GIRLS' BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK: LITTLEROCK COACH'S FIRING ANGERS PARENTS.

Byline: Ramona Shelburne Staff Writer

About 15 parents of Littlerock High girls' basketball players, angry over the recent firing of coach John Konrad and its impact on their daughters, met Sunday afternoon at Jackie Robinson Park in Littlerock to discuss their options.

According to Deborah Lewis, the mother of senior guard Lashanna Bridgeforth, the parents were unhappy about the timing of the move - during finals week and in the middle of the basketball season - and the lack of an explanation offered by Littlerock's administration.

Konrad was fired Wednesday after a scheduling miscommunication with Highland High. He said he sent an e-mail to Highland asking about moving a game, scheduled for Wednesday in Littlerock's small gym, because he was concerned that the floor was too slick and that one of the rims was bent.

When he received no reply from Highland, Konrad - who acknowledged he sent the e-mail without informing the administration - and his players prepared to play Wednesday's game. He was called in for a meeting Wednesday and subsequently fired.

``We call (Littlerock principal Lisa Oates), and she just says she can't comment on personnel matters,'' Lewis said. ``We understand the chain of command, and, OK, maybe he broke the chain of command, but they didn't have to go cut his head off for it.

``They could've waited until the end of the season to do it. He was their coach, and he cared about them a lot. They've grown up with him for four years.''

Lewis said the parents plan to lobby Oates and the administration for Konrad's reinstatement.

Junior-varsity coach Sarah Adams replaced Konrad and coached the Lobos in Friday's loss to Palmdale. Konrad wil continue to teach at Littlerock.

Oates, in an e-mail Friday to the Daily News, said she was ``unable to comment on personnel concerns.''

Senior Dominique Calvin said she tried to play Friday's game as Konrad would have wanted but that the situation made it a difficult task.

``It's wrong what they did to him,'' Calvin said. ``I tried to play through it at Palmdale, but you look over at the sideline, and you're used to seeing him, and he's not there. I'm not doing good at all right now. It's going to be hard for me to enjoy it if we win because he's not going to be there to share it with us.''

Bridgeforth said she and Littlerock's five other seniors would try to rally the team to win and play hard for Konrad.

``We saw him on Friday, and he told us to suck it up and play as hard as we can,'' she said. ``He still wants us to do good and make it to (Southern Section playoffs) and all that good stuff. We've got to stick together and pull it together. We've got to play for him and ourselves. That's what he'd want.''

Littlerock plays at 7:30 p.m. tonight at Quartz Hill.

Ramona Shelburne, [phone]

ramona.shelburne(at)dailynews.com