Shiprock’s Henderson surprised by nonrenewal of contract

SHIPROCK

After six seasons, Larenson Henderson will no longer pace the sidelines of the Chieftain Pit.

Henderson’s contract as Shiprock’s head girls basketball coach under Central Consolidated Schools District was not renewed for another season.

Henderson said it was not a decision he expected and one that leaves him perplexed.

He said he was told his contract would not be extended because he did not meet qualifications.

“To say I’m not qualified, I’ve been in these shoes right here for six years,” Henderson said. “I thought I was doing my community a service by helping the education system, helping the teachers in the classroom. I thought I was doing that.”

The school district’s media relations spokesperson, Renee Lucero, said Henderson’s contract was not extended because he did not meet the requirement that the coaching position must be held by a certified employee of the district.

“That just keeps the focus on athletics being intertwined heavily with academics,” Lucero said.

Henderson said he was told to reapply for the head coach position in early April, something he said he was not asked to do in the years before.

He said when he was asked to reapply he knew something was different.

“I got evaluated and my evaluation just seemed really different from all my years of working my whole life,” Henderson said. “I reapplied, interviewed, and all of a sudden, two years later, I get a phone call. Stovall (Shiprock athletic director) said the committee chose someone else.”

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