Wrong Betty B.
The 2004 game was won on the field, give credit where credit is due, your kicker still could have kicked the extra point, it wasn't as if the penalty put him out of range. You guy's had the bigger faster team but West co wanted it more, they won it by shutting down your offense in the second half, the defense stepped up that game & then stepped up the rest of the season to win the title, so give them a break.
This past season the teams were close. the difference was Brian Hunter, he had one hell of a game against West Co with his 4 or 5 touchdown runs, still the game came down to the last 1:27
when Hunter scored the winning T.D., you also have to consider the outcome if Tyler Hockenhull[the starting tailback for West co] wouldn't have gotten his season ending injury early in the 1st quarter, that left West Co with their 3rd string Tailback, big difference in talent there.

(laugh) WC Bulldog, everything has already been said to you that needs to be said. WC called out the big dogs at MD and thats who you are going to get. Good luck with that attitude thinking a D7 school can compete with a D1. You are the one who is going to be eating your words come week 1, and the point spread (laugh)..Im going to make a prediction 30+...thats generous. Show some class man, nobody wants to hear your bs. As I have said before, you dont see any amat fans posting negatives or boasting about who they can beat, will beat, or should beat. Let your teams performance speak for itself. If they succeed great. If they dont...support them anyway. Thats the reason amat has always had such a great fan base. Its tradition. No matter how bad the season is, the fans are always there to support their team. Etequette man...Etequette.. Good luck after week 1. Go Mater dei..

2 weeks to 0 week
St Paul vs Amat

Go Lancers...

W.C. Bulldog.. obviously your faux pas has been pointed out to you. But as for your comment as to the abilites of the girls basketball team: I bet you couldn't hold your own with one of their bench warmers. And as for your sexist comment towards me: Are you kidding me? by the way I am not an Amat booster.. I am a true fan of CO see you October 13th. before you mention how you beat CO two years ago let me remind you it was by 1 point due to penalties for excessive celebration. It wasn't won on the field but by a judgement call of the ref.

W.C. Bulldog I think you got Betty B. mixed up with pjc's post, the person posting is at the bottom of the post not above it. By the way, its better to do your talking on the field with your skills instead of here on this buliten board,
Why talk all your talk before you even step on the field and get the other team fired up and fully focused on your team, you blow any chance
of them taking the Bulldogs lightly and going in the game with overconfidence. Stay low key Bulldog,your making your school look cocky.
From your fan & supporter, good luck.

Hey Bulldog, Some parents want the best education for their kids and thats why they send them to private school. For a education not for just football bragging purposes. Back to football. Your WC team was 7-4 last year with cheap wins over powerhouses(sarcastic here) like Walnut,Monrovia,D Ranch and Nogales.....impressive!..........Area teams man handled you guys C.O. So. Hills.. also you guys got slapped around by a Orange team in the playoffs. A Orange team that never had a chance against So. Hills in the championship game. Yes it was over by half time......Mater Dei went 4-1 in League Beating true powerhouses like Loyola (the eventual D1 champions), St. John Bosco, Santa Margarita and Servite. Their only loss coming to your neighbor to the South of you Bishop Amat. I think you are way in too deep playing this Mater Dei team that started a Freshman QB last year and won all those league games against a big time D1 league last year. True MD is known for it's basketball programs and that tuition money that is paid goes to that beautiful state of the art gymnasium but go Ask USC and the Arizona Cardinals how great a player Matt Leinhart is. Yes Matt attended Mater Dei.........Geeze what comes out of WC?........Well yes SH has those great players in baseball and Amat, well they are Amat and have a great tradition over there like all us private schools do. Thats why you play D7.. you guys cannot measure up to recruiting Catholic Private schools..much more your neighboring public schools out recruit you guys....Hope those recruits you are getting from the West Covina Bruins Jr. All American come in handy when Sept. 8th comes rolling around.....Why is it that Covina HS has Mike McDougha(spelling?) at QB and not you guys?...He was a WC Bruin........Geroge Munoz is good but he cannot compare to this kid from Covina Mike M..you lost a good QB there...you guys do not have the players to play a D1 program and you will find that out.....I give you credit for backing up your program and all of the SGV but be realistic man you guys are going to get a trouncing by MD.

Few Coaches will admit to weakness in the face of adversity at the best of times whether it be the pressure from boosters and alumni or next weeks opponent . Expecting a departing Coach to be real about his motives just isn't going to happen in our competitive environment.

Most guys know that football fans have short memories and laying low for even one season allows them to move back through the ranks of AC to running a program to running a prominent program. Most aspire to continue the climb seeing themselves someday at the head of a D1 team or maybe even in the NFL.

The Bogan's, Brady's, Ladouceur's, Gano's, and Mahlstede's are few and far between and expecting Coaches to be stand up guys working solely for the good of the school and the young men playing for them may be a bit much to expect.

Cynical? Oh yeah.

Realistic? You judge.

betty booster mom you need new recruiting. last time I checked the girls basketball team are the studs maybe you should put pads on them ....... legitimate D1 program?... thats to make you feel better when you write that check at the end of month it is just a letter and number ask your coach o my bad he ran away WE ARE SGV...by the way your rents due

if you want to be the best you have to play the best west covina will be #1.

Classic! You're hired. Start on Monday.

Aram:

Since you are weary of the generic “to spend more time with my family� excuse, consider these; (remember that these are intended as generic responses and should not be construed as pertaining to Coaches Hatley, DiFiori, or any other individual in particular).

1.I'm tired of the Booster Club President using my parking space
2.The stud (insert position here) we recruited decided to attend (insert School here)
3.Hey, I'm expected to A), beat (insert Team name here), B) win league, and C) make a solid show in CIF every year, otherwise I'm toast
4.My players have been calling me dude
5.Can I get back to you after I answer this voice mail from the DA's office?
6.Monsignor hasn't spoken to me since halfway through last year's basketball season
7.My ARM has been raised five times since last year; oh, and the head of the Alumni Association is my mortgage banker
8.(Insert Team name here) whipped us three years in a row
9.She looked a lot older than that to me
10.Principal peeled my name sticker off my office door

West Co. Bulldog the last time I checked you guys were still having trouble beating Walnut and Nogales and you want to play a Legitimate D1 program like Mater Dei?........check your self and your pride at the door pal. The reality is you have no business stepping on the same field with Mater Dei....The brut punishment that will come out of that game is risky and you will go limping into your season after week one losing players to injury. You should have scheduled Bishop Amat, Loyola Santa Margarita and St. John Bosco.....same results.. a A-- kicking........your AD really put your team at risk here...Not wise to mix it up with D1...........

I think the correct response to this thread is this.

A person only has to explain why he did something to those whose lives will be effected. He doesn't owe anyone else an answer at all. Some things are personal and private and should remain that way.

THIS GOES OUT TO JOHN AND SCJ. YOU MUST BE THE BISHOP AMAT WATERBOYS JOHN DIV 7 CAN STEP UP AND PLAY DIV 1 AND THEIR PLAYERS WILL FEEL THE STRENGTH OF DIV 7. SEE JOHN WEST COVINA SOUTH HILLS LOS ALTOS CHARTER OAK AND ROWLAND ARE THE POWERHOUSES IN SAN GABRIEL VALLEY. SO STEP UP OR STEP BACK. SCJ LET'S SEE WHO GETS BEAT PHYSICALLY, COME OUT AND PLAY, MATER DIEI IS AND WE ARE SAN GABRIEL VALLEY, YOU ARE JUST RENTING

Aram, you put the coaches in a lose-lose situation. Let's just hypothetically say that every single coach lied to you when he said "I want to spend more time with my family." SO WHAT!!!! If he tells you he would rather go to the beach in the summer or hang out and party a little bit more, then the community will automatically look down upon him, but if he tells you he wants to spend time with his family, you trash him on this blog. There are a lot of pressing issues members of the media should be concerned about; the reason for a HS head coach leaving is not one of them.
I can also guarantee you that DiFiori is able to spend more time with his family now that he's an assistant coach.

Aram, maybe next time, when a coach resigns and sites "family reasons"....maybe instead of asking the coach, or A.D....maybe you should call his wife and ask. I am sure they have the inside track...considering they share beds and all. Try that next time. :)

Ummm... since when is having a critical opinion of someone or some school's program equivelent to slander? Some fans here need thicker skin, I guess.

Attention SMM:

As a former Tribune prep sports writer who has been in the business a long time, let me say this: I certainly know the difference between high school football and the NFL. I also know that high school athletes and coaches must deal with the negative as well as the positive, just like they do in the NFL. Sorry, but that's part of life. That's what makes prep sports a learning experience. Do you want the players (and coaches) to go out into the "real" world unprepared because of how sheltered they've been in high school?

The simple fact they play a game in which someone wins and someone loses dictates that life lessons will be learned, both from positive and negative events. Sugarcoating everything does the athletes and coaches a disservice. I think we bend over backwards to be fair to prep athletes and coaches, but they are not totally free of criticism in the public arena.

Besides, Aram's original post on this thread was not intended to single out DiFiori or Amat. It was merely using that situation as an example of something that happens all too often in the world of prep coaching.

your opinion sounds more like slander...and another attempt to put Amat down.
Someday a Tribune Prep Sports writer will remember that this is High School Football, not the NFL.

SMM,

This site is predicated on opinion. My opinion, your opinion and anybody else who wants to chime in. The hard news as it pertains to Coach D came when I wrote his resignation article where one of the reasons he gave for leaving was to spend more time with family. Andrew Campa had an article in Wednesday's Star-News/SGV Tribune about his return. The facts you want are in those articles. What you're getting on this thread is straight opinion.

It always amazes me that reporters state their opinions more often than reporting the facts- especially regarding high school athletics! Anyone who knows Coach DiFiori knows the facts surrounding his resignation at Amat, and that the fact is he did truely leave to spend more time with his boys. Some other significant facts: He lives 10 minutes from LaSalle, compared to a 1/2 hour drive to Amat. As an assistant coach he can easily leave practice in time to attend his son's games. He can also easily pick them up from their school and bring them back to La Salle for his practice, if need be, rather than getting home at 8 or 9 PM only to be able to say good night to them. How many other area head football coaches have also served as an AP Biology teacher while coaching a D1 school? La Salle has gained an outstanding individual to their faculty, and an incredibly intelligent football coach. It is Amat's loss. So aram, go back to reporting facts- cover all of the area teams- (your bias towards Los Altos is far too obvious) and then maybe your integrity as a reporter might be recognized.

Aram, maybe you should have asked not only coaches but athletic directors to read this blog entry. Lets face it, athletic directors most likely have inside knowledge about the sitution and could have actually been the ones to hand out the pink slip.
Besides that, fans are also a reason why people inside the coaching staff get axed. SoCal is home to the most fickle fans in the nation.

Los Altos and Gano do not or will not play Amat. He stands to lose not only players back to Amat but also his credibilty to his parents and their alumni when his team gets trounced by a legitimate D1 team. He does not have the stones to put that team and school at risk like that. Ask CO when they were making all that noise in 2004 and then got whipped on their own field 28-0. Coach Difiori could have easily run that score up. Los Altos is a fine program with a good coach and should continue to have success at the Div.7 level but to think they can step up and play a D1 Amat is running a risk of getting blownout much more sending their kids into their D7 games with that hanging over their heads, they may never recover mentally or physically from that. Prime example of this will be when West Covina D7 takes on Mater Dei D1.......Big risk here for WC. Their players will feel the strength of D1 players and will go limping into their season. Players will be lost to injury. Not a good idea Los Altos to call out Amat for a future game. Heck stay focused on So. Hills because they have something waiting for you in game one.

OG,

I give schools like CO and Daien credit for trying to step up even know they got beat up. As for Glendora, after the first year they got out of the contract and this year CO and Damien bowed out. At least they were willing to step up, teams like Los Alots, W. Covina and even Covina won't because they will get beat up physically, that came from one of the coaches mouths a couple years ago. Plus it came from one coach of one of the power house schools that if they lost that they would probably have kids jumping ship. As for the schools that AMAT play on Friday nights, you don't see any tougher schedules in the San Gabriel Valley.I think it is good for the Valley when teams step up, what a draw it would be for a Los Altos vs Amat game. I know kids on both teams and I know it would be great for them both as well as the Valley.

Quite frankly I'm new to the SGV football scene so I don't know the history of some of the teams that are mentioned.

Personally, if Mr. DiFiori wants to say he is leaving beacuse he wants to spend more time with his family...so what. People leave jobs all the time and because they don't want to burn bridges or create a big mess when they leave they will say cliches like that.

Did he really leave because he wanted to be at home more? Probably not, but what's the big deal? Get over it and leave him alone.

Last I checked, there are some pretty good programs in the SGV. They'd appreciate some of that coverage you are giving to Amat.

Hey Aram, I read all your stuff about Amat, Difiori, etc... (and much of it has been in his defense) then I read Difiori's comments about coaching at La Salle. This is how I see it. You build a relationship with coaches and do a great deal to make sure their views are accurately portrayed in the Trib. So when a coach gives you a reason like "family"... you have to accept it at face value. Now when that coach appears on a sideline months after he "resigned"... I can see how you may view it as a violation of the professional trust that you have established over the years with that coach. A coach can't want positive publicity from you and then not be forthcoming with the reasons behind his resignation. I have spoke with you many times "off the record"... those 3 magic words allow a coach to be honest. It works like this: "Hey Aram I am leaving the school to spend more time with family." Now off the record... it was the boosters, admin, players, money, etc." Then a reporter can use their magic word "cited". "Difiori cited family concerns as his reason, however, it was no secret he was under intense pressure, blah, blah, blah." Then the coach gets his spin out there & the reporter doesn't look like a parrot.
On the other hand I think in some aspect it is hilarious. You use this blog to talk sports and vent about things, etc. You confirmed your story and then imploded and lashed out at all coaches. Now you know why we (coaches) end up calling you at the Trib at midnight to "re-phrase" a comment made in the heat of the moment immediately after a game! Coaches and those who have football blogs need to step away for a moment and not find the nearest media outlet!!!
Anyway I think those that know football have a good understanding of why most coaches are looking to "re-locate". I can't imagine anybody saying "Aram lied to us!" Quite frankly, I'd imagine people seeing right through the resignation and this latest move simply confirmed it. And at the end of the day... if you feel you got screwed by a coach then you have the forum to discuss it.

John, the only thing you point out is Amats inconsistency. If they beat those teams they should have beaten the others. Amat is theDI rep of the SGV and need to represent by beating the other DI out of area schools, not beating on locals they should always beat. That proves nothing. I cheer for Amat when they play the other schools like them and shake my head when they need to play CO, Damien, & Glendora to gain confidence.

ed,

you are right Amat is not Bassett or Los Altos and some people that talk about Amat falling down, forget that we beat St. Paul, CO, Damien, Loyola and Mater Dei last year(oh yeah Damien killed the powerhouse called Los Altos). Loyala and Mater Dei were in the Smei Finals with Loyola winning the D-1 chanpionship last year. With Amat's team last year they should have been there also. Coach D has always been a good coach but the thing that jumped up and bit him was the fact that the intensity level dropped off from game to game and the team got complacient year in and out. The school truly believed that CIF dished them by not giving them a birth last year, maybe they did but there was no reason for loosing to Bosco, Santa Margarita and Servite.

FR,

I check all comments, approve them and import them to the site. I have no problem running whatever it is you'd like to say about me, but try to make it pertain to the topic and don't accuse other posters of being somebody else, even me.

This is how I see it. Coach D did not leave, he was presurred to leave. This is not Bassett or Los Altos, this AMAT. No matter what people feel towards the program, it is the only local D1 program in the area. They beat teams like CO,Damien, Loyola and OC power house Mater Dei last year. Coach D had some of the best talent Amat has seen in years and did not make the play offs. In a program like AMAT you must produce.

regarding coaches wanting to spend time with their families aram and your frustration with it and your argument:
it's poor reasoning and back up because of the fact that you are the one that keeps hearing it, not us readers. just admit that as frustrating and monotonous as it is for you to hear - we don't care we just want to know the facts and that is what you get paid to do not us man

leave MDF off your topics

& stop patting yourself on the back

-THE DAWG is you we can see that your security setting and firewall are wide open and your Internet Protocol number as the one that approved FR's comment then responded to and posted it all from the same computer....... real slick holmes c'mon where's your integrity Aram? Gano would be disappointed! don't be a fraud

stop padding your own stats

THE DAWG is you hahaha

Aram wrote: I am just sick and tired of hearing the same old story...."
"
Same here; this "same old story"--- 99.9% or more of the time they leave for other pastures......this is one of the best short eds ive seen you write; KEEP IT UP!!!!

-THE DAWG

Aram

Why don't you get off of DiFiori. He's out at AMAT. There is nothing more he can do over there. I am sure this is not the way he wanted it. He obviously didn't play his cards right and lack of success begot him an early exit.
I don't understand why you give DiFiori such grief AT! It appears you are on a neverending witch hunt with some of these coaches. Maybe instead of spending so much time on wheter or not the Coach is being square with you regarding why he exits his post you should be talking more about the game and players themselves. Enough already. By continually expressing your disapproval of a certain former head coaches explanation just shows that you can't focus elsewhere. To me, there are plenty other interesting stories that you owe to the communities that the San Gabriel Valley Tribune Newspaper serves - go find 'em and stop your 'bullying' journalism, you are wasting your time, my time and your subscribers time. Display your Prep Sports writing prowess with another subject man.

Futhermore, I am sure DiFiori found that with this day and age his bill for gasoline has been cut down severly if he is coaching and teaching at the same school. Are you upset that he didn't disclose this too?

If you still want to talk about MDF why don't you tell us what positive things he's doing over at his new post instead?

FR

First of all, Coach DiFiori and my son have been in the same class in elementary school. He will turn 10 this next school year and this is the time when their activities become more time consuming. LaSalle is a bit closer to home for Coach DiFiori and not being the head guy does not put the responsibility of a head coach.

Next point, let's face it, the numer of quality athletes in the San Gabriel Valley pales to past decades. As a football official for two decades and watching HS football even longer, any school in this area would have to have virtually every top athlete to compete with talent level consistancy, and that is not going to happen.

I do think it is unfair to criticize any coach who is stepping down for "family reasons." Many have reached the point that their kids are getting older and the long hours coaching, and teaching classes at the same time, can be rough on families. It is also hard for some people to completely leave the sport they love and by being an assistant on a staff, keeps you there on Friday nights, whithout all the necessary fund raising and parental complaints.

I have personally known several coaches that heave stepped aside, and they were glad they no longer had to put up with those things anymore. I will also bring on in Dick Salter as an example: After his retirement from Arcadia HS, he assisted each of his sons teams, alternating each season.

One season I ran into Dick at a Bishop Amat-Arcadia baseball game. One of his son's was assisting the Amat baseball team and this was just a year or so after he left Arcadia. I saw him and said hello, and asked, "What team are you rooting for?" He chuckled and avoided a straight answer like a politican. He then said something like that he was rooting for both sides.

I then pointed to the football field and told him, "I understand, you really can't root against a place that has you name on the pressbox and scoreboard." (While I pointed to the adjacent football field).

"You got that right," was his reply.

Some coaches have actually become officials after they stop coaching, simply for the reason they want to go out there on Friday night.

Aram and the coach are both right in what they are saying. Aram would just wish that the coaches & programs would come clean with who are resigning and with who are suggested to resign in order to not ruin their career. The term "spending more time with family" is an unwritten saying of they wanted ME to leave which was probably the case with Difiori, Hatley, and others... The insiders know the truth. Mike is right, he probably is spending more time with family, but he would probably rather still be coaching Amat. Coaching is like a drug to these guys. You just can't quit it cold turkey and not have a piece of it. Its like boxers, they never just retire once. They keeping showing up over and over. Same with FB coaches. Pros, college, HS all the same revolving door.

I thought Coach Difiori did a outstanding job at Amat not only on the football field but in the classroom. He is a very good science teacher but when your the Head Football coach at a place like Bishop Amat where they have a big Alumni and Booster following you are expected to win Championships. Lets face it Division 1 is a tough Division to win a championship given some of best teams were around during Difioris days at Amat. The great talent level was out there in programs such as Loyola,Santa Margarita,Edison,Long Beach Poly, Servite not to mention others. Did he have that kind of talent? sure he had some but not to that extreme. He got pressured out because he just could not get over that hump of not winning a championship for the school. It will be a long time before Amat wins another championship but to oust the coach is not the answer.....I do think his work schedule will be lighter being a assistant coach but we all know the fire burns inside coach Difiori to be the head guy...if he was so committed to being a family man he could have just done his job as a science teacher there at La Salle H.S., but he loves to coach and like boxers some coaches just dont know when to give it up and in Difioris case he is young and the hunger is still there. He will pop up somewhere and be the Head coach again.

I have no past with DiFiori. If anything, I defended him with a column of support (my honest opinion) when the heat was at its highest (during the '04 season). This thread isn't all about DiFiori. He is just the latest example of a coach who painted this dire situation to spend more time with family only to show up on somebody else's sideline the very next season.
You talk about reporting the truth, what's it say about a coach who knows he's using the "spend more time with family" excuse to cover up the real the reason why he's leaving? Readers must understand that when a coach resigns and I or any other reporter asks the "Why" question, we have to write what they say even if it ends up being a mask for the real reason. Believe me, there are a lot of readers out there who are smart enough to know that when a coach uses the "spend more time with family" card, he's basically not telling the whole story and it becomes obvious when he shows up somewhere else the very next season.

I think that this is a great blog. I know that you can step down and coach a lower level team, that in turn will allow for more family time. One can stay on as a staff member and contribute to your school in another capacity. I know that if something opens up that one might think is a step up or is closer to home, than so be it, but just be honest to the players, school and the community that supported you.

I can remember that my HS coach at El Monte HS, Tim Campa, Started coaching in 1990 and coached til 94. He stepped down to spend more time with his family, and I believe he did. He had twolittle boys and a supportive wife. They were always there at games and running around on the field after games. I know he stayed on staff at EMHS after stepping down as Head Coach of the Lions. I belive his kids are in HS or Close to graduating. But he is a good example of what "Spending time with the Family" means. I remember him stating that he was missing soccer games and he wanted to see his boys grow. I just thought that I would give an example of a Coach I know stuck to his word about spending time with his family and still gave back to the school and students that supported him and his teams. Great blog and its good that you are calling coaches on this. I believe that if you want to leave a school for any reason, then just be honest to those around you. If its political then call it political. If you want to take the high road and not say, then do not give a reason that will be questioned when you pop up somewhere else on the grid-iron. This just brings more questions and attention to yourself. It also gets your former players who trusted in you, to start to question your statement and reason for leaving.

I LOVE that you tell it like it is AT! Sorry gotta go feed the baby now.

P.S. To the guy in the Silver Dodge Ram with the big Los Al sticker on your rear window. Bet....if CO beats you this year the sticker comes off! If Los Al wins I'll put the sticker on my dodge for a year!

I have to call you on this one, Aram. You are letting the sensationalism of your profession get in the way of fair reporting.

Many coaches are young. They take the position soon after their playing days have ended. This stage of young adulthood normally coincides with marriage and family building. Coaches, realizing that the profession they love and the hours it demands is now keeping them from the people they love and the home life they've dreamed about, find themselves in a dichotomy. Is there a balance between what they love to do and who they love at home?

You state a coach that told you that he was "leaving to spend more time with his family" is actually assisting at La Salle. You think that you've got him. Let me get this right, he's assisting... not their head coach. For a position coach, the hours involved (never mind the energy or amount of responsibility) are far fewer than that of the head man. Didn't he say that he was going to spend more time with his family? Surely you didn't assume he was going to spend ALL his time with his family? Mike probably took the position at La Salle because coaches coach... that's what they do.

I can't difinitively speak for Mike's intentions, so I'll use his quotes of record for guidance:

- He worked many hours.
- He missed his family.
- He changed positions that requires less hours.
- He now spends more time with his family.

Aram, you tend to see Mike and all coaches as potential liars, instead of honest, dedicated developers of men. My guess is that you see them this way because you believe that your job is to decipher the truths from unwilling participants. If you aren't given every detail in the story, if the answers aren't "good copy" or "good quotes", if the coach is protecting his or his players privacy, you slander him by questioning his honesty and integrity... by trying to damage the very core of his profession.

Aram... if you have a past with Coach DiFiori, don't let it ruin your ability to report the truth.