Brian Harrigan out at St. Francis?
- Thread starter ClayK
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I've been waiting a few days for someone to say something, I didnt want to be the first lol same as winetot, I was told from someone who heard from him. It is true, the reason however seems to be unclear. Shouldnt be win/loss related as he got them deep into NorCals this year, but thats just me. If its the parents, another prime example of parents over-involvement in sports. Hope he ends up coaching somewhere
From speaking with (now former) parents, their expectation when Coach Harrigan came to St Francis was that the "Mission Rec pipeline" was going to flow south, and that the Lancers were going to become a powerhouse. Didn't happen. Maybe due to the devastatingly unfortunate situation at MRC, but players didn't come south to Mountain View, and the program didn't become a powerhouse. They consistently played a weak non-league schedule, had one season (out of six) with a winning league record, and never finished higher than third in the WCAL standings. The only reason Coach Harrigan's time at SF wasn't a complete bust was that it roughly corresponded to the introduction of the Open division. This gave second-tier teams like St Francis a better chance of advancing in the post season. SF never qualified for the Open division, but without it the program would have had little post season success to point to. Given that, I would grade Coach Harrigan's time at St Francis a marginal failure. Didn't live up to initial expectations, and I'm guessing the results didn't meet his expectations either.
First off.. its pretty ignorant of said parents to expect that MRC pipeline to produce talent for SF, because for one, that pipeline was already on the decline when Harrigan stepped down at SHC.. some suggested back then that was a possible reason for him leaving.
But lets be honest about those expectations and be fair about the high bar that his past had set.. People expect him to duplicate what he did in the later part of last decade, not gonna happen. He had exceptional talent, and even if he had stayed at SHC, those undefeated (or close to it) seasons wouldn't have come close to being matched. Heck, Mike Carey, Harrigan's predecessor, won 2 ccs titles in like 3 years and was asked to resign. Now we can get into the argument about the talent levels that Harrigan had at SHC compared to what Carey had, and even to what LaRyan has had... but thats clearly not the point.
I do, however, think that based on the talent levels he had at SF, they overachieved. They played hard, looked well coached, executed game plans, and competed well (for the most part) against the top teams in the WCAL. SBayHoopFan mentions the open division, of course they benefited this year by allowing them to make a deep run. But what has SF ever achieved in basketball? Are they really expecting that a coach alone can make them compete for WCAL, CCS Open, and NorCal open titles? That leads me to believe that it was something more than just wins/losses. Also the timing, if it was about wins/losses why wait 2 months to let him go? What that something is, I dont know. Now if the admin at SF really does think that they should be challenging Mitty and Pinewood for South Bay/ Peninsula supremacy, then this next hire should be interesting.
But lets be honest about those expectations and be fair about the high bar that his past had set.. People expect him to duplicate what he did in the later part of last decade, not gonna happen. He had exceptional talent, and even if he had stayed at SHC, those undefeated (or close to it) seasons wouldn't have come close to being matched. Heck, Mike Carey, Harrigan's predecessor, won 2 ccs titles in like 3 years and was asked to resign. Now we can get into the argument about the talent levels that Harrigan had at SHC compared to what Carey had, and even to what LaRyan has had... but thats clearly not the point.
I do, however, think that based on the talent levels he had at SF, they overachieved. They played hard, looked well coached, executed game plans, and competed well (for the most part) against the top teams in the WCAL. SBayHoopFan mentions the open division, of course they benefited this year by allowing them to make a deep run. But what has SF ever achieved in basketball? Are they really expecting that a coach alone can make them compete for WCAL, CCS Open, and NorCal open titles? That leads me to believe that it was something more than just wins/losses. Also the timing, if it was about wins/losses why wait 2 months to let him go? What that something is, I dont know. Now if the admin at SF really does think that they should be challenging Mitty and Pinewood for South Bay/ Peninsula supremacy, then this next hire should be interesting.
Who cares about wins and losses and championships won at SF. Coach Harrigan has proven he is a great coach and whoever denies that doesn't know anything about the game of basketball. The truth is that it is very difficult to coach at any level in this day and age. It doesn't matter if it is at a public/private school or boys/girls. Youth and HS basketball/sports has become BIG BUSINE$$ which has infiltrated the very pure core that youth sports used to be 30 years ago. Coach Harrigan has been coaching a long time and he has helped many more kids become better basketball players and better people than he hasn't helped.
Like most coaches who have a passion for teaching the game and understand the dynamic of parent/kid influence over school administration, I'm sure coach Harrigan is fine leaving that program in a better place than where it was when he took over. Best of luck to Coach Harrigan and goodluck to SF in finding someone better.
Like most coaches who have a passion for teaching the game and understand the dynamic of parent/kid influence over school administration, I'm sure coach Harrigan is fine leaving that program in a better place than where it was when he took over. Best of luck to Coach Harrigan and goodluck to SF in finding someone better.
Not disagreeing about the "big business" aspect, but I think it's important to note that parents now focus more on the high school and club level because of the expense and competition at the college level.
In the past 20 or so years, college has become more and more expensive, and it's reasonable to assume that a family could easily spend $250,000 over four years. Obviously a full scholarship would be great, but even a partial can be a big deal. So the cost of college has focused parental attention on girls' basketball in a way that wasn't as widespread as in the past, especially given the number of scholarships available.
At the same time, competition for admission to certain schools means that high schoolers are working hard to get varsity letters, captainships, all-league awards and other items they can put on their resumes.
The combination of these two, plus a societal shift in what's considered acceptable treatment of young people, has changed the nature of high school coaching to some degree, and certainly made it a more complex task than it was.
And by the way, I don't know how "pure" youth sports ever were. When parents coach their own kids, and there are tryouts for each level of play (my baseball career ended in middle school when I was cut from Babe Ruth), there's lots of outside influences.
In the past 20 or so years, college has become more and more expensive, and it's reasonable to assume that a family could easily spend $250,000 over four years. Obviously a full scholarship would be great, but even a partial can be a big deal. So the cost of college has focused parental attention on girls' basketball in a way that wasn't as widespread as in the past, especially given the number of scholarships available.
At the same time, competition for admission to certain schools means that high schoolers are working hard to get varsity letters, captainships, all-league awards and other items they can put on their resumes.
The combination of these two, plus a societal shift in what's considered acceptable treatment of young people, has changed the nature of high school coaching to some degree, and certainly made it a more complex task than it was.
And by the way, I don't know how "pure" youth sports ever were. When parents coach their own kids, and there are tryouts for each level of play (my baseball career ended in middle school when I was cut from Babe Ruth), there's lots of outside influences.
I heard from someone within the program that the school will have Harrigan's replacement named within a week... this, combined with the fact that they haven't announced anything, or changed anything on their website leads me to believe they already knew who they wanted to hire before hand.. but that's just my opinion.
These types of parents are just getting out of hand. You wonder if Sue Phillips has to go through this type of doo-doo.
Well, I'm sure Sue has her share. It appears Haley Jones is not playing on San Jose Cagers summer squad and that probably doesn't sit well with her.
She will probably do both as she is on both rosters.. just like Kelli Hayes did a few years ago. I doubt coach phillips is opposed to having the kids get greater exposure. I'm sure there were a hell of a lot more coaches at Boo Williams last weekend than at Chabot
In past years, it was rumored that Doc Scheppler wanted to coach the Saint Francis boys team. I'll start the rumor that he'll be moving there to coach the girls team. I have no info to back this up, but I think it would be a great move. I'd love to see Doc coaching vs Sue and LyRyan several times per year. (Backup rumor is that Wade Nakamura will take over at St Francis.)
I don't see either of those guys making the move.. Doc is ingrained at Pinewood.. full control, teaches on campus, already gets greater talent, I just don't see an upside. Although you are not wrong in thinking it would be fun to watch those coaches go at each other for 2 months straight.
As for Wade, also pretty well set at Pres in my mind. I'm sure he has full support of Admin, he's put up CCS banners, and I'm sure is daughter is already enrolled at Pres for next year. Also, I just see the interleague coaching change as awkward.. does it make sense to recruit the coach of a team that finished behind your team? In this case, dead last in the league. And if they were to go after, say, mcswain- why would you move to a team you just beat? Facilities?
As for Wade, also pretty well set at Pres in my mind. I'm sure he has full support of Admin, he's put up CCS banners, and I'm sure is daughter is already enrolled at Pres for next year. Also, I just see the interleague coaching change as awkward.. does it make sense to recruit the coach of a team that finished behind your team? In this case, dead last in the league. And if they were to go after, say, mcswain- why would you move to a team you just beat? Facilities?
St. Francis is a tough job ... whoever coaches there is always climbing uphill, as Mitty, SHC and SI are always going to range between good and exceptional, and Presentation and Valley Christian are tough outs with their present coaches.
I'm past the stage of wanting to be a head coach, but this would not be a job I would take on lightly. If Brian Harrigan can't build a program that can compete for a league title, it's clearly a very difficult situation.
Slightly off topic, these are the kinds of things I'd look at before taking on a head-coaching job:
1) League -- Can my team compete for a league title year in and year out? If no, then what would count as success to me, the players, the parents and the administration?
2) Talent -- Is there the potential to create a talent pipeline that will make coaching fun? It's frustrating to coach girls who try hard but lack the skills, experience, size and physicality to be be successful within the league.
3) Administration -- Are the athletic director and administration realistic about what can be achieved? Will the girls get the same support (access to gym, practice times) as the boys? How much fund-raising is involved (I hate fund-raising)?
I'm past the stage of wanting to be a head coach, but this would not be a job I would take on lightly. If Brian Harrigan can't build a program that can compete for a league title, it's clearly a very difficult situation.
Slightly off topic, these are the kinds of things I'd look at before taking on a head-coaching job:
1) League -- Can my team compete for a league title year in and year out? If no, then what would count as success to me, the players, the parents and the administration?
2) Talent -- Is there the potential to create a talent pipeline that will make coaching fun? It's frustrating to coach girls who try hard but lack the skills, experience, size and physicality to be be successful within the league.
3) Administration -- Are the athletic director and administration realistic about what can be achieved? Will the girls get the same support (access to gym, practice times) as the boys? How much fund-raising is involved (I hate fund-raising)?
Your backup rumor has some legs and I stand corrected in my prediction.. I heard he is in the running but it still doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me
It would be an interesting pick if Wade decided to go to SF. He's won at every place with minimal talent...he's a great coach. He also runs an AAU team (I think) so a pipeline for funneling kids could make it easier to get kids in than at Presentation, which I hear is pretty hard. Success breeds success and if he has some winning seasons, then he could really make kids think about SF as a real contender vs. Pinewood or Mitty...
He just went 0-10 with minimal talent... Not trying to knock the guy, just saying. I think your idea of becoming a contender was essentially the thought process behind the harrigan hire.. who I think is an even better coach than wade btw.. so its easier said than done. I'm sure wade had similar thoughts at pres when he won the wcal/ beat Mitty in the ccs final in 2011. As far as AAU goes, I would hardly call Metro a pipeline.. now maybe it would get bigger with moving to SF but it is pretty minimal. So remember that success breeds success, but also mediocrity breeds mediocrity....
I think they should go out of the league for this hire.. the other name mentioned to me (which I wont say until someone else brings it up) would be a change of pace and is also a proven winner (as many appearances in CCS open as wade at pres)
I think they should go out of the league for this hire.. the other name mentioned to me (which I wont say until someone else brings it up) would be a change of pace and is also a proven winner (as many appearances in CCS open as wade at pres)
I don't think he's a better coach than Wade. Wade had mediocre talent at best while at Pres. Shoot, his first coaching job at Homestead, he went to back to back norcal finals at a public school, with ONE player...Dude can coach and wins at every stop..just never really had much talent.
While I wouldn't call Metro a true pipeline, it's more than Harrigan has/had. Harrigan is a teacher in the 415 and not many connections to the 650/408...Wade is a pretty respected coach and could get the ball movie if hired at SF. But I do agree that they should go outside WCAL...could be good for the league!
To each his own.. given the same talent, I would still pick harrigan to coach my team. Just my preference, doesnt mean much if anything at all.. I wasnt saying wade wasnt a good coach. Sure accomplished a lot with less at Homestead.. but then went to leland, then pres (and now possibly sf) chasing more talent.. to me that says he doesn't think he can get it done with his current situation
I have known several families in the South Bay over the last many years whose daughters played basketball at various schools including WCAL schools. Most girls who are talented and confident want to play against good competition, which in the CCS means a private school. However, very few want to go to Presentation -- because it's an all girls school. Some parents overrule because Pres is a great school, so Pres does get some good players.
In my opinion, over the last ten years or so, many of the girls who went to Mitty, Pinewood, Menlo, etc would have gone to St Francis if Wade had been the coach there. Parents and players tend to be more comfortable with his personality and coaching style than with most other coaches. I know this because parents and players have told me this. I'm not saying St. Francis would become a powerhouse if Wade moved there, but I believe they would get more talented players than they currently do.
Coach Harrigan sighting! I was officiating some SF CYO Girls Basketball playoffs and Coach Harrigan was helping coach a 3rd grade team. i heard it was his God daughter or something. I hadn't seen him in a while so I had to ask someone to confirm if that was actually Coach Harrigan. We briefly talked about his coaching future and he joked he might have to come back to CYO where he is more appreciated. I actually had forgotten Harrigan was a CYO athletic director and coach in my early days as a CYO official.
A note on Pinewood: I was officiating some CYO girls playoffs on Friday night as well. One game was a 8th grade game. On one of the 8th grade teams was the daughter of an SHC grad (don't remember the dad's name nor the young lady's name). I remember the last name but I'll leave it out for privacy.
I heard that the young lady (who's about 6'1" or so) is going to Pinewood. She's a lanky kid who I would say like a Kevin Durant of CYO girls basketball. Pinewood looks like they have more talent coming!
I heard that the young lady (who's about 6'1" or so) is going to Pinewood. She's a lanky kid who I would say like a Kevin Durant of CYO girls basketball. Pinewood looks like they have more talent coming!
Anyone else surprised that it's been this long and still 'crickets' from st francis??
I think it shows even more how they did wrong by Harrigan.. had him set up next years schedule, tournament, probably summer league, etc.. and now they can take their time finding someone else
I think it shows even more how they did wrong by Harrigan.. had him set up next years schedule, tournament, probably summer league, etc.. and now they can take their time finding someone else
It's taken this long because they had quite a few qualified candidates. It's been amusing to see all the speculations. No not Nakamura, not Doc..... They have made a hire, soon to be announced, this week. It's not anyone you guys think and "she" will be a great coach.
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I knew she was in the running all along, but no one else mentioned it, and I'm not a reporter, so I kept my mouth shut. I heard yesterday she got it... can we just say it on here now???
Sami Field-Polisso is St. Francis' new Girls Varsity Coach. http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/05/25/st-francis-hires-baseball-girls-basketball-head-coaches/
Congratulations to coach Sami Field-Polisso. She has done an amazing job at Los Gatos HS over the past half a decade. St. Francis is in great hands!
Yup.. I think it is good for the league. Another strong coach and another female coach.. not that I think gender should be a consideration when looking for a coach, but it is good to see
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