During the last two years, at least 16 coaches in various sports at both Mira Costa and Redondo Union High Schools either walked away or were fired from their jobs. Longevity and success were of no significance as coaches left or were forced from their positions.
School districts are dealing with tight budgets and parents are required to spend more to enable their kids to participate in athletic programs. These, among other factors, are changing the dynamics of high school athletics.
“There is the notion of hiring younger coaches, but hiring the best person is what we strive for,” said one South Bay administrator who spoke anonymously in order to provide greater candor. “Most administrators prefer to hire older coaches who have a successful track record. Coaching changes takes its toll on many people. It’s easier to do nothing, but when a coach steps out of bounds, the situation must be dealt with. If it’s not good for the kids, a change needs to be made. Back in the day, many things were covered up – but districts have to be more transparent now.”
The administrator said that coaches are at-will employees and therefore can be released at anytime and must earn the position.
“What we get out of the coaches is incredible,” the administrator said. “There are long hours with little pay. Ninety percent of the coaches in the South Bay are great. But a few get in the way.”
The latest resignation occurred at Mira Costa when golf coaches Bob Timberlake and Bill Fauver stepped down after 22 years in which they built one of the top golf programs in the South Bay.
Mira Costa earned a share of the Bay League championship in the spring and was the only area team to reach the CIF Southern Section team finals.
Timberlake said his decision to resign was based on lack of support from the school administration and the Manhattan Beach Unified School District.
Athletic teams at Mira Costa are now required to raise money to support their respective programs which fund coach’s stipends, uniforms, transportation, etc.
Taking into consideration the many hours a high school coach spends with his or her respective sport, the stipend paid is equal to minimum wage at best.
“The pay is low for every coach,” said Mira Costa boys soccer coach Gary Smith. “Coaching feels more like community service. I coach because I love the sport and the kids involved. The kids need to play, but there has to be some kind of perk like one free period. I’ve been lucky to have that free period and then begin practice during 6th period.”
One of Timberlake’s complaints was that he did not have a free period to prepare for his team’s practice.
The hardest hit sport at Mira Costa has been its girls’ basketball program. Due to budget cuts, Don Braunecker was released after building the girls squad into a Bay League contender and appearances in the CIF and State championship games.
After taking over for Braunecker, Craig Takahaski abruptly departed on Oct. 19, 2011. Shortly thereafter, replacement Trenton Jackson reversed his decision to come to Mira Costa. Miranda Biteler stepped in, but in May decided to return to college to get a graduate degree in physical therapy after leading the Mustangs to a share of the Bay League title. Mira Costa is now seeking its fifth girls’ basketball coach in six years.
Boys lacrosse coach Chris Jewett was fired in February because of a conflict of interest between his club team and the Mira Costa program.
In January, 2011, boys basketball coach Henry Myer stepped down after coaching 20 years at Mira Costa, the final seven as head coach.
Mike Neily was let go as Mira Costa’s baseball coach in 2009 after leading the Mustangs to a 20-win season with only 12 losses.
Neily filed a lawsuit against MBUSD to get his coaching position back but was denied. He recorded over 300 wins and had led his teams to the CIF playoffs in 16 of his 18 years as a head coach at the high school level.
“To this day, I still don’t know why I was fired,” Neily said.
According to some involved with the Mira Costa baseball program, one of the reasons was to bring in Cassidy Olson, a Mira Costa history teacher who had served as an assistant coach under Neily before taking the head coaching position at Redondo Union High School.
Olson’s tenure at Redondo lasted only one year. When Parras Middle School physical education teacher Bradey Thurman threatened a lawsuit over the hiring of Olson – Thurman was an existing employee at RBUSD and thus had greater standing in its hiring policies – the Redondo Beach Unified School District opted to let Olson go. Thurman lasted one year at the helm of the Redondo baseball program before quitting. He was replaced by Jeff Baumback, who had coached at Long Beach Wilson.
Redondo, too, has seen its share of coaching changes. In December 2011, head football coach Gene Simon suddenly resigned after a 16-year career as the football program’s head coach.
According to sources, a number of football coaches in the Southern California area refused the head coaching position at Redondo after interviews with administrators. Matt Ballard became the Sea Hawks new head coach after leaving the position at his Northern California alma mater in Half Moon Bay.
Another longtime Redondo coach was released in March 2012. Boys basketball coach Tom Maier said he received no warning of the firing and throughout the season no meeting with the coach and parents was arranged by the administration. He added that administrators felt he wasn’t mentoring and was bullying the players.
“They told me it wasn’t about playing time (for some players), but it was,” Maier said shortly after his firing. “They gave me no help with the situation. I’ve become one of many coaches at the high school level victimized by parents, and the administrators who succumb to them.”
Maier retired from his teaching position at Redondo Union High School at the end of the school year. He continues to run summer sports camps on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.
“I’m very concerned that in the next 10 years, high school sports in California are going to go the way of the dodo bird and the Betamax,” Mira Costa tennis coach Joe Ciasulli said. “It will become a system like they have in Europe where only club sports are available and athletics in not considered part of the educational system. With California falling economically and cutting back funds for education, schools won’t be able to afford high sports.”
Ciasulli said that since the Manhattan Beach Unified School District decided to stop funding high school athletics, it has put a strain on coaches at Mira Costa
“If a team has enough players –football is a good example –it can generally raise enough money for the program,” Ciasulli said. “It’s harder for teams like golf and tennis. In tennis, we’re asking $800 per player.”
California law states that schools cannot require a student to pay for athletics, field trips, text books, etc. It has to be voluntary and coaches can’t ask which players have not raised money for the program.
Parental involvement
One of the biggest changes facing high school coaches is the increased involvement of parents. With school districts financially strapped, parents (and their acquaintances, often attorneys) realize that the threat of a lawsuit holds leverage. Administrators would rather settle disputes out of court than pay for costly litigation.
These “settlements” often result in the firing or resignation of a competent coach who not only is attempting to teach the fundamentals of his/her sport, but to build the character and self esteem of teenagers with the goal of molding them into productive citizens in society.
“With parents having to dig deeper into their pockets for their kids to play high school athletics, there is a direct connection of money paid to the coach’s salary,” said Ciasulli, who recently completed his 8th season as tennis coach and previously served as an assistant boys’ basketball coach. “Parents feel like owners of a company so they become more actively involved. I don’t blame the parents but it puts a lot more pressure on coaches who have to be more transparent, accountable and responsive. It makes for a bad dynamic. What coach is going to want to coach when he or she is always being second guessed?”
Ciasulli said he doesn’t disagree with the Manhattan Beach Unified School District’s decision to drop athletic funding.
“Athletics is an area where parents are most willing to pay,” Ciasulli said. “If, during the school board meeting, they decided to eliminate the superintendent’s salary, do you think the parents would pay that salary? The questions remain: Will California turn around economically, and will lawmakers get their heads on straight? I’m pessimistic because the trend is not a good one.”
In 2010, Timberlake was forced to deal with a revolt of parents and, in a well-publicized situation regarding the Mira Costa baseball team, Olson was suspended this spring after a group of parents filed grievances accusing him of physical and verbal abuse, even though Athletic Director Don Morrow and Assistant Principal Ian Drummond concluded in their investigation that the allegations were unwarranted.
“Unfortunately, I feel that restricting my coaching duties for half the year is only going to hurt the players,” Olson told the Easy Reader in January. “I understand the position the district is in when a single parent threatens litigation but it’s too bad that a small minority can make up false claims and get in the way of what us coaches and the players want to do – just play baseball.”
In 2011, some parents also scrutinized Olson for his handling of a drug-related issue that resulted in the suspension of several players for the last five games of the regular season.
“I stand back and let the coaches coach. I respect what they do,” said one anonymous parent whose children have been involved with Mira Costa athletic teams. “But I feel Cassidy ruined my son’s baseball career and took the joy out of playing the game. Some kids that played weren’t the best at their positions, but their parents were big donors.”
“I think the situation is a reflection of America and society,” Neily said. “Whether it’s in the classroom or on the field, kids are expected to be successful and treated the same. But not every player is on the same talent level and going to be a starter. Sometimes a pat on the back isn’t always the best award. Coaches want to put the best players on the field that they can. As a coach, you are a psychologist, and every kid will react differently in certain situations.”
Longtime Redondo Union coach and athletic director Les Congelliere said many changes have occurred during his 40-year career.
“The biggest change in high school athletics over my career is three major factors,” Congelliere said. “Parent over-involvement in the details of coaching going from a supportive background role to a controlling role; the evolvement of the ‘community’ school to a recruitment school, largely due to the unfairness of private schools competing with public schools and the presumptive need to get talent from outside the community; and the influence of club sports and all that that entails.
“I have always had the belief that high school athletics is a microcosm of society. Over the past forty years society has taken on a lot of change. Some of this change has been great but some has been very dismal: The family breakdown, disloyalty and the need to get change fast. The fast track to success many times comes by taking shortcuts. When student-athletes have gone through the trials and tribulations of life together a bond develops. Such a team concept is hard to develop with the transient mentality.”
Former Redondo Baseball Booster Club President Michael Baer has witnessed many changes since his playing days at South Torrance High School and Harbor College. His son, Andrew, has followed in his dad’s footsteps and is a member of Harbor College’s baseball team after playing for the Sea Hawks.
“I think parents are becoming way too involved,” Michael Baer said. “I understand that they want the best for their kids, but let them stand on their own two feet. The problem goes down into the community Little Leagues. Parents are hiring personal coaches for their kids at younger and younger ages. At six years old, some kids have trouble holding a pencil, let alone a baseball bat.”
This added level of “personal” coaching can create a troublesome dynamic. It is, after all, in the best financial interest of a personal coach or trainer to tell a player’s parent how good he or she is – even if the assessment is exaggerated. Return clients keep a business afloat.
These accolades can prove detrimental to the player – and a high school program – in a few short seasons, particularly in the sports of baseball and volleyball.
In some cases, after a player enjoys success at lower level such as club volleyball or baseball including Little League, parents have difficulty understanding why their “All Stars” have not been moved up to the varsity level or have seen diminished playing time.
Earning a starting position at the high school level is an entirely different ballgame where there are four years of players to compete against. In many instances, a player becomes known as a “late bloomer” as the athlete has matured both physically and mentally during his or her early teen years, surpassing those who showed more talent and promise in earlier years.
“Things are definitely different than when I was growing up,” Baer said. “At that time, it was our choice to play high school sports. Now it’s the parents making the decision. High school administration is just a reflection of America’s work force in general. Two generations ago, it was common for a father to work until his retirement at the same company. Today, there is no loyalty to employers with people changing jobs more often.”
Not every coach has experienced hardships when it comes to parents.
Redondo girls volleyball coach Tommy Chaffins has turned the Sea Hawk program into one of the most successful in Southern California.
Although he runs a tight ship, he is extremely popular among players and parents alike. Chaffins has avoided parental conflict during his coaching career at Redondo which has included coaching the boys team from 1995-2007 and the girls team from 2001-present.
“Transparency is highly important and parental involvement is essential for high school programs,” Chaffins said. “I’ve been blessed with parents who help with a ‘no strings attached’ attitude. I divvy out jobs so one or two people aren’t the only ones handling things like dinners, fundraisers, uniforms, media guides and programs.”
They’re called student-athletes, but many youth advocates – including psychiatrist Gary Malone – are concerned that the emphasis is on “athlete.”
“Anyone who follows sports knows that college-level and professional recruiters are looking at recruits – children – at increasingly younger ages, and it’s not because they want to ensure these athletic students get a well-rounded education,” said Malone, a distinguished fellow in the American Psychiatric Association, and co-author with his sister Susan Mary Malone of “What’s Wrong with My Family?”
As a high-performing student-athlete throughout his own high school and college years, Malone says he appreciates the benefits of extracurricular programs.
“But the NCAA’s own 2011 survey found that, by a wide margin, mens’ basketball and football players are much more concerned about their performance on the field than in the classroom,” Malone said.
In his book, Malone reviews how the imbalance favoring athletic pursuits can damage student-athletes and the family unit.
“Life beyond sports: Only 3 percent of high school athletes will go on to compete in college; less than 1 percent of college athletes turn pro, where the average career is three years with risk of permanent injury, including brain damage, for football players.” Malone writes. “Even if they’re among the successful elite, wealth management is likely to be a major problem; some studies show that up to 78 percent of NFL players go broke after three years of retirement. Is this the best future for a child?”
“Misplaced parental priorities: A parent’s obsession with a child’s success in sports can be extremely damaging to a child, to the extent of bordering on abuse. Parents who look to their children to provide them with the validation, status or other unfulfilled needs don’t have their child’s best interests at heart. Parents who tend to be domineering can be especially dangerous in the face of an athletic success obsession.”
A year-round game
With the growth of club and travel ball teams, high school athletes are now able to focus on a particular sport for the entire year.
Hermosa Beach residents Pat and Sharkie Zartman have been longtime volleyball coaches. In 1970, Pat founded the South Bay Spoilers, one of the first club teams in the area.
During that time, the Spoilers catered to players who wanted to refine their skills for college or international competition. Club teams now focus on preparing athletes for high school and providing exposure for players seeking college scholarships.
“It’s been true for a long time that to build a successful high school volleyball program, its athletes play club volleyball,” Chaffins said. “High school used to be the only game in town and club ball was only for elite players, but now there are so many options with numerous clubs within a 12-mile radius. It’s good for the customer.”
Gary Smith, a math teacher at Mira Costa who just completed his 20th year as the Mustang’s soccer coach, said the biggest change he has seen in high school athletics over the last 10 years is the increase in club teams, although it has had limited affect on him and his program.
“The last time it affected me was five years ago” Smith said. “Riley Wolfe, now a senior at Duke University, opted to play in the Galaxy Academy which conflicts with the high school season. But Riley was a rare case. He was a player who should have been focusing on the highest level of competition, such as the Galaxy Academy and the National team. I told him to forego the three month commitment of high school soccer.”
Smith said he does not rely on kids that choose to go the way of club ball.
“My feeling is that if it is a player’s goal to play college soccer (and obtain a scholarship), colleges love to have kids play on the high school team,” Smith said. “They like to see the grades and what type of student-athlete he is. Playing club is not going to guarantee a college scholarship. Coaches can take an hour-long look at a player at practice or in a game and decide if that player is right for their program.”
Smith feels that athletes who don’t play high school athletics miss out on a valuable experience.
“There’s usually only one parent who attends their child’s travel or club ball game,” Smith said. “In high school, there are schoolmates, friends and neighbors cheering you on.”
“In baseball, high school teams are not cohesive groups as they once were,” Baer said. “It used to be that after the high school season, the team would play American Legion and then maybe in a Fall Ball league. With so many club and travel teams now, a player may have four or five high school teammates on the team and others from the Valley or Orange County.”
Ciasulli said he has had to change his approach to the season as many of his top players compete in United States Tennis Association (USTA) tournament.
“Tennis is a little different in that it is an individual sport put in a team context,” Ciasulli said. “There is great competition in the USTA and players commit to playing in USTA tournaments. I used to schedule tournaments in places like Fresno and San Luis Obispo wanting to see how my team stacked up against other top programs. But when my best players would tell me they couldn’t make it because they were playing in a USTA event, I stopped scheduling the tournaments. I’ve accepted the fact that we won’t be as good when top players are absent.”
Spare the rod
Long gone are the days where coaches would discipline unruly boys with the swat of a paddle made in woodshop. In reality, the woodshop class is gone too – along with home economics and driver’s training – from a high school student’s curriculum.
In today’s world, coaches walk a thin line when it comes to discipline. Excess running could be deemed physical abuse. Yelling may be interpreted as verbal abuse. Cell phone and security cameras can catch the smallest of slip ups.
Near the end of his tenure as head football coach at Redondo, Simon said the form of discipline he was limited to was the amount of playing time an athlete was given.
Smith said he has used a no-nonsense way of handling disciplinary problems during his two decades with the Mira Costa boys soccer program.
“Each coach handles discipline in his own way,” Smith said. “I handle a situation individually with talk – no extra running or things like that. If things can’t be resolved, I just cut the kid.”
Statistics play a major role in the world of sports and Chaffins uses them to diffuse any possibility of dissension or disciplinary problems on his volleyball court.
“It’s important to develop criteria of who gets to play,” Chaffins said. “We take meticulous statistics at practices and matches, which help determine who gets playing time. We have one-on-one drills at practices, giving the player specific tasks to do. The player who out performs the other will play more. The competition in pressure situations carries over to the matches. We have phenomenal practices almost every day. We may have one bad practice the entire season.
“If there is an issue, the player comes to me. I’ve only had to have one parent meeting, around nine years ago, and it was because the player missed too many practices.”
Maier said there are many factors when it comes to the practice of discipline among the coaching ranks.
“One is the young, inexperienced administrators who have no tenure and no backbone,” Maier said. “Parents bully them and they fire coaches rather than fighting back. According to our South Bay contracts, [South Bay United Teachers union] teachers have a right to know specific details about complaints made about them including the identity of those who make complaints against them.
“In my case, the principal told me I was a bully, negative and not nurturing players. When I asked who complained she refused to answer that question because she thought I would retaliate. A professional teacher and coach would not think of retaliation but would rather solve the problem. [The administration] would not go that way, afraid of a parent or a posse of them, so I am glad I no longer have to deal with unprofessional, inexperienced and unsupportive administrators at RUHS.”
In Olson’s case this season, he retained his job but had his duties limited for the first half of the Mira Costa baseball season after a review of the program was conducted following numerous allegations from parents that included bullying, physical endangerment, verbal, mental and emotional abuse.
In a letter sent to parents in December, Mira Costa Principal Ben Dale stated: “We have concluded our review of the baseball program and wanted to inform you that Coach Olson’s coaching activities will be restricted for the first half of the upcoming baseball season. From now through March 24, Coach Olson will coach during sixth period only but will not be present at scrimmages, games, tournaments or any other team activities that take place outside of the regular school day. On March 25, he will return to his full coaching duties.”
Mira Costa Athletic Director Don Morrow and Vice Principal Ian Drummond conducted 69 player interviews and wrote a report of their findings.
“I had asked for a copy of the investigative report, but they would not provide it to me,” Olson said in an early-March interview with the Easy Reader. “Last Wednesday, Feb. 27, Superintendant Mike Mathews provided me with a copy of the report because they were giving a copy to lawyer Joseph Dimonda. The report proves what I’ve claimed all along –
that the charges against me are unfounded.”
The grass is always greener
Parents, and their student-athlete children, have found a different approach to dealing with lack of playing time or controversy with a coach – the transfer.
A prime example was in the Mira Costa baseball program when two starters forewent their senior years as Mustangs this spring, leaving longtime teammates for other high schools. Both players were named to the All-CIF Division 3 team after enjoying successful seasons for their respective schools.
“The CIF is overwhelmed with parental litigation and has succumbed to state-wide uniformity of open-enrollment, legal transfers and many rule-changes to allow for these to take place,” said Congelliere, who served as football and wrestling coach at Redondo before becoming athletic director. “The ‘Be true to your school’ days are gone with the era of the Beach Boys.”
Thom Simmons, the Director of Communications for the CIF Southern Section, has noticed the change in amount of student-athletes who transfer.
“We do have a sense that we have seen an increase in athletic transfers over the past 10-20 years,” Simmons said. “I cannot, however, give specific numbers as we have only recently (last two years) been keeping such figures.”
“There is a heightened awareness now of students transferring for athletic reasons,” a South Bay administrator said. “The CIF does a good job in monitoring those applications.”
Redondo’s football team saw two of its promising quarterbacks transfer to what they felt were greener pastures during the last decade.
A good example of today’s student athlete is Josh Portis. He began his prep career at Redondo where he played junior varsity for one year. After his mother disagreed with Simon over playing time, Portis transferred to Long Beach Poly and then again to Taft High School in Woodland Hills.
Portis developed into a highly-touted dual-threat quarterback out of high school, but could not remain satisfied with his surroundings. He attended the University of Florida for one season then transferred to the University of Maryland before transferring to Division 2 California University of Pennsylvania in 2009.
Portis, however, proved to be a rare case. He signed as an undrafted free agent with the Seattle Seahawks in 2011.
Not all transfers have been detrimental to a local high school program.
“I’ve benefited from transfers,” Ciasulli said. “I got fortunate when the No. 1 player in the country, Nicole Gibbs, moved from Ohio to the South Bay. The family looked at Peninsula, Palos Verdes and Mira Costa, eventually choosing Mira Costa because Manhattan Beach was closer to the mom’s job in El Segundo.”
Gibbs played her freshman year for the Mustangs, reaching the CIF quarterfinals. She enters her senior year at Stanford after winning the NCAA singles title in 2012-13 and the singles and doubles championship in 2011-12.
Ciasulli stresses the importance of athletics on the high school level.
“In my prior life, I was a lawyer,” Ciasulli said. “My partner only hired lawyers with competitive sports backgrounds. He felt athletics teaches key fundamentals such as working under pressure, teamwork and how to deal with adversity.”
Along with new head coach Reggie Morris Jr., Redondo’s boys’ basketball team benefitted from three transfers who helped the team win the 108-year old school its first state championship in the sport.
Congelliere has witnessed many changes in high school athletics since he began his career at Redondo Union in the fall of 1970. A three-year varsity athlete in football, wrestling, and baseball at Morningside High School, Congelliere earned a football scholarship to Long Beach State, where he played three seasons.
Along with his duties as head football and wrestling coach, Congelliere started the Academy of Health and Fitness at Redondo Union and, in 1993, founded the South Bay Surf League along with Mira Costa coach Elroy Lainge.
“The new rules have made the role of coaching in high school much more difficult and tenuous,” Congelliere said. “High school administration seems to have become a stepping stone in careers but rarely seen as a career. Principals used to be tenured at one high school for decades, not seen as a step to the district office. I so admire the principal and the head coach who remained at a high school with a sense of ‘family and community.’ John Stevenson, Donny Morrow, Rick Sabowsky, Gene Simon, Ron Kasparian, Kelly Johnson and Eldon Boyd are just a few examples. Athletic Directors used to come through the ranks and had a history with other ADs.”
Congelliere said that, although he earned his Masters in sports management, he received his real education in athletic during his career on the field and not in class.
“A certificate or degree does not make an administrator,” Congelliere said. “We have a lot of dedicated educators with all the right intentions but sometimes we need to look at the big picture and thoughtfully conclude that a lot of where we’ve been can help in the direction of where we are going.
“We will never return back to the community high school and we need to face that fact. We should try to keep the characteristics of the community high school alive by being dignified, professional and supportive. This begins with the school site administration of each high school. Spend time to nurture coaches and support them. Don’t disconnect at the first parental complaint. Loyalty and support will bring about long-term relationships that will rekindle the community spirit to high school sports.”
