Michelle Sasaki leaves Acalanes

[ClayK]

Saki, as she is known to almost everyone, stepped down at Acalanes. She was definitely a quality coach -- with D-1 head coaching experience -- but high school is different and demanding, as she mentioned to me.

It's sad to see a good coach leave, as we don't have enough of them ...

Candidates for the job will likely include Steve Cornell, the JV coach (who spent many years at Monte Vista) and Brian Frechman, a youth coach who also coached at Stanley Middle School. The word is that a bunch of talent will arrive at Acalanes in the fall of 2021, and Frechman (whose daughter just graduated from Acalanes) has coached many of them already.

There will also be other candidates, one would expect, as Acalanes has a history of success, including a state championship.

 

[straightline50]

What league are they in?

 

[observer22]

What league are they in?

Miramonte’s former league until they went independent. DAL - Foothill, includes Campo, CVC, Las Lomas, Alhambra & Northgate.

 

[Streak One]

She was definitely having success improving her win total each year (16-19-21 wins).

I went through the MaxPreps history with coaches at Acalanes and starting with the 04-05 season, Acalanes has never had a coach there for more than four seasons.

Any thoughts/guesses why they have struggled with consistency at HC? As a program, they have won at least 20 games three times and 19 games two more years so there has been some success

 

[ClayK]

Historically -- and my history there goes way back -- Miramonte has always been strong, and Campolindo and Acalanes have more or less alternated as the main competition. Part of the reason is that Stanley School, a 1,200-student middle school, feeds both Campo and Acalanes and kids essentially can choose which school to go to. Girls, of course, like to go with their friends, and so often a group of basketball-playing girls will choose one of the two schools. (That happened to me at Campo, and was a big reason for the good years we had there.)

The coaching cycle at both Campo and Acalanes has been four to five years maximum this century, which is true of most schools, so that's not unusual, I don't think. Kelly Sopak is now the longest-serving coach in the DAL, but again, that usually doesn't take more than six years, in any league.

Look for Acalanes to be down this coming year, but to bounce back quickly with a strong class of 2026 at Stanley that seems to be Acalanes-bound. Campo is getting better, and had a very good freshman this year, and Miramonte may come back to the pack after Mia Mastrov and Jordan Allred graduate next spring.

And one other Lamorinda note: Bentley is now open, as Kelly Thomas was let go from both her associate AD and coaching position very late in the spring.

 

[Norcal_Fan]

She was definitely having success improving her win total each year (16-19-21 wins).

I went through the MaxPreps history with coaches at Acalanes and starting with the 04-05 season, Acalanes has never had a coach there for more than four seasons.

Any thoughts/guesses why they have struggled with consistency at HC? As a program, they have won at least 20 games three times and 19 games two more years so there has been some success

Two things that I've heard that are very difficult for Acalanes coaches to deal with (even since Casey was there) is the AD. Not being flexible with gym time and just not being flexible is hard for any coach to work with. the second, which has been documented in eastbay news papers is unrelenting parents. I can't speak to this group of acalanes parents but there is not a good history of success with Lamorinda parents.

 

[ClayK]

As usual, I will stand up for Lamorinda parents. I have coached at all three public schools, and graduated from Acalanes -- though so long ago, that hardly relates to today.

First, Lamorinda parents are involved, and pay attention to the team and their daughters.

Second, they will ask questions and coaches must be willing to answer.

That said, Lamorinda parents, in general, understand what it takes to be a success. They will get their daughters to practice on time, they will support their children participating in offseason activities, and they will create time and space for their daughters to get better.

In some areas, that kind of parental support is simply unavailable.

So in Lamorinda, you have support and some parents who are overprotective of their daughters; in other areas, you don't have to deal with parents, but you don't get the same kind of support. There's no perfect situation ...

As for the gym time and AD issues at Acalanes, I hadn't really heard much about them. It's possible, but they do have two full gyms, unlike Campo and Miramonte, so access should be less of an issue.

 

[Streak One]

Some great points Clay. There has rarely, if ever, been a perfect group of parents or adiministrators. Just have to hope the postives outweight the negatives. And it is a differnet dynamic depending on school and location