Brian Harris coached girls basketball at Somerville High School for 18 years. In that time, he won 260 games and seven league championships.

But the stat we like most is this one: in the last two seasons, each of his players graduated and none were ruled academically ineligible.

Last week, Somerville High School Athletic Director Nicole Viele and Superintendent Anthony Pierantozzi replaced Harris with a new coach. The move, they say, was a result of four criticisms, mostly concerning court side behavior. One of Viele’s criticisms concerned Harris’ body language.

Body language?

Put aside Harris’ winning and listen to the girls he coached. When dozens of young women supported Harris over the last six months, they spent most of their time praising Harris’ attention to their personal growth and development, not on-court strategy.

We’re now raising a generation of kids who think they deserve to win every competition and who can’t handle adversity or criticism. Harris worked to combat those attitudes and screened “The Wizard of Oz” to teach players heart, courage and brains could prevail over simple talent.

Even the process to replace Harris was suspicious: he was let go, told he could re-apply, chosen as a finalist and passed over after the initial choice declined an offer. Instead of offering the job to Harris,  school administrators decided to start the process all over again.

Thank you Brian Harris for teaching a generation of young Somerville women about life and the real world. Across this community there are people who appreciate and understand the methods behind your intensity. It’s just too bad a small group of school administrators got in the way.