Summer rarely has a whole lot of storylines with local teams and
most pro sports taking a breather until the fall, but the month of
June and first week of July has provided some fireworks as far as
stories about out-of-season Gilroy athletes and coaches.
Here are some quick thoughts and tidbits about recent
developments that otherwise wouldn’t see the light of day:
Summer rarely has a whole lot of storylines with local teams and most pro sports taking a breather until the fall, but the month of June and first week of July has provided some fireworks as far as stories about out-of-season Gilroy athletes and coaches.
Here are some quick thoughts and tidbits about recent developments that otherwise might not see the light of day:
1. The controversy over Gilroy High girls’ basketball coach Susan Shapiro most likely not returning to lead the team next season seems to have split this town in two. One side says Shapiro deserves to be gone. The other says Ed and Lisa Foster – the parents of GHS senior Lindsey Foster – have gone overboard in their complaints with the district to have Shapiro removed.
It’s great to see so many viewpoints about the issue on the online comments section, but it’s sad the way some people have attacked both parties.
One of the concerns I have is how the team will come together for next season. It will not be easy. It’s worth noting that the Lady Mustangs most likely would have entered the winter as one of the preseason favorites to win a Central Coast Section title – something the program has never done.
Until I see a coach firmly in place and a group of players who have moved past their differences, I’m not so sure that will happen. Chemistry is the ultimate intangible.
2. I learned through some interviews with GHS coaches that text messaging was banned by the school’s athletic department as soon as the controversy started in November.
Shapiro sent a text in response to one from Lindsey Foster – the player texted the coach to say she would miss a full practice for confirmation class after they agreed she would only miss half – telling Foster her behavior was inappropriate for a starter.
Shapiro’s text put both sides in a tough spot, because it then sounds like a starting position is guaranteed – although there’s little disputing that Foster is talented enough to be a starter.
As someone who rarely got along with his coaches in high school – I began most basketball seasons as a starter and usually ended them riding the pine – I know all too well what it’s like to see your fortunes change in an instant.
I guess it’s just another example of how technology can create more problems than it eliminates. A simple face-to-face could have solved the matter. Instead, the lack of tone and flow of dialogue that comes with texting, or even e-mail, made it worse.
3. I was told by one local coach that the controversy is reverberating around the section. The West Catholic Athletic League supposedly held a meeting immediately following the first article on the dispute in order to make sure they had a plan in place if a similar situation were to occur with one of their programs.
4. A smooth segue from that past subject isn’t possible so let’s just pretend it is and jump into the ring.
Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero will be getting a title shot on August 22, his first chance to be champ in over a year since relinquishing his IBF featherweight title to move up to junior lightweight.
Taking on Malcolm Klassen of South Africa for the chance at being an IBF champ in his new division, Guerrero is right on schedule despite suffering another cut in his last fight. The most recent cut wasn’t quite so deep as the last – it required 17 stitches total – and it was on the left eye instead of the deep gash Guerrero was given on his right eye in a second-round no-contest stoppage in March.
Guerrero will be leaving to train in Big Bear later this week. As always, we will keep you updated on how The Ghost feels going into the biggest fight of his life. A win would make those marquee matchups Guerrero wants so badly far more realistic.
5. A congrats to recently departed GHS football coach Rich Hammond and wife, Katie. The couple recently celebrated the birth of their first child – Elliana Kristalyn Hammond. The little girl tipped the scales at 8-pounds, 2-ounces and measured 20 inches long.
Not surprisingly, upon entering the world she immediately started jumping up and down and screaming at the doctor for better tempo with his delivery. Just kidding.
Hammond is currently trying to mold his new team, Clovis High, into the GHS of the valley. Doing so, Hammond said, hasn’t been easy.
“You get used to things running a certain way and now they’re not,” he said.
“I’m trying to learn how to be patient again.”
Patience isn’t exactly Hammond’s strong suit, which is why Year One might be a mixed bag, but it’s hard to imagine Clovis not contending in his second year. Hammond has been a winner at every coaching stop and I don’t expect that to stop.
While he added that he’s happy with his new surroundings and the fact that his wife will be able to stay at home with the baby, leaving the area has been difficult.
“I miss the people in Gilroy. I miss the kids. That part’s hard,” he said.
