well, this sucks.
some of you in SF may have read this in yesterday's Chronicle. after leading his boys and girls XC teams to 13 and 15 city championships in his 15 years, AC is getting kicked out b/c he's an off campus coach and not a teacher in the SF unified school district. So, hypothetically, an english teacher with absolutely no coaching credentials could actually step in and take his job if he wanted.
poo poo--i know AC--he's a lowell alumnus and has coached the team passionately all this time and is well respected. there's no valid reason why he should lose this coaching position.
just more evidence why SF is off it's rocker. mayor-gel-in-my-hair boy oughtta step in and get the city to change the silly rule.
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Lowell coach ousted after rules power play
Mitch Stephens
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Coaching teens -- especially late in the school year -- elicits a slew of emotions.
A week hardly passes when we don't hear parents calling for the head of their child's despotic leader or the resignation of an emotionally battered coach who would rather retire to a sofa, root beer and ESPN Classic than face a disgruntled group of parents.
But this week we have a new one.
At Lowell High, there's been an outpouring of support for longtime cross- country coach Andy Leong, who was replaced last week by on-campus physical education teacher Michael Prutz.
There's no debating Leong's coaching expertise or record -- he's led the Cardinals to 15 girls and 13 boys Academic Athletic Association championships in 15 seasons as head coach.
But Leong, an accountant for a peninsula real estate firm, is an off- campus coach and Prutz wants the position.
Under state educational code 44919, coaching spots "shall be first made available to teachers presently employed by the district." The San Francisco Unified School District teacher contract also specifies preference to "qualified, available and willing" on-campus teachers over even the most successful off-campus coach.
That leaves Leong, who had no desire to leave his post, frustrated, angry and at the same time powerless. The Chronicle has received about a dozen e- mails from former and current Lowell runners in strong support of Leong, who will remain the school's head track and field coach.
"You could be the best coach in the world, but if you're off campus you have no rights," Leong said.
His case isn't unprecedented.
After the death of popular Mills girls basketball coach Kelly Shea Gallo last May, players and parents lobbied hard for her husband, Mark Gallo, and brother, Brian Shea, who had helped coach the team throughout the 2003-04 season.
But Dan Salvemini, a longtime boys basketball and soccer coach at Burton, had recently been hired full-time at Mills and wanted the girls basketball job. Despite impassioned opposition, the Mills administration stuck to the law and hired Salvemini, who guided the Vikings to a 29-4 record and CIF NorCal Division III playoff berth.
In the '90s at Lowell, then-boys basketball coach Dave Low went on sabbatical for two years and was replaced by off-campus coach Rich Forslund, now at Riordan. When Low returned, Forslund stepped aside.
"Every off-campus coach here knows the rules," Lowell athletic director John Donohue said.
The difference here is that Leong seems the exception to the rule. Despite the off-campus limitations, he has entrenched himself so deeply that he is synonymous not only with Lowell cross-country, but with San Francisco cross-country.
"Andy has done an absolutely fantastic job," Donohue said. "He's elevated the program to such a high level, and he's never deviated in his work ethic or drive."
Leong and Prutz have been unable to meet halfway. According to Leong, he's offered to assist for the next two years or even take either the boys or girls team. Prutz didn't want to discuss his conversations with Leong, but said he's coached springboard and platform diving for more than 14 seasons at the Division I collegiate level.
"I am a passionate runner and believe that I can offer Lowell runners the motivation, drive, enthusiasm and dedication which they deserve," Prutz said.