Please forgive Chris Palisin if you happen to hear him singing an off-key version of the old Etta James classic: “At last.”
Palisin, the former boys Junior Varsity basketball coach at Palos Verdes High School, was recently named the Varsity Head Coach at La Quinta High School in Garden Grove.
But the job offer came only after Palisin spent eight years applying and interviewing for head coaching jobs all over southern California. In recent years he was a finalist for several of them, but each time someone else walked away with the brass ring. While he admits losing out as a finalist hurt deeply, he insists he never considered abandoning his quest.
“It’s a very competitive field, but I truly had a passion to lead my own program, so that kept me going through the disappointment,” Palisin says. “I enjoy coaching at any level, so I was willing to work hard and wait my turn.”
While waiting his turn the Pittsburgh, PA. native and Penn State graduate spent two years as the Sophomore Team coach at Redondo High School under the recently fired Tom Maier, three years as the JV coach at PV under Varsity coach Bob Varnell, and last season as the JV coach at Pacifica — also in Garden Grove — under Varsity Coach Dave Friedman.
La Quinta finished 3-21 last year and has nowhere to go but up.
“Those kids will run through a brick wall for him,” Friedman said. “That’s the kind of loyalty and dedication he inspires. He did it with our JV, and I’m sure he’ll do it for the La Qunita varsity.”
The 37-year-old Hermosa Beach resident moved to SoCal in 2004, and has become a well-known and well-respected figure in the South Bay hoops and fitness communities. In addition to his coaching jobs, he also has a full-time job as the Fitness Manager at the Northrop Grumman Fitness Center at the old Aviation High gym in Redondo.
Palisin, still exuberant over finally fulfilling his dream, said other varsity job seekers should not be discouraged no matter how long it takes.
“You have to stay upbeat and continue to work hard,” he says. “Being new in the area, I had to build a network, pay my dues and do a good job when I got a chance at a lower level.”
Friedman, a Redondo graduate who spent three years as a varsity assistant at Mira Costa, has been the head coach at Pacifica for 12 years. He said he hated losing Palisin as JV coach but was happy to give him an unqualified recommendation.
“There are some people that you give a recommendation to when they ask, and then there are people that you go to bat for,” he says. “I went to bat for Chris because he’s a quality guy, a great person and very highly motivated. He’s a very passionate coach, and it rubs off on the players. I’m so happy he‘s finally getting a chance at a head job.”
At last.
