Ok, so where are we at now? There have been so many head coaching changes in high school football this off season that it’s hard to keep track. Schurr, with former DC Marco Ramirez being promoted to head coach, was filled last weekend.
El Rancho hired former Trabuco Hills assistant Vinnie Lopez to replace Rick Zepeda who stepped down, on Monday. In case you’re wondering, Lopez is no relation to former Gabrielino HC Vince Lopez.
So that leaves La Canada, Mt. View, Baldwin Park and Keppel as the schools still in the market for a head coach.
We were led to believe that Mt. View would be filled right away when James Wilson resigned. But that didn’t happen and another candidate appeared to be poised to take the job. He then turned it down but apparently is now back in the mix. Now the position is being flown again- back on the CIF website- and bloggers on our website are comparing the
principal to something just short of Atilla the Hun.
I’m not sure who the front runner is now. Actually I’m not sure there is a front runner. Wilson stepping down looks the worst thing that could have happened to the Vikings
with each passing day. The only thing we know for sure is that the job will be filled by a walk on coach.
One guy that won’t be taking the job is former South Hills Coach Steve Bogan. I ran into him at the Azusa Pacific scrimmage on Saturday and he already has his plans for the next year.
“I’m working on a couple of books and I’m planning on doing some traveling to see some of my former players play on the college level,” Bogan said. “I’ll take at least a year off and then maybe start looking for a job.”
Bogan of course still has his day job as a teacher at South Hills.
La Canada is another place where the natives are getting a little restless. “Will the Spartans ever hire a football coach?” a reader commented last week.
Former Alhambra DC Jacob Ochoa was in the mix but he has since taken a job as an assistant at Glendale College. Some Alhambra faithful felt that Ochoa should have been offered the Moor job that was taken by Joe Kanac. Kanac has experience but he also has a lot of stops. Where LC turns now is anybody’s guess.
It’s too early to tell who is going to be tabbed at Baldwin Park. It’s only been a little more than a week since James Heggins announced he was not coming back. There are great facilities at Baldwin Park and Heggins has done a terrific job of getting the program back on track. But you have to wonder about the overall support –financial or otherwise.
As for Keppel? We heard one name – Art Noriega- who was on staff last year and worked with the defense. Noriega, also a former ELAC coach, applied but has not been offered. Stay tuned.
If the coaching merry go round isn’t confusing enough for you, then take a look at the new CIF playoff grouping proposals. When the CIF created the current Mid-Valley Division a couple of years ago, there was a feeling throughout the area that they finally got it right. All the leagues were local and for the most part everybody was competitive.
Yeah Monrovia has stood out but because of the current Mid-Valley alignment a team like San Gabriel last year or Whittier Christian the year before can make a memorable playoff run.
The new proposal has the Olympic and Montview out and the Alpha league in. Alpha League? Do you know where those schools are from? Chatsworth, Lancaster, North Hollywood, Brentwood…where are the demographics in this? Are you ready for a Sierra Canyon-Monrovia final…every year?
Note to all Mid-Valley coaches. Submit your appeals now. Shoot this down. It makes no sense and needs to be stopped.
That’s my principle.
Tim can be reached at tim@midvalleysports.com.
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