Spathias Out at Los Altos

By Tim Peterson

(Hacienda Heights) – Hector Spathias is out as the head coach at Los Altos sources confirmed Wednesday.

Spathias spent just one year at Los Altos with a record of 7-4 overall. The Conquerors went 3-2 in the Hacienda League and lost in the first round of the CIF Division V playoffs to Moorpark 42-0. Spathias previously was the head coach at Bassett.

Travis Brown, a Los Altos alum who most recently was the head coach at Cantwell, is rumored to be the frontrunner to replace Spathias but as of yet nothing is confirmed.

50 Comments to "Spathias Out at Los Altos"

  1. LA Fan's Gravatar LA Fan
    April 17, 2018 - 12:12 pm | Permalink

    This hire will be very important in how shaping the future of the program. We have seen what a bad hire can do to a program. After Gano left Los Altos ,they had a record of 1-9, 3-7, and 0-10. It was not until Ziola sparked life back into the program and now that he has left it seems as though they are unsure of the future. My hope is that they choose a coach that can continue to progression of the current players but also attract players from around the area. Im not sure Travis Brown is that coach but I definitely know there are other out there can come in and change the programs attitude. One for example is Roger Lehigh. He is someone that comes with experience from Lou Farrar and is ready to make a name for himself. But whomever the new coach is, I hope that both parents and administration put their trust and support.

  2. It's Over's Gravatar It's Over
    April 17, 2018 - 10:52 am | Permalink

    The late autumn night in 2014 when Los Altos played Colony for a CIF championship is etched in my mind forever. I witnessed an extreme level of fan support for a team that has a glorious past, a team that was trying to regain that glory. With the exit of Dale Ziola and now Hector Spathias, that excitement and hope has evaporated. Oddly, it seems as if the school’s administration is uncomfortable with success, or perhaps envious of the dominant role football has come to play in their operation. This may be the motivation behind the removal of Hector in favor of a lesser, more malleable coach.

  3. US fan's Gravatar US fan
    April 17, 2018 - 10:13 am | Permalink

    I’ve spoken to a few LA parents and players and they are saddened by the loss of Spat as a coach. What is very evident is that they are happy Urias is gone, in my opinion they did not feel Urias was a good fit. The program seems to be falling apart. This season should be an eye opener for the program, you cannot keep changing coach’s. Best of luck to LA this season they will need it, from my understanding they only have a few kids coming back. Their workhorse 88 should do good, they are banking on moving a good number of freshmen to varsity.

  4. No Moor's Gravatar No Moor
    April 17, 2018 - 9:08 am | Permalink

    Vrooman has interpreted my sentiments correctly: there are no expectations for football success at Keppel or Alhambra, and yes, I’ll throw San Gabriel into that mix as a bonus for our readers. I apologize for the shock my comments may have caused to those expecting great things from any of these teams next fall.

  5. April 16, 2018 - 6:31 pm | Permalink

    Spathias was gored at Los Altos, gonna be hard to accept a job that low on the totem pole. Plus, he’s been burned once I’m sure the he’s gonna insist on an on campus position before accepting a new job.

  6. Ron Vrooman, AHS stat man's Gravatar Ron Vrooman, AHS stat man
    April 16, 2018 - 5:19 pm | Permalink

    So, there you have it from “No Moor”: There are no expectations for football success at Alhambra or Mark Keppel. Perhaps he can throw in San Gabriel while he’s at it.
    Since “No Moor” has set the bar so low, a few unexpected gridiron victories coming out of the Alhambra Unified School District might constitute a successful season. Let’s work for those victories!
    By the way, AHS, Keppel, and San Gabriel are actually pretty good places to work for those who are interested in teaching. I happen to know that from years of personal experience. I wouldn’t call those schools “joints,” but you’re entitled to your opinion if you’re talking strictly about football.
    Also, in case there was any misunderstanding, I wasn’t suggesting that Coach Spathias should come to Alhambra High. I simply stated that he’s a successful coach who would probably fit in almost anywhere. I wish him luck.

  7. No Moor's Gravatar No Moor
    April 16, 2018 - 9:32 am | Permalink

    I’ve never met Spathias, but the several cries for him to go coach at joints like Keppel and Alhambra would seem to be insults. This man has shown the ability to elevate teams on the rise, which makes him much more desirable than a guy who is able to get a 25% improvement out of a bottom-feeder. Put another way, you don’t use a Cadillac to haul garbage.

  8. Ron Vrooman, AHS stat man's Gravatar Ron Vrooman, AHS stat man
    April 15, 2018 - 10:01 pm | Permalink

    Based strictly on his coaching success at Bassett and Los Altos, it appears that Hector Spathias would be a great addition to any high school football program.

    But, the reference that Anonymous made to a “Moor dynasty” is a bit puzzling, unless he’s going all the way back to the 1940’s.
    Alhambra High School hasn’t had a football dynasty since 1947, when George Hobbs stepped down as head coach.
    In Hobbs’ 21 seasons at AHS (from 1927 to ’47), the Moors won seven league titles and three CIF championships. (His teams appeared in a total of five championship finals.) No other head coach at Alhambra has come close to that standard of success.

    I know this is “ancient history,” but I’ve done the research. It’s all on MaxPreps, if you want to look it up.

  9. Rovia's Gravatar Rovia
    April 15, 2018 - 8:05 am | Permalink

    Censorship at its finest Tim. Ask the Bassett Folks if the allegation was untrue. Just because he didn’t get fired (from teaching job) doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. Given the history, my initial post was fair and you chose to delete because Spat is a friend.

    @Clown aka Chris Williams, why are you still on the blog? Monrovia admin, and board members don’t like that the new HC brings negative attention to himself, the football team, school, and district.
    From T. Peterson: I did and they said it’s not true – thus he didn’t get fired from his teaching job – thus he is now being considered to become Bassett’s HC again. Pretty easy to figure out. And he’s not a friend, just a coach that I’ve had interactions with. I’d give all coaches the same respect. I mean can you imagine if people were posting things about you that weren’t true? Think about that.

  10. The Truth's Gravatar The Truth
    April 15, 2018 - 7:21 am | Permalink

    @anonymous I agree. My son was also at every practice Tuesday & Thursday Coach Spatt and crew where doing there best to train and prepare this young talented group for the season to come, I also know they had some 7 on 7s planned to help our boys get better. I honestly believe the people people with negative comments are parents who’s kids didn’t play much, which they for get this high school football not pop Warner

  11. Anonymous's Gravatar Anonymous
    April 15, 2018 - 6:48 am | Permalink

    Hector came to Alhambra and bring back the moor dynasty

  12. Anonymous's Gravatar Anonymous
    April 15, 2018 - 1:32 am | Permalink

    Rovia aka, Bozo the Clown aka Coach Maxie arcadia

  13. Anonymous's Gravatar Anonymous
    April 14, 2018 - 10:15 pm | Permalink

    Someone turn on the lights, so these roaches can scatter back in their hole…

  14. JstaMom's Gravatar JstaMom
    April 14, 2018 - 9:53 pm | Permalink

    Thats the most untrue statement ever.

  15. TheRanch18's Gravatar TheRanch18
    April 14, 2018 - 7:44 pm | Permalink

    Sounds like you guys have more internal problems than anything else !

  16. SGV's Gravatar SGV
    April 14, 2018 - 3:29 pm | Permalink

    @ Rovia: One thing for sure, if comments are directed at the MVN itself or critizisms of people they like they censor and delete them even if no profanity is used. This has really been the case since Joe quit. I give this post 10% chance of getting thru but oh well. That is why most boards have much fewer comments even when it is about football.
    From T. Peterson: We always delete comments that include personal attacks, take shots at kids or in the case of Roiva, contain untrue and unproven allegations. This has always been the case, not just since Joe left. What would that have to do with anything? Your comment made it through, so you missed on that one too!

  17. Hopeful's Gravatar Hopeful
    April 14, 2018 - 1:27 pm | Permalink

    @currentla your crazy son, You really think you guys did good cause of Ziola. When Ziola abandoned the team they lost over 26 seniors. Spatt and crew inherited a group of young inexperienced boys yet he succeeded. At the end of the day I just hope this new coach knows what he’s doing cause he has a very young talented group. The only people who have negative comment about Spat and his crew are the kids who didn’t get much playing time and their parents.

  18. Anonymous's Gravatar Anonymous
    April 14, 2018 - 8:52 am | Permalink

    @current LA and annon are clearly the same person, I would bet they are the same person getting dismantled. You don’t have to lie to defend yourself, you’re just embarrassing yourself further. Fact is my son went to all the workouts every week, so you can’t tell me the didn’t do anything. He really loves this staff, I don’t know what to tell him now. You guys really blew it…

  19. LA booster's Gravatar LA booster
    April 14, 2018 - 7:37 am | Permalink

    I know that the AD wanted Spat to quit his teaching job so he could be a Los Altos at 1pm everyday. They could not get him a job on campus. So Spat would have practice and speed training every Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6-8pm sense January. Plus every Sunday they where is a passing league. I am a booster member and we try to get Spat on campus but it’s a new principal that doesn’t what to cause waves. I know Spat is financially well off, but to have him quit his teaching job that pays about $70,000 or so a year vs coaches pay that is $3,000 a year.

  20. CLOWN's Gravatar CLOWN
    April 13, 2018 - 6:00 pm | Permalink

    Hey Rovia, why don’t you tell me who you are. And then your comment might be posted.

  21. Rovia's Gravatar Rovia
    April 13, 2018 - 5:48 pm | Permalink

    Hey Tim, why was my comment deleted?
    From T. Peterson: We deleted your comment because it was riddled with allegations that were untrue. All that crap was innuendo and rumor but nothing was proven. I guess we could have let it run to make you look foolish but we thought we would save you the embarrassment.

  22. Current LA's Gravatar Current LA
    April 13, 2018 - 5:21 pm | Permalink

    I agree with last comment. They haven’t been here and left us hanging. This staff wasn’t here for us. The only reason we won was because of the training we got from Coach Z and his coaches.

  23. Anonymous's Gravatar Anonymous
    April 13, 2018 - 5:12 pm | Permalink

    All of you know-it-alls and your comments. You don’t know, but there was no offseason even happening. They were lucky to have a coach show up at all. Until recently, the entire team was on their own almost every week to figure out how they thought they should prepare for the season. Try getting the whole story before you start to put in your two cents. The Admin did the right thing for the program. It was a in distress.

  24. realdemocrat's Gravatar realdemocrat
    April 13, 2018 - 3:57 pm | Permalink

    Word is that Spathias guy is a class act…..

  25. LAparent's Gravatar LAparent
    April 13, 2018 - 3:24 pm | Permalink

    The only thing I can see is this is a first year principal (Mr. Hess) and he going to make mistakes. But the AD should know better, not unless the AD (Formano) was the one calling the shots. Travis is an alumni and when Travis was release for Cantwell that was there opportunity. A major down grade, now my son will have three coaches is three years. Shame on Mr. Hess and Mr Formano to put these kids through this. Last year there coach let them down and took a job at another school, this year the administration lets them down. I have one more boy and he is not going to Los Altos, that for sure.

  26. Hopeful's Gravatar Hopeful
    April 13, 2018 - 1:48 pm | Permalink

    It’s sad Coach Spat and his crew trained this young talented group of sophomores just to hand it over to a new coach. Dispite people thinking we won’t do well this season, we do have a good group of talent. If we do well Coach Spat and crew should get some Credit

  27. LAplayer's Gravatar LAplayer
    April 13, 2018 - 8:33 am | Permalink

    I played for Spat. He was the most level headed one on the sideline. Never touch any of the players. We lost a good staff. I think the AD Formano wanted his friend Travis to have the job because he is an alumni.

  28. Keppel?'s Gravatar Keppel?
    April 12, 2018 - 11:58 pm | Permalink

    Let me state for the record that the Keppel job is an extreme form of punishment, like serving time in the hole at San Quentin. Despite the well-meaning sentiments of commenter Prognosticator, that’s not what anyone should want for Spathias.

  29. April 12, 2018 - 11:21 pm | Permalink

    I would’ve thought Los Altos was a bit more classy than this. How is Travis Brown already hired yet Spathias was just fired? SMH!

    I’m sure Spathias will land on his feet.

  30. 99er's Gravatar 99er
    April 12, 2018 - 9:27 pm | Permalink

    Bummer guy is a real good coach.

  31. My Two Cents's Gravatar My Two Cents
    April 12, 2018 - 8:00 pm | Permalink

    I really feel bad for the players. As for the parents, get ready to experience what real losing taste like, you deserve it! If they win three games next year, it would be a good season.

  32. Stop lying to yourself's Gravatar Stop lying to yourself
    April 12, 2018 - 7:52 pm | Permalink

    It’s sad to see that some dad still trying to relive there high school football days all over again. Its embarrassing when I saw a dad last year get angry cause his son was not playing on the Varsity team last year and tried to force the coach to put his son on varsity by complaining. SORRY dad if he doesn’t have it he doesn’t have it.

  33. April 12, 2018 - 5:24 pm | Permalink

    Nogales about to name their coach by tomorrow.

    Keppel should Hire Spathias to come in and resurrect that program.

  34. WOW's Gravatar WOW
    April 12, 2018 - 4:11 pm | Permalink

    I saw this LA team early in the summer and thought to myself this team is going to get kicked all over the field next season, i was shocked by how much they improved by the time i saw them a few weeks later. And shocked by how well they did in their first season. But I’m even more shocked by this move, stinks for these coaches who I’m sure worked their tails off this year only to get canned. keep your head up coaches.

  35. LA Alumn's Gravatar LA Alumn
    April 12, 2018 - 12:33 pm | Permalink

    This is a joke of a hire. This guy has ZERO success in division 13 football. Los Altos will be lucky to win 3 games this season. Goodluck to Spathias and his staff. You guys did a hell of a job with a team that wasn’t suppose to do any damage last season (7-4)…

  36. BT Bear's Gravatar BT Bear
    April 12, 2018 - 11:40 am | Permalink

    I saw them throw 3 Times last season. My takeaway from those games was ignorant parents that live through their kids achievements. I pesonally see the concerns with the staff. But they did a solid job. The admin over there is what is wrong with administration these days. They are no longer leaders. They simply are “administrators” of the site. They are in capable of making decisions without direction from the district office or react due to parents. If there was a problem with the staff that was in place it should’ve been addressed immediately after season. It’s not as if this is a new development. It’s more a matter of I’m dating this girl, but a better looking one became available. Poor leadership poor administration. You just put Travis Brown right in the middle of a bull’s-eye. I remember when they hired their favorite son, the QB, as their HC. This has the same feel to it.

  37. April 12, 2018 - 11:26 am | Permalink

    If you look at LA’s season last year, they beat everyone they were supposed to beat, and they lost the games they were supposed to lose. San Marino in Week 0 may be the exception because SM ended up having a decent season. And, perhaps, St. Paul was another one. The Spathias coaching staff did a great job last year, but there were flaws in the way they did things. For one, the OC was not present on a daily basis because he lived out of town. He would show up on Thursdays to go thru pre-game walk-through. This arrangement is flawed on many levels; if you’ve ever coached any sport, you know what I’m talking about. Much less varsity high school football. Also, Spathias was a walk-on Head Coach, and a place like LA needs an on campus coach to be there present every day for the players. There were other internal issues, but at the end of the day they decided to go with their alum with a subpar track record as a HC. Granted, the administration and coach Brown must know that this move has all eyes looking at them this season. We shall see.

  38. It's Over's Gravatar It's Over
    April 12, 2018 - 10:53 am | Permalink

    Popular thought is that Los Altos football is a dynasty reborn, a program which will spring back into championship contention with the right input from meddling parents and geriatric fans. Stop to consider, however, that chief magician Ziola’s exit coincided with the odious rise of parental obstruction, which is the venom that now dooms the operation. Everybody and their uncles want to insert themselves into the running of this thing, and the predictable result will be a disaster.

  39. NWO's Gravatar NWO
    April 12, 2018 - 9:09 am | Permalink

    Los Altos feeder program is also struggling.

  40. LA Fan's Gravatar LA Fan
    April 12, 2018 - 9:06 am | Permalink

    I am not sure what the administration was thinking? Spathias did a great job with the talent he had and made it to the Division 5 playoffs after a great senior class had just graduated. He did a lot with the talent he had and truly developed the players. But of course there are always those parents that need to have things go there way. Where were those parents when Los Altos was losing games prior to Ziola? Probably taking their kids to other schools. It is always great to have a LA Alumni be part of the program but lets be honest Brown has not had much success being a high school head coach. He did not have success in Duarte or Cantwell and in my opinion should have stayed as an OC in Northview. Los Altos was brought back to life by a man that had no history with LA and the outcome was two appearances in the finals. The last man that was an alumni and was the head coach was Felipe Aguilar and that was not very successful. Nothing is confirmed yet but who knows, maybe others come with Brown if he truly is chosen, such as Ortiz, Gordinez, or Harwell.

  41. X's Gravatar X
    April 12, 2018 - 8:31 am | Permalink

    Travis brown accepted the OC job at northview already.

  42. Olympians dad's Gravatar Olympians dad
    April 12, 2018 - 8:13 am | Permalink

    My son graduated two years ago thought I never would have to comment on here anymore. I give Spathais and his staff a lot of credit. At Bassett they turned athletes into football players. A coach and staff that talked with parents. At Bassett, they turned young boys into men ready to face the challenges in life once they graduated. Los Altos shame on you if u knew u didn’t want him back should of told him sooner. For the parents who complain and think why ain’t my kid playing. My son saw little playing time and he never complained. Senior year he was 1st team All League defense. I give credit for him never playing football till high school but the real credit goes to Spathais and staff for believing in kids.

  43. Anonymous's Gravatar Anonymous
    April 12, 2018 - 7:19 am | Permalink

    @SH, you ain’t lying. The staff they fired is extremely underrated. It amazes me how little so people truly know about football and who can really coach. LA you messed up bigtime.

  44. SH's Gravatar SH
    April 12, 2018 - 6:35 am | Permalink

    Wow did we dodged a bullet. I just looked up Coach Brown record. Brown takes over a Duarte team that make it to the quarterfinals and than goes 2-8, the next year 1-9. I know he is a Los Altos guy and he may solve the QB problem by bringing in his guy from CWSH, but we will take it.

  45. Inside man's Gravatar Inside man
    April 11, 2018 - 11:44 pm | Permalink

    Word is Los Altos knew they wanted A change back in December but allowed the former staff to do the heavy lifting this whole time before they actually cut ties. This is underhanded to say the least, what has HS football come to…

  46. Ziola's the One's Gravatar Ziola's the One
    April 11, 2018 - 11:27 pm | Permalink

    Nobody would be giving a rip about Los Altos had not Dale Ziola come to town and re-established the winning tradition. Now, hordes of parents are stinking the place up, converting it from a place of miracle-working to a bickering wasteland.

  47. April 11, 2018 - 11:18 pm | Permalink

    Shame on Los Altos to this so late in the spring. I wonder how many jobs are still open?

  48. April 11, 2018 - 11:16 pm | Permalink

    Travis Brown keeps getting head coaching jobs but I just got to ask why?
    This is one of those hires that feels like a down grade. I don’t know Spathias but he won in a year where LA wasn’t supposed to be very good. As a matter of fact, I’d say he probably did the best coaching job of anyone in the valley. But I Travis Brown is an Alumni and has had a lot success at that school and LA loves it’s Alumni. Good Luck to Spathias and staff, El Rancho needs coaches y’all

  49. BHS's Gravatar BHS
    April 11, 2018 - 10:47 pm | Permalink

    The Olympians can use Spathias now to build up a program that BUSD and administration destroyed!!!!! But I think district is dumb to not realize they have there man on campus already. Plus I think Spathais is smart enough not to believe in district and all there broken promises. Spathais was liked by kids at LA. Maybe not liked by parents cuz he wasn’t a LA alumni. So if next coach goes 7-4 should he not be renewed for another season. To many parents think all there kids should get playing time. Remember parents high school football ain’t LITTLE LEAGUE where all the kids play.

  50. Area Spectator's Gravatar Area Spectator
    April 11, 2018 - 10:35 pm | Permalink

    Absolutely terrible how Los Altos admin handled this. Very unfair situation to Spatthias and the staff.

Leave a Reply