Redondo baseball coach resigns after one season
Baseball players at Redondo Union High School are getting tired of each season being a “rebuilding year,” but when the team takes the field next season it will be the same old story with the Sea Hawks playing under their fourth head coach in four years.
Bradey Thurman resigned after one season at the helm of the Redondo Union High School baseball program. Photo
Bradey Thurman has resigned as head baseball coach after only one season according to the following e-mail sent to parents by RUHS Principal Mary Little:
“Coach Thurman has resigned as the varsity baseball coach, effective June 1, 2010. We will begin a search for a new head coach immediately. We do have some teaching positions open, and finding a teacher who could also coach the baseball team would be beneficial in many ways. Assistant Varsity Coach Mike Witcher will be coordinating the program now and through the summer, and some of the other assistant coaches will be working with him.
Please contact Les Congelliere or John Newman if you have any questions.”
In a phone conversation, Little added that “Our goal is always to have an on-site coach but it depends on who’s available. It is a priority to find a new coach as soon as possible.”
Thurman, a teacher at Parras Middle School in Redondo Beach, spent the season in a fishbowl with parents and administration watching closely after his legal claim over the school district’s hiring process forced popular head coach Cassidy Olson to step aside after one season at the helm in 2009. Olson replaced longtime head coach Tim Ammentorp after the 2008 season.
“I resigned under duress,” Thurman said. “This season was a good one on the diamond for the Sea Hawks, but off the diamond there were too many issues and they became too distracting. I could not put my family, coaches, players and parents through another season like that. It is too bad. We have probably the best young talent in the So Bay.”
For many years Thurman has directed baseball clinics in the South Bay but has decided to take a break from baseball to be with his family.
“Baseball has taken me places in my life and I’m sure in the right time and place it could happen for me again,” Thurman said. “God has plans for me, I just remain open to them.”
The controversy surrounding Thurman’s hiring as head baseball coach at Redondo stemmed from the wording in the RBUSD code — which differs from the California Education Code — that states: “Any certificated teacher employed by the district who applies for a position as a temporary athletic team coach and who satisfies the qualification criteria established for the position shall first be offered the position.” The California Education Code states that the position shall first be made available.
The controversy stemmed from the wording in the RBUSD code — which differs from the California Education Code — that states: “Any certificated teacher employed by the district who applies for a position as a temporary athletic team coach and who satisfies the qualification criteria established for the position shall first be offered the position.” The California Education Code states that the position shall first be made available.
Despite opposition from the Diamond Club and numerous parents and players, Thurman was granted the position by the RBUSD in an out-of-court settlement with the stipulation that Olson could complete the 2009 season, thus preventing a mid-season disruption of the team.
Olson, who has been a teacher at Mira Costa High School for many years, led the Mustangs to a Bay League title this season, reaching the CIF Southern Section Division 2 semifinals. It was Mira Costa’s deepest run in the playoffs in more than 20 years.
Redondo ended the season with a 10-18 record, finishing fifth in the Bay League at 2-8. ER