Why are so many high school football coaches leaving in the prime of their careers?

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Read Aram’s reaction story on the flood of high school football coaching resignations this week: “No, quite simply no,” said longtime Charter Oak head coach Lou Farrar when asked if he’d ever witnessed this many resignations at one time during his six decades as a coach in the area. “It concerns me because I know how important athletics are to overall school climate. But you have to understand where they’re coming from. I really understand why these guys are doing what they’re doing.”

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  • Kan B’alam Son of Pakal

    Well so far the coaches resigning are from the Midvalley and Southeast Division. In the last few years Monrovia(Maddox) and West Covina(Maggiore) Have totally dominated, their respective divisions. It’s no fun to be a part of a division that you can not win. Next year Monrovia, and West Co seem to be the favorites again. It would be one thing if the title was going from school to school within the division, like in other divisions. This is not the case here. These coaches work year round to get their teams ready to compete in the playoffs, and win. Covina for example, Coach Thomas spent four years grooming this years class to win it. Only to get beat convincingly at home. Podley Came off a title run, only to watch the same team WesCo score 84 pts in the finals. These guys want to rest and refresh themselves, and come back to coach. Or stay in the program, but limit some of the stress. I think Once Monrovia and West Covina are placed in their correct divisions, the balance of power may balance out. After 3 peats it’s time to go. So I understand why they want a break. After seeing what they had returning etc… Losing is not fun, and when you have no chance of winning it’s even worse. These Coaches paid their dudes, and put in the work. It makes more sense to spend time with your family, then come back and coach at a school, with players, in a Division that they can compete in and win.

  • Former Coach

    No way, not even close. That is simply not true or acurate at all. Are you serious? Coaches do not go into a season thinking that they have no chance of winning. Good luck finding a coach that will agree with that! Coaches find it challenging to take a team, build it up, and beat the West Covinas and the Monrovias. In Covina’s case, they wanted to play West Covina. They wanted the challenge of beating one of the best teams in the valley. Coaching at the high school level, in any sport, has simply seen more unfun times than fun and rewarding times recently and it has little to do with money.

  • AZTEC PRIDE

    Quiet the opposite and off the topic,but…. THE RAMS PICK UP JEFF FISHER as their NEW HEAD COACH!!!!

    SWEEEEEEEET!!!! LOL…

    ~ALWAYS A RAMS FAN~

  • JMO

    Ever since that MURDERING BIATCH took the LAMBS away they’ve been dead to me. In other words, who the flip cares.

  • AZTEC PRIDE

    @JMO, You big meany. Let’s see the WHOLE entire state of Missouri and especially the City of St. Louis cares! By the way you be surprised how many RAM FANS are left in So. Cali! You haven’t heard of the SOUTHERN CALIFONIA RAMS BOOSTER CLUB! Freakin great!

    By the way I said it was off the topic! LOL…

    SUPER BOWL CHAMPION RAMS, don’t you forget it JLO.

  • Fred Robledo

    Aztec, that’s something u and I agree on…The Rams will always be my team, great hire …Now let’s get them back to L.A…..Unlike JMO, my team is my team, I never know how you switch loyalties to another team, they’re still the Rams. Now had they changed to a different name in St. Louis, that’s differen’t, but they didn’t, they’re still the Rams and I’m loyal to that uniform. Just like there are still Dodgers fans in Brooklyn, there are loyal Rams fans in L.A. who could care less who owns them. What am I supposed to do, change to the Radiers, Chargers, Cowboys?….The people who switch allegiances over the years are the same ones that say you can like UCLA and USC. Or like USC football and UCLA basketball. No way, pick a side and stick to it, that’s how it works, for better or worse. Plus, Fisher will look good sporting his sunglasses in the L.A. sunshine….The Rams will be here in 2013, no doubt about it.

  • AZTEC PRIDE

    Wow FRED, you hit that RIGHT ON THE NAIL! And to JMO, can you let her R.I.P. now!

    Hey Fred, remember the RAMS and Titans in the Super Bowl and Fisher was the Titan Coach.

    What a SUPER BOWL! 1999 ST.LOUIS RAMS CHAMPIONS!

    HAVE A GOOD THREE DAY WEEKEND!

  • Fred Robledo

    I watched that game in Vegas, greatest moment ever when they stopped them at the 1!!!! It was the easiest eight hour drive home in traffic from Vegas that I ever made :)

  • JMO

    The only team I’m loyal to is UCLA and look where that”s got me. I’ve never switched loyalties when they left I just became a fan of the league. I have the NFL ticket and just watch any game I feel like.

    Aztec, I find it hard to believe that there is a whole lot of love for her amongst the Socal Rams Boosters. Come on now.

  • AMAT 73

    JMO,
    You would be suprised how many of us are still loyal to the RAMS ( for me it’s a no brainer , you know the Blue and Gold and I don’t mean UCLA) and not who owns them . Business is business and the move was a great business decision no doubt. I also have the ticket if only to allow the RAMS to ruin my Sundays . Fischer is a great hire and is coming back to the fold as he was on Robinson’s staff back in Anahiem as the DC . WE WERE NEVER GEORGIA FANS BUT WE’RE ALWAYS RAM FANS !!!!!!!!!
    Fred,
    Funny you say they will be here in 2013 because a good friend of mine with NFL connections says they are high on list to come to LA .

  • Fred Robledo

    Sure they’re coming back, the NFL wants two teams here, an NFC and AFC team. Given the Rams situation in St. Louis and their L.A. ties, they will be here. The other team is either the Chargers or Raiders….

  • Aaron

    How about they just add four more teams I don’t want teams to move here…I want two expansion franchises if we get any.

  • JMO

    Amat 73,

    I was at the last Ram game at Anaheim stadium and got T-boned in my friends new BMW that he more than his wife by a drunk driver. I received a check for 6 grand and was able to take my wife and one year old son to Hawaii to see the Bruins get killed by Kansas for coach Donahue’s last game. I have a great picture of him holding my son after the game so I guess I still have warmth towards the Rams.

  • Hagerty?

    When is HAGERTY going to quit?

    He hasn’t done nothing in 4 years at Amat!!!

  • just sayin’

    When you take over a chaotic program spiraling in the wrong direction coming off a 3-7 season and 3 non-playoff years then proceed to go 32-13, put up four straight playoff teams, a League championship with non-league wins over Orange Lutheran, Mater Dei, St Bonaventure, among others, AND have kids that demonstrate more character than teams of the recent past….I’d say you’ve done something

  • A coach

    Aram’s article is right on. I think he should go deeper though and really find out the root causes and explore them more in depth in a 3 part analysis.

    I am going to point out some issues in no particular order.

    1. The transfer rule is a big deal in terms of balance of power. As soon as South Hills and Charter Oak left the lower division guess where many of the out of area recruits, transfers etc have now went? W. Covina, and other schools in that division. Why because those players want the press, the blogs, the highlights, and most important a chance to win league and CIF playoffs and all the all leagues, all cif’s that come with it. Lets face it, the impact guys and their parents want the all league kudos and all cif kudos which come more to the teams in the hunt and that go further in the playoffs. This gets equated to “perceived” scholarship opportunities for the player/parents whether or not that is true, they still believe it to be true.

    2. Burn out , Burn out, Burn out, goes with increased injuries to athletes as well because of the overworking of them. I have watched this summer passing league stuff and am amazed how much time is spent on passing and then you go to the season and what happens. Most teams run, run, run.
    Get rid of the summer passing league in 100 degree heat and let the athletes do other things they want to do. Like play baseball or basketball or go to the beach. Or how about summer school ?????

    3. I am way more in favor of LESS practice and less coaches control over athletes time wise so they can be allowed to play other sports or train and condition more. I said when the rule was changed that the pressure has been amped up on the coaches to now spend more time on the practice field in order to keep up and compete. The joke though is more practice does not mean more wins. Also, I want athletes exposed to different coaches from different sports as not all coaches are so great. There needs to be enforcement of a zero tolerance rule on coaches that discriminate against the multi sport athlete.

    4. Its time to recognize that leisure and family time are very important to well rounded people and society.

    5. The administrators understand how tough it is to have a winning program given the easy transfer rules and the schools that are positioned to take advantage. They then make a decision on how to invest the limited resources they have. And guess what they focus on the test scores, and academics for the 80% majority of students rather than the 20% of student athletes at the majority of public schools. This does not hold for the privates. Bottom line, when they are judged and evaluated on factors that have nothing to do with athletics what support and decisions do you think they make?

  • Aram Fan

    In typical SGV Tribune fashion this very dificult issue is given the serious indepth analysis a man of Aram Tolegian’s limited skill could muster. Maybe this is what passes for journalism today but years ago this effort wouldn’t pass mustard and would reduce most Editors to tears.
    Aram has thin skin so actually jusdging his work is always a sore subject with him as he can easily rattle off his credentials or, if things get to close tp the bone, he will simply engage in childish public banter while discretely blocking your IP address so I’ll write this on Fred’s blog.
    Imagine if coaches had this luxury to somehow impose their discretionary will at the snap of their fingers and make problem parents disappear, wouldn’t that be a hoot?
    I’ve asked a simple question and have yet to get a direct answer, “which coaches were victims of the blog and walked away?” Podly,Negrete,Koffler, Bogan, Thomas and every other coach who stepped down was never the subject of a parent stalker or a run away blog lynching, at least not on this blog, (is there another blog?) so why is this very impotant issue piggybacking teh careers of great men(which is the real story). What ever happened to taking a man at his word? Oh that’s right, wasn’t it Aram who very publicly ridiculed coaches who used the line, “I just want to spend more time with my family”. So is Aram questioning, once again, the integrity of these outstanding coaches?
    Aram reminds me of a non-playing practice watching parent who knows everything but knows nothing yet gets angry when someone asks him to support his comclusion with substance.
    I rarely if ever publicly, or privately, disagree with Coach Gano who I really and truly admire, but I will in this one instance. What is wrong with coaching today is not parents but institutional structure of support. What all these fine coaches said on their way out was very revealing and unoversal in nature, all thanked the great support the parents, players and Administration gave them. See Aram none left pulling their hair and your conclusions or suggestions are just blog “meat”for the crazies.
    If you want to write a story about feuding personalities (coaches/parents) than do that but this “angle” just bellitles the men who gave so much too so many for so many years.