High School Basketball Sports, posted by New to Pleasanton, a resident of the Laguna Oaks neighborhood, on Jan 28, 2013 at 2:34 pm
Our family is new to the area we moved here about 8 months ago, it took us about 3 years to make the jump and we are so happy that we are finally here. My son is now a 7th grade at HMS and he is looking forward in moving on to HS in a few years, he is so excited that we often attend the HS Basketball and Volleyball games. We recently went to watch the Amador vs FH game a few weeks back and we were sad to hear that neither of the teams were doing well at all, we spoke to several people from both schools and it seems like the complaint that has come up is basically a lack of knowledge of basketball from the coaches and talent because the players that were very good earlier in Middle School didnt move on due to coaching styles. Have these coaches been the for a long time? Are their any plans to enhance the program at all? I really would like my son to continue playing but if they are going to lose every game I wonder if it is worth it at all.
What are the credentials of the coaches for the schools in the area?
Posted by Cholo, a resident of Livermore, on Jan 28, 2013 at 3:50 pm
it's you again with your innocent questions which seem to be always focused on the quality of education in Plutonia and specific aspects of education which you believe may be lacking...that how you bring attention to people you dislike and like to shake up...flex you muscle you fake porker...
Posted by Cholo, a resident of Livermore, on Jan 28, 2013 at 3:58 pm
can somebody help me understand that if a kid doesn't always win a basketball game that there must something wrong with the coach?
i'm worried that perhaps all the coaches in Plutonia my not be ready to coach an NBA team? sometimes i'm so worried about the coaches that i have to change my wig every 2 to 3 hours.
am I the only one that seems to be worried about this matter of coaches not chosen to coach an NBA team?
Posted by Bradley, a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on Jan 28, 2013 at 4:20 pm
For years my wife and I were forced to watch our kid ride the bench. He was obviously the best player, but other parents excerted undo influence and the coaches try to please them. I'm not saying any money is involved. It just might be a compitence issue. His senior year we switched schools, and that coach was biased against him because he transferred in and was better than the other kids. Back on the bench. Fortunately our boy is also a good bowler. But what the coaches did probably ruined any career in basketball he might have had.
Posted by Sam, a resident of the Oak Hill neighborhood, on Jan 28, 2013 at 5:23 pm
"Have these coaches been the for a long time? Are their any plans to enhance the program at all? I really would like my son to continue playing but if they are going to lose every game I wonder if it is worth it at all. What are the credentials of the coaches for the schools in the area?"
I would think (and hope) that the emphasis in Pleasanton high school sports is on teaching teamwork and discipline rather than winning games. If you're more interested in high school coaches who are driven to win games, then the high school sport culture down south in places like Alabama where winning is taken seriously may be more to your liking.
Posted by Jack, a resident of the Downtown neighborhood, on Jan 28, 2013 at 7:09 pm
@ New to Pleasanton: If I can take you at your word, and you've been working to get here for three years, and you're already questioning your son's coach two years before he's even taken the court for him... Do this: Rather than go to games, go check out a practice. Make an appointment, and meet the coaches. Attend their summer camps. Make up your own mind that way. Don't conduct your research here...
And if you don't like what you learn... run him up the highway to DeLaSalle, or over the hill to Bishop O'Dowd...
Posted by Yeah, a resident of the Amador Estates neighborhood, on Jan 28, 2013 at 11:25 pm
Foothill and Amador will win the rest of the remaining games. They have teamwork as you can see by their smiles while playing the game. There is also a lot of support from student body and parents as you can hardly find a seat when you get to the games late. Also good character building when seniors get into the games with 1 minute left and the game is very lopsided. Hopefully the powers that be continue to focus on the programs so they can continue to attract good kids to play for years to come.
Posted by lessismore, a member of the Amador Valley High School community, on Jan 29, 2013 at 1:32 pm
There are many reason way some team are not doing well. The demand of school a to play one sport year around force many kids not to play in high school.
Yes I would agree some changes could be made. One being the AD pushing kids to just play baseball or not play!
But basketball is not the only sport at Amador. The Football team is coming off it's best season in years. The softball team is the number one ranked HS team in the country. The golf teams are outstanding. If the wrestling team at Amador beats Foothill next week they are co-Ebal champions, the ebal champions will come from Pleasanton.
Posted by Truth, a member of the Amador Valley High School community, on Jan 29, 2013 at 2:02 pm
Well I will try and answer your questions I have been in the area since 1963 and have lived in Pleasanton since 1980. In the 1970's, 80's, and 90's Amador was one of the most dominant teams in the state, take a look at the banners hanging in the gym. Amador was that good for a couple of reasons. Same two coaches for about 35 years, Mohatt and Underwood who both ran the same schemes and tons of talent and size to go with it. As an example I believe it was the 1984 which had 7 players over 6'6" one at 6"10 and had talent. The 1995 team lost in the state championship game to Lakewood of Artesia by 2 points and had the O'Bannon brothers who both went on the play on a national championship team at UCLA and in the NBA.
In the late 90's and the early 2000's Foothill emerged as a powerhouse and I believe in either 2000 or 2001 won the EBAL, NCS, NorCal, before losing again in the state championship game to Bishop Montgomery of Torrance. I believe they ended up 35-3 or something like that. That team was flat out loaded with talent and overcame in my opinion poor coaching. The team went 12 deep and all had grown up playing on the St Augustines CYO A program.
For some reason both schools or maybe the parent of the kids going to go into those high schools went away from the CYO programs and went into this AAU competition.
In my view, both schools are suffering from a significant late of talent, fundamentals, and quality coaching and what I have seen is that it is going to get worse in the future. This is my take and I hope it helps you understand a bit.
Posted by NS Sherlock, a resident of the Country Fair neighborhood, on Jan 30, 2013 at 8:17 am
Unfortunately most of us reach our athletic peak at about 14, not sure that's the coaches fault. As good as I thought I was, my father preached having a Plan B.
Posted by Vato, a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on Jan 30, 2013 at 9:15 am
@Sherlock- for anyone that peaked too soon and reached their max at 14 there is another kid that begins to peak after 14 maybe during their freshman, sophomore or junior year. Coaches job is to develop players to have a successful program so they can attract the right kids to play.
Posted by Gordon, a resident of the Ruby Hill neighborhood, on Jan 30, 2013 at 10:20 am
Sports are almost exclusively the province of dumb, lower-class people. In the early years, they take up a great deal of time that is better spent at the homework desk. Parents of student athletes are stupid in the extreme.
Sports indicates a perversion of value. About the best that can be expected is for a low-class child to get a college scholarship. But this will only detract him or her from the long hours of study required to actually make the best from one's college experience. Ever wonder why graduate schools don't have sports teams?
I'd laugh if it wasn't so sad that people get bound up and root for players who don't know them and probably don't want to know them. It reaches its apogee when fans and sportswriters condemn a Barry Bonds for using banned substances while those same fans and sportswriters get all lathered up with their beer and potato chips while rooting for professional football teams where probably more than 90% of the players are juiced up on steroids.
Better to go watch a ballet. But of course working class people can't appreciate the ballet. It's all very sad. Peons.
Posted by Sam, a resident of the Oak Hill neighborhood, on Jan 30, 2013 at 11:43 am
Vato wrote: "Coaches job is to develop players to have a successful program so they can attract the right kids to play."
What do you mean by attract the "right" kids to play? Do you mean to attract the more athletic to play and discourage the less athletic (i.e, the "wrong kids"?) from participating?
The emphasis in high school sports should not be about winning. It should be about getting as large of a cross section of the high school population to participate in a group activity that teaches the importance of teamwork and discipline.
Posted by Brad, a resident of the Birdland neighborhood, on Jan 30, 2013 at 12:21 pm
I believe Vato's point was that the best players will be inclined to join the team if it is a good program run by a good coach. There are only 12 players on average per team and it can't be decided by " across the large section of the people". It needs to be about the best players at least in high school ball.
Posted by Sam, a resident of the Oak Hill neighborhood, on Jan 30, 2013 at 12:35 pm
Brad wrote: "I believe Vato's point was that the best players will be inclined to join the team if it is a good program run by a good coach. There are only 12 players on average per team and it can't be decided by " across the large section of the people". It needs to be about the best players at least in high school ball."
Well, I disagree with you. In my opinion it doesn't need to be about catering to the best players in high school level basketball or other high school sports. Your statement seems to equate a "good coach" with a "winning coach", and to equate a "good program" with a "winning program". I think that your emphasis is all wrong for high school level sports.
Posted by Sam, a resident of the Oak Hill neighborhood, on Jan 30, 2013 at 12:44 pm
Gordon wrote: "Sports indicates a perversion of value. About the best that can be expected is for a low-class child to get a college scholarship. But this will only detract him or her from the long hours of study required to actually make the best from one's college experience. Ever wonder why graduate schools don't have sports teams?"
I think that too many parents, especially those of children who they believe to be "athletically gifted", put too much emphasis on winning. I don't know if they are trying to relive their high school days through their children or what.
Posted by Louis Manningham, a resident of the Bridle Creek neighborhood, on Jan 30, 2013 at 1:34 pm
I must take issue with Sam's claim that participation in high school sports is about teamwork and discipline. Studying physics or any other rigorous subject requires real discipline; participation in science fairs, science olympiads, debate team, etc. requires real teamwork. Why anyone could possibly imagine that the time-consuming activity of playing sports offers better discipline and teamwork than what I've mentioned is beyond me. Here I agree with Gordon. Sports is a working-class fantasy where parents and students compensate for their deficiencies in doing what they truly should be doing, which is educating their children.
How many kids "make it" in high school/collegiate sports and go on to the next level? Among that very thin minority, how many screw up their lives because throwing a baseball or shooting a free throw was more important to themselves, their parents, their coaches than learning how to live a good life?
I understand that the lower classes need something to palliate themselves. Some do it with alcohol, others with drugs, and others with sports. It's a sad condition that besets our nation. We need to teach the lower classes how to educate their children. Perhaps taking children away from parents who make less than approximately $40 thousand a year might be an option. How many loser parents making such a piddling amount have the time, skill, and resources to properly educate their children? No, instead they send their kids out to shoot baskets or knock heads on the playground. A real travesty that explains why America has fallen behind so many other countries on most educational matters.
Posted by HS Athlete & School Spirit, a resident of the Downtown neighborhood, on Jan 30, 2013 at 1:42 pm
Have any of you guys posting here ever gone to HS where school spirit was so high when attending these games? Aside from academics kids need to have great athletic programs to learn the other side of being successful individuals. Academics are by far the most important aspect of HS life but being able to either experience being an actual athlete for the school or be able to cheer on your team because you are competitive in that specific sport as a team allows children to learn good sportmanship on and off the field and in the work space as they grow older.
Gordon you are so quick to assume that athletes are from lower class families, why would you say that? Not all athletes come from hard up areas or let alone people that may not have as much money or let alone education as you but they pursued their dreams by being able to experience athletics beyond HS and maybe college because they wanted to, I hope no one questions your path to become a pompass ass because then the whole story of you not being the athlete you wanted to be and all of mommy and daddys money couldn't buy you a spot on any team.
The real issue here is that HS administrators need to get their head out of the sand and look at these programs and ask themselves why people don't support them anymore like they used too, it's because the amount of time and effort really put into the program isn't focused on the kids its around themselves. We all know times are hard now a days, families having to pay for their children to play is a reality but why pay for a program that doesn't benefit anyone.
Looks like FHS needs to retire a few old timers and rekindle the good old days with some new blood at the helm.
Posted by Louis Manningham, a resident of the Bridle Creek neighborhood, on Jan 30, 2013 at 2:01 pm
School spirit? What a joke. Hey, kid, talk to me about physics and saving the planet, not some mode of distraction that keeps people narcoticized with ideas of teamwork, sportsmanship, and school spirit. My goodness! How very disappointing! There's as much value in school spirit as there is in that warm glass of beer so cherished by your loser parents.
Posted by Sam, a resident of the Oak Hill neighborhood, on Jan 30, 2013 at 6:39 pm
HS Athlete & School Spirit wrote: "Have any of you guys posting here ever gone to HS where school spirit was so high when attending these games? "
I don't recall the win-loss record having much of an effect on how enthusiastic we were in rooting for the team in HS. Also, at the Ivy League university I attended our basketball and football teams were regularly mopped up by other college and university teams and their "semi-pro" student athletes, but we had a grand time rooting for our teams nonetheless. Winning isn't everything. In fact, it was hardly anything to us.
If you are indeed a Pleasanton HS student, I have to say that I'm a bit disappointed that our HS teachers apparently haven't taught their students that it is not proper written English to simply splice together a series of complete sentences with commas. (see Wikipedia: Run-On Sentences Web Link). As you say, academics are the most important aspect of HS life and I would advise spending more time dealing with any deficiencies in that area and less time on athletics and worrying about "school spirit".
Posted by Jack, a resident of the Downtown neighborhood, on Jan 30, 2013 at 7:30 pm
Academics and athletics go hand in hand. Last I heard, Foothill's FB and Amador's QB were both headed to the Ivy League to Penn and Brown respectively. Something is going right around here...
Posted by lessismore, a member of the Amador Valley High School community, on Jan 31, 2013 at 3:37 pm
TO Gordon a resident of the Ruby Hill neighborhood:
They would pull my post if I said what I was thinking.
Open your eyes and read something of value but the SF ballet. (By the way him a season ticket holder to the SF Ballet)
We have kids coming out of some of the best collage entering the workforce who lack the team skills required. Why, because parent like you stunted there social skills. They also lack problem solving skills. But yes they can quote fact because some cruel parent like you made sure the spent hours attending kumon (Yes the new test being using next year in our school are more focused on thinking skills and not forced memorization . They will not be multiple choices anymore, so much for the hours at kumon).
Gordon
I know many of the kids in Pleasonton playing sports, and to call them dumb and lower class shows just how much a pathetic loser you are and just how stupid you are. If you have kids I feel very sorry for them and hope they and move beyond your elitist attitude.
By the way I was one of the dumb, lower-class kids who played sports in High School and College and would not change a thing about the work ethic and team work I learned while playing.
By the way I run my own business now and know a great deal of the success I have is form playing sports and from great coaches. And would be more then will to meet a compare holding. Plus I’m guessing that you work for someone and are not the boss. Yes A**hole I give a great deal of money to sport programs for kids in the bay area and to the SF Ballet among other things.
Posted by You decide, a resident of the Willow West neighborhood, on Feb 1, 2013 at 10:10 am
To respond to the original post. Yes both Foothill and Amador basketball are sliding own on a slippery slope.
At Foothill you have a nice head coach and a tough assistant coach. no program, no feeder aau, no off-season development. this year they are relying on just talent and some basic plays. they are at the bottom of league standings.
At Amador you have a head coach with 4 assistants. full on program from 7th grade, aau feeder, off-season development. complicated plays. they are also at the bottom of the league standings.
Posted by Gordon, a resident of the Ruby Hill neighborhood, on Feb 1, 2013 at 12:13 pm
As lessismore's grammar so amply demonstrates, you can take the lower-class hick out off the farm, but you can't take the farm out of the hick.
If I heard you talking near me at the ballet with those values and that kind of grammar, I'd complain to the usher and ask to be moved to another seat. But anyone with true class knows very well that lessismore would be more likely found not at the ballet, but rather screaming his little head off at a high school basketball game where his children and others are being prepared for military service. School Spirit! Rah-rah-sis-coom-ba! Now, don't get me wrong, we need low-class kids as fodder for the wars we engage in to preserve our oil and mineral interests. I just don't want those kids or their parents living in my neck of the woods. Classy parents want their kids to be bankers and business leaders, not basketball boobs.
Posted by Ptown mom, a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on Feb 7, 2013 at 11:13 am
@New
I don't believe that the coaches credentials are the biggest factor in deciding whether or not your son will play at the next level (high school and college). From personal experience, my son just had to continue working hard on his skills and college coaches have noticed is that he has very strong fundamental skills. These skills were not taught by his school coaches, but by trainers and his aau travel team experience and aau coaches. This is what helped him the most. Best of luck to you and your son.
Posted by Everyones a Critic, a resident of the Downtown neighborhood, on Feb 7, 2013 at 1:19 pm
So many armchair quarterbacks its sickening. The towns two basketball teams here are very different teams this year. Foothill has one or two decent players and a freshman PG who is not at varsity skill level if we are being honest. But at least stepping up and trying to do his best. Amador varsity has a solid starting lineup but those plays they run are so predictable. They may be losing games but not by much. Too many coaches on the bench doing nothing its overkill and just looks ridiculous. And from what I have seen Monte Vista and of course De La Salle's coaching are key to their success. But I will never blame a coach for doing the job as long as he is not there just for a puny paycheck at the expense of the kids. Signed, a BB fan/UConn BB alum. My daughter plays soccer. Go figure.
Posted by Anita Lai, a resident of the Golden Eagle neighborhood, on Feb 12, 2013 at 10:42 pm
I see things have not changed at Amador High School. My son tried out for the basketball team two years ago and did not make the team. He had several verbal exchanges with the junior varsity coach. During tryouts he was so rude and arrogant my son was glad he didn't make the team. His friends who ended up playing for this coach to a horrible losing season, said it was smart that he went on to play soccer instead. What is going on with these pleasanton schools that they can be blue ribbon honored but cannot coach to produce winning teams in basketball? Are these coaches required to be certified if there is such a thing?
View in an RSS Reader
E-mail this topic.
Print this topic.
