Ayala High School boys basketball coach Kenny Donavon was fired on Tuesday by principal Diana Yarboi after one season as the varsity head coach. After his promotion last year by then principal Mike Vaughn following several seasons as the junior varsity coach, Donavon led the Bulldogs to a 17-12 record, third place in the Sierra League and a first-round playoff victory.
In a meeting ostensibly for evaluation on Tuesday, Yarboi informed a surprised Donavon and athletic director Steve Martin the school wanted to “go in a different direction.”
“I’m a little perplexed myself,” Donavan said. “When I asked (Yarboi) why, she just repeated that they wanted to go in a different direction. It was a short meeting.”
Yarboi, in her first year as the Ayala principal, could not be reached for comment.
Donavan has no plans to pursue another coaching job and will continue to teach social studies at Ayala.
“I was caught completely by surprise,” Martin said. “I felt personally that he had done an exceptional job but the principal is the one who ultimately does the hiring and firing.”
Donavon was actually the one wo set up the meeting, hoping to review and evaluate the season. Neither he nor Martin had any inclination he was about to be fired.
“The fact that your own athletic director has no idea when a coach is about to be fired says something about your school,” Donavon said.
This is the second time in two seasons the Ayala boys basketball coach has been fired without receiving an explination. Longtime coach Tom Gregory was fired last season after leading the Bulldogs to the quarterfinals.
“What’s strange is the fact that this happened last year too,” Donavon said. “If Tom can get fired with his resume… his is a much stronger resume than mine.”
