FOOTBALL: Parks in as new Blair coach
Former Verbum Dei assistant hired to replace Tip Sanders. Vikings also hire new volleyball coach.
By Keith Lair, Staff Writer
Verbum Dei assistant football coach Gary Parks will be introduced as the Blair High School football coach today.
Parks, who was a quarterback coach at the Los Angeles school, will meet with the returning players this afternoon and with parents and the football boosters tonight, athletic director Gamal Smalley said.
He replaces Lavell "Tip" Sanders.
Sanders led the Vikings to a 9-2 record and a co-Rio Hondo League championship this past season. It was the Vikings' best season in more than a decade.
"Tip got us going, and now we can see if we can build on that," Smalley said. "The kids are excited. He's a dynamic and charismatic person."
Many of Parks' fellow assistant coaches at Verbum Dei will move over to Blair, Smalley said.
The Eagles went 2-8 last season, but Parks, who has been a long-time assistant at Verbum Dei, has a CIF-Southern Section championship ring. Verbum Dei defeated La Salle for a CIF-SS title in 2006.
"He coached people who are in the NFL, people that our kids have heard of," Smalley said.
"He knows how to get kids into college, and he's willing to help tutor them, too."
Parks was one of six candidates interviewed for the job. Two students sat in on the interview process and Smalley said after listening to Parks, they wanted to hire him on the spot.
The hiring comes on the heels of Smalley naming Andrea Richardson the volleyball coach. Richardson was an assistant at Blair last season.
She replaces Rich Huynh.
"I'm really excited," Richardson said. "It's going to be a little bit of a challenge, but I know the girls really well, they want to learn and get better. I think we can get better."
Richardson played at Cal State L.A. Her 2005 team finished third in the nation, and in her senior season in '06, the Eagles reached the NCAA Division II regional semifinals.
The Vikings went 0-8 in the Rio Hondo League last season, 2-10 overall. They have not won a league match in more than three years.
"She brings a lot to the table in collegiate experience and in playing college volleyball," Smalley said. "She knows what the college volleyball life is about, and it will be good exposure for our athletes.
"Coach Huynh is a big fan of her's and he was really pulling for her to get the job all along."
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Melendez worked as a correspondent for the San Gabriel Valley Tribune for three years and later landed a job as a freelance writer at the Los Angeles Times before accepting an offer at The Orange County Register covering high schools. Melendez covered Major League Soccer at The Register for three years before being promoted to report on the Lakers, Angels and Dodgers for the Web. Melendez also worked for the Daytona Beach News-Journal, Fresno Bee, Oakland Tribune and The Boston Globe. E-mail opinions, suggestions and tips to miguel.melendez@sgvn.com. |
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Im glad Blair found a worthy coach to take up after sanders. I hope they are a contender for the laegue title again as well as monrovia. But I think everyone would like to see a match-up between Blair and duarte
There are some eerie parallels between the Blair and Monrovia situation. Both schools were co-Champs in the RHL last season, both coaches left pretty late in the year, both new coaches were assistant coaches on CIF Championship teams.
I like that Blair included a couple players on the interview committee.
Yeah we're still looking for a girls basketball coach. If it's next week, great. If it's a couple more weeks, great. We want to make sure we make the right decision for our team and that might not happen right away.
People are slowly coming back after our little system problem. Plus we had just started with the new name and E-mail system. People are coming to the site, however. Just not posting.
Last I heard, they're interviewing. My guess is it could be as soon as next week that we'll hear.
Scott, any update on the Blair girls basketball job?
What happened to this blog, nobody comments anymore.
Hopefully Coach Parks will be what's needed for our program to continue to grow. As far as Coach Richardson, she's a great coach and really cares about our girls. I'm happy she got the job.