Man gets one-year ban from sports for assault
Old Bridge parent cited for punching coach after kids' game
BY JESSICA SMITH
Staff Writer

OLD BRIDGE - Parents often sign their children up for sports in order to teach them life lessons, like how to work well with others, to win or lose gracefully.

Children in the township's Fall Ball League, however, got more than their parents had bargained for when some of them witnessed their coach being assaulted on the field.

"Nobody should be exposed to this, especially kids," said coach Frank Piccillo, also a member of the Old Bridge Board of Education. "That type of behavior, especially in front of the youth, will not be tolerated by Old Bridge or anywhere else."

Piccillo filed a civil complaint against Tom LeSparda, a parent, saying LeSparda attacked him after a game last fall.

LeSparda was ultimately cited with

a disorderly persons offense after appearing in Old Bridge Municipal Court Jan. 16. He was ordered by the judge to stay away from all town athletic events for one year, and to have no contact with Piccillo, to whom he had to apologize in the courtroom. In addition to these restrictions, LeSparda was ordered to attend an anger-management evaluation and adhere to the follow-up recommendations of a counselor.

It was the third inning of a game of 10- and 11-year-old children Sept. 24. Piccillo, who has coached for 11 years, said he was focusing his attention on the game when LeSparda reportedly began shouting and cursing at him.

According to Piccillo, LeSparda complained that his child was held on the bench for two innings of the game while another child had been able to play longer. After more shouting from LeSparda, Piccillo said he gathered the parents together when the game ended to see if any of them felt his coaching methods were unfair.

It was then that LeSparda hopped the fence that Piccillo was standing behind, and punched him on the right side of the jaw and neck, according to court documents.

"It just makes no sense to me," said Pat Driscoll, another coach. "This is 10-year-old baseball. It's ridiculous."

Driscoll said Piccillo asked him to keep the children occupied while he spoke with the parents after the game. While he, along with most of the children, did not witness the actual assault, he said they all heard the shouting of obscenities and general ruckus.

"The kids were upset," Driscoll said. "They were scared, frightened, as any other kids would act."

After the attack, LeSparda quickly left the area, Driscoll said, then returned and shouted at Piccillo until LeSparda was escorted back to his car by another parent.

Piccillo said he did not want to call police to the scene for the sake of the children, despite the urging of parents for him to do so. Three hours later, after a call from a parent, Piccillo contacted the authorities. Police did not arrest LeSparda for assault, as they were not called to the scene of the incident.

LeSparda could not be reached for comment earlier this week. His wife returned a phone call but stated that "nothing happened" and there was nothing to discuss.

Under New Jersey's Code of Conduct Law and Violent Fans Law, both physical and verbal assaults are prohibited at youth sporting events.

"What he did was unacceptable, unexplainable," Piccillo said. "We should not be victimized by people like this, especially in front of kids."

Piccillo said the judge told LeSparda that he would not be going home if he appeared in court again for an incident of that kind.

The incident was the first of its kind in many years, Driscoll said. Although LeSparda may have felt singled out, Driscoll said, Piccillo was addressing all of the parents in an attempt to amend the situation.

"It's a shame," Driscoll said. "I don't see what the problem was in the first place."