Huffins is in at Cal

Congrats, Huff-daddy! If you read this thread, don't pay the negative stuff any mind. You got the job because you worked your tail off for the past ten years to earn it, flat out. These bitter folks can gripe about the degree all they want, but Gladstone hired you for what you DO have, not what you DON'T have. I know I might get slammed for this, but these days, anyone can get a degree, but not everyone has what it takes to be a great coach, and you have shown that potential. THAT'S WHY YOU GOT HIRED! People can speculate for years WHY Gladstone tabbed you, be it ethnicity, status as an Olympic medalist, Cal guy, you name it. But the bottom line is, no matter what the reason, YOU GOT THE JOB!!! Now go do something special with it, and ignore the naysayers! Go Bears!

Good for you and your daughter. Things weren't perfect at Cal over the years, but if you know him Tony Sandoval is a stand-up guy unlike someone who fails to research the facts and sees fit to denigrate Tony and Cal's XC/track program anonymously here or elsewhere. He also follows Joe Vigil's coaching ideology (along with Arthur Lydiard) quite closely.

In his first coaching gig with the Duke City Dashers in New Mexico, Tony coached Lynn Bjorklund of 1970s fame, his first solid distance runner who made some noise. She is still the U.S. high school record holder for 3,000-meters. At Cal, Sandoval coached the women to the NCAAs twice (1984 = 15th) and (1988 = 9th), as well as being named the 1986 NorPac Track & Field Coach of the Year. Sandoval took over the men's and women's programs in 1991.

In a sense the Cal merger for men and women was untimely for Sandoval as Cal's budget for TnF was frozen that same year (in 1991) and few Cal alums would contribute diddly until Erv Hunt was deposed from the Golden Bears head coaching job. Cal was able to cover less than half of its allotted scholarships, while all other teams in the Pac-10 save Oregon State were able to cover the costs of their full complement of allotted athletic scholarships.

Now that this financial and coaching issue is resolved, Tony is re-energized and will be able to recruit and coach good local and in-state distance talent with a budget that is on par with Pac-10 schools.

Well, apparently not ANYONE can get a degree.

Hiring Huffins is a mistake. It is a joke. He is UNDER qualified for the job. Huffins spends too much time talking about himself and will not be successful. Other coaches are going to have a field day in the recruiting wars!

huffins may not be a "distance coach" but he gave me some of the best advice before a cross-country race that i've ever heard.

"take it from some one who's hurt more for a longer time than almost anyone, it's going to hurt. it's going to hurt a lot, but when it's done, it'll hurt the same whether you gave everything or held something back."

or something like that.

We can banter back and forth about whether Huffins will succeed or fail, or whether he should or should not have gotten the job. Bottom line is, he got the job, and only time will tell the story of his success or failure. I for one would never predict another's failure--it's just not good kharma. But that's me...

jacket wrote:

huffins may not be a "distance coach" but he gave me some of the best advice before a cross-country race that i've ever heard.

"take it from some one who's hurt more for a longer time than almost anyone, it's going to hurt. it's going to hurt a lot, but when it's done, it'll hurt the same whether you gave everything or held something back."

or something like that.

Wow, he's got nothing on Knute Rockne...

Bring the entire staff back at Cal is a joke, Berkeley has been a lousy for years and that program has under achieved to the max. Say what you want about Ed, Tony, ect..nice guy's good coaches whatever, they are just Lazy. They don't recruit and it not just Erv's we don't have any money. Tony doesnt even meet with his team each day, hasn't for years, no contact over the summer or during break, no schedule..he does't have a clue who the good H.S. kids are and his reputation in the local High school and J.C level is very poor! Good luck Bears....

You're right. Seventeen year old kids are not impressed by Olympians with great stories about world class athletes and what it takes to get there. The youth of America really gets off on balding, paunchy middle aged men who talk about the 60's and 70's with fondness.

"Hey kids. Back in the day..."

They couldn't pay for their scholarships so recruiting was an iuninspiring, uphill battle. It's like bitching about a Pac-10 football team's lack of success when they can field only 45 scholarship players instead of the allowed-for 85. Also I've never heard anyone imply that Ed Miller was a poor or lazy coach--he might be the best multi-event coach in North America. Cal should be fine. Tony and Ed retire in a few years anyway, so this gives them a chance to go out on a high note someday down the road. Also, Tony has recruits on campus Friday, Saturday and Monday. Sounds pretty busy with recruiting to me.

One Keg wrote:

They couldn't pay for their scholarships so recruiting was an iuninspiring, uphill battle. It's like bitching about a Pac-10 football team's lack of success when they can field only 45 scholarship players instead of the allowed-for 85. Also I've never heard anyone imply that Ed Miller was a poor or lazy coach--he might be the best multi-event coach in North America. Cal should be fine. Tony and Ed retire in a few years anyway, so this gives them a chance to go out on a high note someday down the road. Also, Tony has recruits on campus Friday, Saturday and Monday. Sounds pretty busy with recruiting to me.

Did he actually meet the kids on campus? Often he forgets. Criticize Cal and Tony's got 5 pages of excuses why their cross team sucks. You don't hear Conover bitching about the lack of scholarships. Cal will never be good until Tony's gone. And you can pull Boulet and Bolota outta your ass to try to defend him, but talent will rise to the top eventually. Bolota ran 13:32 his first serious year of training. Before that he was playing basketball a few tiimes a week and Tony wouldn't know because he only meets the guys a few times a week.

Ask intelligent high school coaches in California if they advise their kids to go to Cal. Few do.

People who are bashing Tony's program obviously have no clue how the team actually works. I run under Tony's program and all the people who say Tony pays no attention to his runners has obviously never tried to talk to him. I was a very sub-par runner in high school and Tony gave me a chance to run here in which time I have gotten much better. Tony has taken some very sub-par high school talent and turned it into respectable college talent. Anyone who says Cal can never be good until Tony leaves has no clue about the Cal distance program.

Respectable College Talent? Dead last every year in the Pac Ten, hell the girls couldn't beat some of the California H.S. teams.....come on!

What the various current coaches have done in the past is irrelevant. Huffins wants to create a winning program, and he will do whatever it takes to do so. If he decides that after this year his entire staff just isn't cutting it, I don't think he'll waste any time assembling a top-notch crew of folks who are just as determined as he is to take Cal to the next level. I doubt if Ed Miller will be going anywhere any time soon, but the rest of staff doesn't have the luxury of having Huffins' loyalty. In one of the Bay area articles today, Gladstone gave Chris the green light to do as he sees fit with his staff after this year, and I believe he will do just that.

Cal XC runner wrote:

People who are bashing Tony's program obviously have no clue how the team actually works. I run under Tony's program and all the people who say Tony pays no attention to his runners has obviously never tried to talk to him. I was a very sub-par runner in high school and Tony gave me a chance to run here in which time I have gotten much better. Tony has taken some very sub-par high school talent and turned it into respectable college talent. Anyone who says Cal can never be good until Tony leaves has no clue about the Cal distance program.

The problem is that Tony does not give everyone the opportunity to run at Cal. Like the guy who ran 9:40's in high school and was basically told he wasn't fast enough. If a program is good, the runners will DEVELOP just like "Cal XC Runner." However, many people who want to run at Cal aren't given the opportunity to develop. There are few teams that are full of high school superstars, so to keep non-superstars from even trying out is plain foolish.

Many of us could go on and on about how the program needs to improve, and what was messed up when we were there. But if the coaching staff has not done some self-evaluation and realized what they are doing wrong, then things will continue to be bad, and Cal will continue to have a shitty reputation.

People want to go to Cal. People want to run for Cal. But your academic reputation can only carry you so far. Unless you show interest in an athlete, they will take their ass somewhere else. And there are plenty of us who have heard the stories of good athletes (NCAA qualifiers) who have taken their ass elsewhere. And, there are also some of us who chose Cal even though we were ignored in the "recruiting" process by the coaching staff. Send letters, make phone calls, visit schools. That is how you get athletes even without a lot scholarship money. With all the talent in the Bay Area (which often ends up going to USC/UCLA), there is NO WAY Cal should not be more successful. Any coaching philosophy can be successful, but only one recruiting strategy works: get off your ass and recruit! Also, a Division I program should meet every day of the week--discipline breeds success, even if it has to be force fed to athletes.

So tell

So, tell me something sjq--Huffins is known to be a very good recruiter. If he aggressively pursued you, and was able to meet your financial needs, would you think twice about going to Cal because the Head coach is working to complete his degree (or because other school's coaches are bad-mouthing him, to you, for not finishing sooner)?

I ask because an earlier post suggested that Huffins will get killed in the recruiting wars because he has yet to attain his degree. Knowing what kind of recruiter and coach Huffins is, I just don't see that happening. But maybe I'm missing something.

Cal XC runner wrote:

So, tell me something sjq--Huffins is known to be a very good recruiter. If he aggressively pursued you, and was able to meet your financial needs, would you think twice about going to Cal because the Head coach is working to complete his degree (or because other school's coaches are bad-mouthing him, to you, for not finishing sooner)?

I ask because an earlier post suggested that Huffins will get killed in the recruiting wars because he has yet to attain his degree. Knowing what kind of recruiter and coach Huffins is, I just don't see that happening. But maybe I'm missing something.

I don't think a lack of degree will hurt recruiting much. I do think it's wrong that they changed the job description just for him. That must have violated a labor law of some sort. Why b.s. anyone else who wanted to apply when you knew who you were gonna hire all along? But what's done is done, and I'm sure they picked him for good reason.

Hopefully Huffins will make the changes that have hurt the Cal program all along. A major one of those is the lack of recruiting, period--which means actually talking to and showing interest in a good number of athletes whether they are high school superstars or not. Once you start talking about the fact that the program is not fully funded, or "we don't have this/we don't have that" you're already conceding a lot of good athletes to other schools. Is the program fully funded? No. That just means you have to work that much harder to attract athletes. Usually when someonee shows interest in you, you may show interest in them. So if Cal shows interests in athletes, they may show interest in Cal.

this scholarship B.S. has got to stop. Good runners can and do go to CAL. Even w/ out scholly $ Tony has gotten good recruits year after year. I can name plenty if you want me to. This is not the reason that CAL has not been a force in XC!