It appears to be business as usual on New Canaan’s lacrosse fields. Alex Whitten has taken over the program, and alumni attempts reinstate longtime head coach Howard Benedict seem to have silently died.

Just before the official start of the spring season started, Benedict was denied a court injunction to have Whitten’s hiring overturned, and will now have a hearing in court on April 21. As you can see here in the court filing, Benedict has named superintendent David Abbey, principal Tony Pavia, athletic director Jay Egan, and the New Canaan Board of Education in the suit.

Coach Benedict has the right to sue whoever he wants, bring up injuctions, and whatnot until he turns blue in the face. But at this point, what good will it do? Right now it’s all about getting the last word in edgewise and getting it on the public record. And sometimes, that’s not a good idea.

Dragging this out is only going to divide the New Canaan players that Benedict allegedly loves. Whitten has a hard enough job coming in and replacing a legend, and may be rebuilding with a lot of younger talent playing over seniors. The first season of the Whitten era will be a mentally rough one for everyone involved, and having a court hearing come up in the middle of the season sure won’t help.

I think the One and Only Phil Soto-Ortiz sums it up best in this editorial for the New Canaan News-Review. And for more background about the Benedict-Whitten-Administration triangle, click here for an article be John Kovach, the editor of the New Canaan Advertiser.

And for full disclosure, Howard Benedict was my favorite teacher in high school, and I wasn’t turned on to reading, writing, or really doing anything in the classroom but daydream for six hours until I had him for two classes my senior year. I have him to thank for getting my ass in gear and helping me become a somewhat productive citizen.