Tuesday, August 07, 2012

Ranking the NCS XC Coaches

A poster in the comment section below mentioned the following coaches.  Who else would you add to the list?

"Just for kicks, heres how I would put NCS. I agree that ranking coaches is pretty impossible-this is just my opinion."
Chuck Woolridge-Campolindo HS
Jim Tracy- University HS
Bill Cirroco- Urban HS
Peter Brewer Northgate HS
Andrew Cheng-Bishop O'Dowd HS
Tony Fong- St Joeseph ND
Noel Mattern-granada HS
John Pelster-De La Salle HS

Added from comment section:
Luis Rosales-Piner HS
Greg Fogg-Maria Carrillo HS
Danny Aldridge-Sonoma Academy HS
Jason Jacobson-San Rafael HS
Tim Hunter-San Ramon Valley HS
Eddie Salazar-Livermore HS

18 comments:

NCS Div. 3 Runner said...

Luis Rosales of Piner should also get a mention.

Anonymous said...

Greg Fogg from Maria Carrillo should be on the list.

Anonymous said...

Jason Jacobson from San Rafael should be on the list

Anonymous said...

I feel as though Tony Fong should be ahead of the Urban coach

Anonymous said...

Dan Aldridge of Sonoma Academy
Coach of multiple state champs like Jenny Aldridge (his daughter) and Julia Stamps (State course record holder and Footlocker Champ)
Been coaching 20+ years at many schools.
Sub 4 guy.
Took the boys to state last year for the first time in school history.

Anonymous said...

Tony Fong should be higher in the listing due to his consistency in bringing out State teams/individuals from a student body that, until recently, was consistently under 400 students. Although other schools on the list may have broader success, they also have between 1,100 and 1,600 kids to recruit. Urban school has the approximate student body population as St. Joseph ND, but not their consistent success.

The comparison is not really apples to apples; I don't believe that these other coaches could do what he does if they held a full-time job in addition to their HS coaching. Tony Fong does what he does at St. Joe's in essentially his spare time. Pretty impressive.

Anonymous said...

The reason Bill Cirroco is ranked so high, is because he only began coaching at urban four years ago-before he coached at University alongside Jim Tracy. In the years prior to Bill's arrival at Urban, I don't recall Urban having a single runner under 19:30. Since then both Urban's mens and women's teams have been near the top of DV with XC teams numbering 10 kids or less and without the middle-school stars that schools with a more solidified tradition take for granted.

I am neither a Urban student or parent but Urban's rise has been both impressive and healthy for NCS DV running.

Anonymous said...

I only follow the girls teams, but when you put it that way, I guess what Cirroco has done at Urban is pretty remarkable. As far as I can tell, his teams are small and have no superstars. Yet they have finished near the top of NCS and State because he gets such good performances out of his 3rd through 5th runners. That has to be due to coaching.

I'm also pretty sure that all of these coaches do this in their spare time, not just Tony Fong (who is also a fantastic coach, no doubt).

Anonymous said...

Dude at San Ramon High is pretty good, I think?

Anonymous said...

Nino Hernandez from Alameda. Granted the kids haven't won NCS, but he took a team that was never in the top 5, and now they consistently go to state, and are in the running for an NCS title. plus he's one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet, receptive to advice and criticism, which i think are one of the greatest attributes a coach can have

Anonymous said...

Dude at San Ramon has pretty good results, but that doesn't tell the story. Like to hear some reviews...

Peter Brewer said...

Hamady of Urban placed 2nd at State for girls in 1989, I believe. Well under 19:30.

xcrunner said...

Who are the coaches at Miramonte? They have had success the last few years

Anonymous said...

Laura Hamady won the state title in dIV, there was no dV, in 18:47, as a Freshman. She was voted cross country
freshman of the year. She came in fourth in '92 as a senior in 18:49. She didn't compete as a sophomore or junior because she didn't have a way of getting to the meet. Her mother drove her the other two years. She trained by herself because urban didn't have a coach. As her mother once said, she ran for her life. She still runs the 5k now and then.

Anonymous said...

Kay nekota! Vacaville ! Inspires 90 plus kids to go out every year. Girls team went to state last year and a male individual. They just left for a camping trip to "bond" .. And to run! Too many pros to mention. :))

Albert Caruana said...

Vacaville is in SJS. I will get a separate ranking going for that section in the next few days.

Anonymous said...

Miramonte has had some coaching changes in the past few years, but for the 2011 season they got a new coach named Brad Alban, who has really helped them out.

Anonymous said...

Where's Ed Salazar of Livermore High? He is without a doubt one of the best coaches in EBAL and NCS. His ability to coach, recruiting, and creating a good team year in and year out should earn him a spot on that list.

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