Coaching Philosophy
I consider myself an “old school” type of coach whose number one goal is to help develop the character of every young man I coach. My success has come from my ability to get my players to out-work their opponents and my ability to help them develop a superior “basketball IQ” than those we compete against.
I truly believe that I owe much of my coaching success to my struggles. In my 18 years as a varsity coach I have NEVER recruited a single player. Besides it being “illegal” according to CIF rules, I got into the coaching profession to match wits on a fair playing field. Unfortunately today many of my coaching colleagues don’t subscribe to such a philosophy. It hurts me to say that I have “lost” numerous talented players who transferred to other schools because of “un-do influence”. The devastating part is that I have since run into many of them who whole heartedly regretted leaving as their “promises” never came into fruition. My biggest heartbreaks have not come from losing basketball games but rather losing players I cared about due to recruiting.
In retrospect having less talent over the years has actually been a blessing. It has allowed me to develop “out of the box” coaching strategies and techniques that have been extremely successful. Such circumstances have ultimately helped equip me with insight to the game of basketball that I otherwise wouldn’t have.
Playing and Coaching Highlights
Additional Information
I consider myself an “old school” type of coach whose number one goal is to help develop the character of every young man I coach. My success has come from my ability to get my players to out-work their opponents and my ability to help them develop a superior “basketball IQ” than those we compete against.
I truly believe that I owe much of my coaching success to my struggles. In my 18 years as a varsity coach I have NEVER recruited a single player. Besides it being “illegal” according to CIF rules, I got into the coaching profession to match wits on a fair playing field. Unfortunately today many of my coaching colleagues don’t subscribe to such a philosophy. It hurts me to say that I have “lost” numerous talented players who transferred to other schools because of “un-do influence”. The devastating part is that I have since run into many of them who whole heartedly regretted leaving as their “promises” never came into fruition. My biggest heartbreaks have not come from losing basketball games but rather losing players I cared about due to recruiting.
In retrospect having less talent over the years has actually been a blessing. It has allowed me to develop “out of the box” coaching strategies and techniques that have been extremely successful. Such circumstances have ultimately helped equip me with insight to the game of basketball that I otherwise wouldn’t have.
Playing and Coaching Highlights
- Varsity Head Coach 18 years (Monroe 7, GHCHS 11)
- Coached over 500 varsity league and playoff games-Teams have made the playoffs 16 of the 18 years
- 2014 Division I City Section Runners Up
- Played for Legendary Coach Lou Cvjanovich at Santa Clara High School (Oxnard, CA)
Additional Information
- http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jan/05/sports/sp-sondheimer5
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/CHATTER%3a+COACH+TAKES+AFTER+MENTOR.-a0126669492
http://articles.latimes.com/2002/jan/06/sports/sp-20744/2
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/BASKETBALL+BEAT%3b+BOYS'+NOTES%3b+TEST+TIME.-a083392181
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/MONROE+TURNING+THINGS+AROUND.-a097339397
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/BOYS'+BASKETBALL+NOTEBOOK%3a+TOUGH+LOVE+HELPS+MONROE+START+9-5.-a0112041620
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/HIGH+SCHOOL+BASKETBALL+NOTEBOOK%3a+PEARSON+TO+WAIT+BEFORE+MAKING...-a083404749
http://www.dailynews.com/sports/20150214/granada-hills-boys-basketball-stuns-el-camino-real-in-finale-in-roundup