent. Actually, the reason these complaints are only coming about now is that the media and technology have changed so much that he is having a hard time keeping a lid on things that have been common practice at DHS over the years. His arrogance has caused him to believe he isn't accountable to the people he has been hired to serve. As an example, he drug tested my niece recently and she tested negative to drugs but he did so without following DUSD policies which shows he believes he is above the law.

Speaking of Crumpacker and a DHS alumni and athlete myself, I have a few things to say. When I played softball at DHS he told my coach he wanted to to drug test me because I had a bad attutiude in weight lifting. He also told me to my face that I was half the athlete that my sister was because I did a "girl push ups" in PE. As far as the drug testing went, my coach said she told him my grandfather was dying and to just let me be. My sister was an excellent athlete but I was a good athlete also. I played 2 years for Sac City. We played different sports but really even if I wasn't as good as an athlete what did he mean to accomplish by telling me this. Finally, I wonder how "random" that drug testing policy is. My sister, whether she was a good athlete or not was drug tested every year. If he didn't hate us he always acted like he did. Kevin is right, this has been common practice at DHS for a LOOOONG time :(

I'm darrien vlahos I am a junior at Dixon high and I played with troy my jv year as a sophomore and the thing about Troy is he's a excellent coach and surrounds himself with good coaches most of troys coaching staff from the last two years have college level or higher experince in football and kno what there doin Wes hires his old buddy's from high school and his dad who had no idea what they were doin and all they did was argue and with Troy he really cares about kids futures and helps us with grades because my jv year me and a couple of team mates would have been enelgibe if Troy and brandie hadn't spent most of their day helping us and getting us back on track and some people said she or Troy couldn't do it but they were determined not to loose us and got us back to a 2.5 gpa or higher and look at last years study hall for varsity no one did anything in there all Wes did was get the quarterback club to get us peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and everyone just talked and so did Wes he didn't care about kids education and in the other team room was the jv quiet the whole time and cleaned up after themselves Mr.barsotti really needs to let go off Wes and hire Troy Hensley if he wants to see this football program excell next year

The first and foremost reason I support the rehiring of Troy Hensley is the ability that he has shown as a positive leader to our children. A good coach is positive, dedicated, enthusiastic, supportive, trusting, focused, goal-oriented, knowledgeable, observant, respectful, patient, clear and fair. Troy exceeds my expectations as a good coach and as a positive mentor. Let’s forget all the politics and bureaucratic drama and do what is right by the children and for the children. Troy Hensley is admired for his professional integrity and is the right choice. Let’s do what is right.

“Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful." — Samuel Johnson

I wonder if Folsom, Del Oro, Grant, Granite Bay or Vaca High are having similar discussions...

First of all, Jeff Myers kudos to you. You couldn't have said it any better. It's not just a JV team or Varsity team but it's a program. Every program has a leader, in this case it's the Varsity Football Coach that the High School hired. This is the same chain of command that all the top Football programs have in place i.e. Grant, Del Oro, Vacaville etc. I am not here to discuss good coaches or bad coaches but only the protocol for establishing a Solid PROGRAM. I am not here to speak good or bad about either JV or Varsity football coaches. What concerns me the most is how little people know about how a program should be run. One question to all you parent's, When are you gonna let your kid's grow up and learn to deal with adversities on their own? I have never seen a coach miss a tackle, miss a block, fumble a ball, or drop a pass. Nor have I ever seen a parent make these same mistakes. It's troubling to me to see everyone blame the coaches and athletic director for their losing seasons. I believe in self accountability, self reflection, personal choices and good old fashion self motivation. Many of these kid's won't compete at the next level not because of their coaches, but because they just aren't good enough. Nothing is wrong with this if in fact they are trying their best and having fun while doing so. The problem with over protecting these kid's is that they will never learn to deal with adversities and adulthood such as, an unfair boss or unruly co-worker. Good Luck.

All you have to do is look at the San Francisco 49ers! The difference between this season and last? A different head Coach! What does he get this year? Coach of the Year! For what? Well, we all saw the difference!

"The San Francisco 49ers were not supposed to win the AFC West in 2011. They destroyed every last expectation, and it was all thanks to the 2012 NFL Coach of the Year, Jim Harbaugh"

"Smith would enjoy the best year of his career and throw for 3,144 yards. More importantly, he exuded confidence that would not have been there had Harbaugh not taken over the team."

"A head coach should invigorate, teach and mentor. Harbaugh proved in just one season that he is the best at all three." -- By Gabe Zaldivar (Featured Columnist - Bleacher Report) on February 4, 2012

Come on folks! Open your eyes! Good coaches do make a difference!

Arnold - Your right we need to focus on building a Solid Program. A Program that's mission is to build men of integrity and character by teaching the ideals of commitment, dedication, teamwork, good sportsmanship, honesty, loyalty, courage and respect for authority. The leader of this Program should be committed to helping these young men grow to be mentally and physically stronger, healthy and trustworthy citizens who will become tomorrow’s leaders.The program should reward those who are willing to work hard, dedicate themselves, meet academic requirements, and follow the program’s rules. Unfortunately, I don't believe Wes is the guy to lead this mission. Sure, I think Wes has the potential to one day be a good Head Varsity Football Coach but that day isn't today. Maybe he should go coach for the Vacaville guy or the Grant guy like you mentioned for a year or two and see what valuable tools he can pick up. He can come back to Dixon in a few years and hopefully apply them. In the mean time lets open up the job and see what kind of applicants we get. Lets choose someone that has the vision, knowledge, and the resources to get this thing going in the right direction. Let's start by bringing coach Hensley back!

I agree with you Darrien Vlahos 100%
Re-Hire Troy!!!!

@SWISH91 & Arnold - Finally some people that understand what its all about. Its about the whole program . It amazes me how many people have no idea how a football program works . The answer to this issue is to open the Varsity Head Coaching position up and hire the most qualified candidate to run the program . Someone who has the vision and knowledge through they're own experiences in how to get us there . All this drama could have been avoided if thats how they did the hiring process 2 yr's ago . There was 3 candidates that were given a second interview with Bessigini being one of them . Its obvious to me that the former principle made the wrong choice . Bessigini has proved he's not ready to be in this position . Out of the three candidates there was one that had that had all the qualifications mentioned above with one x factor that I feel should have made him the obvious choice . He was a starting quarterback for DHS 3 yrs . Winning a championship 2out of the 3 yrs including his sophmore yr and made playoff's all 3 season's. Back when DHS had 7 teams in league with Vanden an River City being two of them . If anyone knows how what Ram Pride is all about its him . After Dhs he was the starting Qb for a Div ! university . Then has gone on to coach at numerous D 1 high school's and colleges including running a off season Qb program that has seen all the area's top Qb's ( including Tanner Trosin,,Dano Graves , folsom's record setting Qb's ).

As a former DHS student athlete I find it discouraging that these kids are experiencing the same issues that myself and so many of my peers dealt with. One would think or hope that matters like these would be put to rest and all parties involved would learn from the experiences and move on.

Let’s face the music no one likes loosing. How can you build a program on losses? How can you provide the players post high school opportunities when no one even comes to scout a game? You can’t. So why are we trying to fix something that obviously is not broken.

Maybe they are trying to “take the program in a different direction” which from my experience means there is small group of people in the community that are unhappy due to the fact that their child is not getting enough playing time or attention. I’m just going to be blunt and say it – your child’s skill level is probably inadequate at the high school level. This is nothing to be upset over; it’s a fact of life. Eventually the participation ribbons have to cease.

I find it ironic that there are so many comments about building a great program and how its not a popularity contest, and that “every coach serves at the invitation of Coach Besseghini”……. To even use the word serve in that sense is obscene. How is one able to promote the idea of a building a team and a solid program amongst the players when you have one coach “serving” another? Call it what you want to but I don’t think popularity is the right term, yes it is about leadership, but not everyone possesses all of the necessary qualities to be called a good leader.

A great coach is not just someone that can get that little extra hustle out of you at the end of practice; we can all put a whistle to our lips and yell, there are so many more necessary layers. A great coach is someone that understands and respects you as an individual and a player. Someone you can trust and be able to communicate with, someone that you can relate to which is not always an easy task with high school kids. Why am I going to give you 110% when you don’t even care about me? I have had a lot of coaches through the years – some great, and some awful. Bottom line all the good ones had my respect. This level of respect was demonstrated in the player’s testimonials given about Troy.

The facts are blatantly obvious – Troy Hensley has a great connection with his players, and upcoming classes as well. He is a well known face in the community and is taking DHS Sports a whole new level, something the community has been waiting for. Troy and Brandi have been heavily involved in the Dixon sports community for years and are generous enough to give up their time for the betterment of Dixon’s youth.

Like I said no one likes to be a loser, so why would you get rid of what made you a winner?

Ive read all the comments in this thread and have a few things to say...

First of all, for anyone to insinuate that Troy has acted in an inappropriate way with any child, is totally uncalled for and borders on slanderous. The Penn State scandal and Troy Hensley are galaxies apart. So if you really think it is anything like that, then you are giving rise to the small town stereotypical image Dixon has in Solano County.

Secondly, Mr. Hensley's successes on and off the gridiron speak for themselves. He has posted two consecutive seasons of 7-3 as the Head Coach of JV Football team at DHS. He is also an outstanding basketball coach as well. Why the Principal didn't ask him back is obvious. It is the "good ol' boy network" rearing its ugly head yet again. I have followed the decline of the DHS Sports program for years now; and it is unnerving how so many talented athletes have slipped through the cracks because of those in positions of power at DHS and at the district level as well.

Thirdly, the support given to Troy by his players should be evidence enough for the Principal and District members to realize the error of their ways. Far too many times WE, as adults, forget that it is not about us anymore it is about our children. I don't know if Troy rubbed someone the wrong way at DHS or the District office, but I would hope that if he did, that that person would realize that he may have only did it because he felt his players interests were being overlooked.

My son has been coached by Troy for flag football and basketball for several seasons. He would like nothing better than to have Troy coach him in high school. Nobody can deny he's good at it and the kids love him. Enough said.

Troy is the best man for the job bar none for many reasons. I too coach football and have seen the differences between Wes and Troy. A perfect example of this is virtually all of the jv players love and respect and enjoy playing for Troy,on the other hand alot of Varsity players will not return this upcoming season if Wes is their head coach. So what does that tell you.On another note Mr Crumpacker has caused nothing but negativity and division in the roles he has played within the high school sports community just look at what happened a few years back when this community came together and ousted him from the head coaching position at the varsity football team. Open your eyes folks!!!!