GITTELSON BITS column

Plenty of coaches on the move
GERRY GITTELSON, Columnist

Must be something in the air, because there sure is a lot of movement in local coaching circles, and we're not just talking football coaches Harry Welch of Canyon, Troy Starr of Taft of Woodland Hills and Ben McEnroe of Chaminade of West Hills, all of whom are successful - even legendary in the cases of Welch and Starr - but have made recent goodbyes.

Basketball coaches Jason Bryant of Van Nuys, Andre McCarter of Birmingham of Van Nuys, Richard Johannsen of Verdugo Hills of Tujunga, Ed Chevalier of Oak Park and Brad Katz of Poly of Sun Valley have resigned, too.

Bryant is headed to Lincoln High in San Diego. McCarter, a former UCLA guard, is being replaced by Jason Bryant, who played at USC. Former Santa Paula coach Joey Ramirez is taking over at Oak Park for Chevalier. And, as previously reported, Katz is headed to Pierce College as an assistant, replaced by David Bonino, a former Birmingham standout.

Back to football, Tony White has resigned from St. Genevieve of Panorama City after one season.

-- Fans of Welch, and of local high school football in general, are hoping he ends up at Chaminade of West Hills, where the 62-year-old task- master is weighing what's reportedly a $100,000-plus annual deal. That way, at least he'll be close by, and wouldn't it be fun when Chaminade plays host to Canyon in Week 4?

But there is recurring speculation Welch instead will accept an offer from tiny St.Margaret's High in San Juan Capistrano, which finished 14-0 last season to win the Northeast Division title - the equivalent of Div. XIII by the old standards - but did so with just one player weighing more than 200 pounds.

St. Margaret's defensive lineman Hunter Steffien, the co-division player of the year, is slated to return, along with quarterback Cameron Hiller. But star running back Michael Duenes is a graduating senior.

Welch has two daughters, one who lives in nearby Mission Viejo, and the other in San Diego, a bit farther down the road. The proximity to his daughters (and five grandchildren) makes it a good bet Welch will end up at St.Margaret's.

-- Among the players Welch leaves behind at Canyon are returning standouts Mike Spagnola and A.J. Wallerstein, two of the West Coast's top prospects. Spagnola, who is switching from defensive lineman to linebacker, has put on more than 20 pounds and is up to 232 while retaining his quickness. He's been offered scholarships by several top colleges. Wallerstein, an offensive lineman who might end up at Harvard, also has grown, sprouting to 6-foot-5 and 278 pounds.

"A.J. looks like an NFL player," Welch said.

-- Kevin Lenik, a freshman baseball phenom at Granada Hills High, has been invited to play for the Atlanta Braves' scout team this summer, which theoretically means he has the potential to be drafted in 2010.

Lenik, a 6-3 pitcher/ outfielder, is 2-0 with a 2.54ERA for the Highlanders this season.

Hart of Newhall pitcher Tyler Eyrich sports a 4.5 grade-point average and has never received a grade lower than "A." He also plays defensive back for the football team.

Hart's baseball program also has a terrific young prospect in freshman Josh Wagner, who has thrown two consecutive no-hitters for the undefeated frosh team. Wagner (7-0, 0.46ERA) already throws 80mph and is the son of Jim Wagner, a former Providence of Burbank standout who participated in the 1983 Daily News Bernie Milligan All-Star Game, and played at Arizona and Cal State Northridge.

"I think the odds are pretty great that Josh is going to be better than me because he has a real good support system around him," the elder Wagner said. "Back in the 1980s, you were pretty much on your own. My coach was a Marine drill sergeant. That was my training."

Gerry Gittelson's column appears in the Daily News twice a week.

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