Notebook: Top girls hoops coach resigns; one section discusses spring football season
Tom Gonsalves, who led St. Mary’s High School in Stockton to seven girls basketball state championships and 13 straight CIF Sac-Joaquin Section titles, resigned as the Rams’ coach on April 30.
In an interview with the Stockton Record, Gonsalves said his decision had to do with a difference of opinion with the school’s administration.
“I’ve done a lot at St. Mary’s, but I have a different mentality than the new administration at St. Mary’s as far as the fact that I shoot for the stars and I want a national program,” Gonsalves said. “And I think they are more of a small-school mentality and after my discussions, they are satisfied with a less intense program. And that’s OK, but it’s not what I do.”
Gonsalves won the Nasimith National Coach of the Year Award and Pat Summit National Coach of the Year in 2015-16 after leading the Rams to a 28-1 record.
LA City Section talks spring football
According to Los Angeles Times reporter Eric Sondheimer, 50 LA City Section football coaches participated in a Zoom call with section commissioner Vicky Lagos to discuss logistics of the upcoming season.
Los Angeles Unified School District schools are scheduled to open on Aug. 18, right as the football season is scheduled to begin. LAUSD school facilities will be closed through the summer, creating an issue of teams not being able to practice.
Sondheimer wrote that Lagos asked coaches how long they would need to prepare for the first game and most coaches said four to six weeks. The coaches also agreed the section playoffs were more important than playing in state playoffs.
With regards to possibly playing football in the spring, Garfield football coach Lorenzo Hernandez said he would be prepared if needed while Eagle Rock coach Andy Moran, chairman of the football advisory committee, said “I’m for whatever it takes to have a season.”
If the season were to extend past December, the section would need to get permission from the CIF, according to Sondheimer.
San Pedro coach Corey Miller said he opposes football in the spring.
“The reason is anything after Christmas, you put our kids in a bad spot,” Miller said. “Am I going to play football or am I going to play baseball?’ My quarterback is the third baseman. I don’t want to put him in that spot.”
Stan State student-athlete priority registration
The Stanislaus State Academic Senate passed a resolution permitting priority registration for student-athletes during its most recent virtual meeting on Apr. 28, according to a school news release. The resolution further demonstrates the university’s support for academic success and NCAA compliance for its student-athletes.
The topic had been the source of debate for more than a decade. Stan State had been the last remaining California State University which sponsors intercollegiate athletics without priority registration for student-athletes.
“Along with other campus groups, ASI Student Government embarked on a multi-year quest advocating for student-athletes, “ Maria Marquez, President of Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) said. It took a team effort to finally say student-athletes will be provided with priority registration at Stanislaus State.”
The initiative has been supported by ASI and its elected officials for several years. Current student body president Marquez and vice president Michelle Nungaray led the initiative this academic year in support of the student-shared governance.
