New Campo coach?
- Thread starter ClayK
- Start date
If accurate this is disappointing news for what once was one of the better programs in the Bay Area. Flitter is a nice man and does good in his community. We have experienced his coaching. IMO he is not the right person to lead a varsity program. His girls experience is with very low level play at the recreation level. It's more of an everyone plays and gets a trophy philosophy. There is nothing wrong with this at many levels. For the varsity level this is not what I would have thought Campolindo would be looking for. I'm curious if anyone has insight on who applied and what the overall thought process was in hiring for this job? The program seems to continue to fall out of favor post Art Thoms.
As someone with a 7th grade daughter who is Campolindo bound this is disappointing news. Frankly, it's going to make me look at other options for my young hooper.
I can confirm Bill Flitter is the new head coach. And coaching the DLS boys' frosh is a competitive environment, so I think there's reason for some optimism.
But I also think it will take time to rebuild -- but your seventh grade daughter would be there at just the right time to enjoy the upward trajectory.
But I also think it will take time to rebuild -- but your seventh grade daughter would be there at just the right time to enjoy the upward trajectory.
Thank you for confirmation
Do you happen to know if their stud who basically carried them last season (Cummins) has recently transferred out of the school? A friend of mine just told me he believes this happened.well if bill is reading this your young hooper might want to make other plans for high school. you might have burned her bridge at the Camp.
Hey Clay, I appreciate the support.
@Smust85
Appreciate the opinion. How do we build a program that grows year after year if we don't give more girls the opportunity to play at the lower levels? You never know who might grow in confidence and gain an appreciation and love for the game. I was fortunate to coach with Frank Allocco at De La Salle and learned how to build a program. And that is my plan. It may not happen overnight, and it may not happen by the time your daughter gets to Campo, but it will happen. IF you decide to take your daughter elsewhere, she may be teammates with the starting guard at Carondelet, the starting power forward and shooting guard at Miramonte, or two starting guards at Acalanes, who I trained. They all played significant roles on Varsity as Freshmen so she will be in great company no matter where you choose to have her go.Yes, Cummings decided to transfer schools prior to me accepting the role.
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Thank you for confirmation
This is why it's hard to find good coaches OR coaches period. Parents think their kid is the next Sabrina Ionescu have an opinion on crap they know little about. The best parents are the ones that have NEVER played the game and their knowledge comes from watching the warriors or "I have season tickets to the warriors". Real piece of work...
LMMAAAOOOOOOOOOOOO... those are the exact parents i deal with at work all day. starting watching basketball 6 years ago, signed their kid up for some AAU team, get upset that their kid cant shoot from 35 feet out nor can he/she make a lay up in traffic, gets mad at the coach because child didnt make varsity as a soph.... but i have season tickets to the warriors and went to currys camp!!
@CoachFlitter awesome response. The train is moving, get on or dont.. but its leaving regardless!
Coach,
No disrespect meant. A relative of mine played in your club program and you and I met after a practice in Concord a few years back. My opinion is based on her experience versus what she experienced with other programs. It’s also based on what I saw at a couple practices from a development standpoint and the overall performance of the team in games. I am willing to keep an open mind. We all evolve and improve.
If you don’t mind me asking who is the starting guard at Carondelet, and the two starters at both Miramonte and Acalanes you trained? I would love to watch these girls this season. Are they all returning starters?
Best of luck to you this season!
aint no backtracking now playa. you said what you said
No back tracking here playa. I stand by what I said. I hope I'm wrong. We'll see how my comments age in 2-3 years by the team's performance.
This is not jumping on Smust85 ... but it's going to very hard to judge Bill Flitter especially by "results" in two or three years. If "results" are defined only by wins and losses, then Flitter will likely not be given a lot of credit.
But the Campo program only had 17 girls at all levels last spring, and has been in a downward spiral since Art Thoms left. At Campo, or anywhere, it's crucial to constantly nurture the talent pipeline, which Thoms did not do his last couple years. With competition from Miramonte, Acalanes (now with Margaret Gartner and Scott Espinosa-Brown) and Carondelet, putting together a competitive Lamorinda program is as much about making sure talent enrolls as it is developing that talent.
So given where Campo is right now, I'd say that it's a three- to four-year process before any "results" will appear as a gaudy win-loss record. For me, results would be building the program, reconnecting with the middle schools and CYO programs, and maybe even getting enough girls excited to have a frosh team. You win with talent, and of course developing talent, and right now, as far as I can tell, Campo has the least in Lamorinda, and not as much as schools like Berean Christian (watch out for them, by the way).
Now if there are still 17 girls in the program in three years, then obviously the results are poor. But Campo could be 10-16 three years from now and have a solid JV team and a good relationship with middle school and CTO coaches, and I would call that a good result. Of course, if the Cougs were 20-8, that would be even better, but I think they may be an unfair standard to set.
But the Campo program only had 17 girls at all levels last spring, and has been in a downward spiral since Art Thoms left. At Campo, or anywhere, it's crucial to constantly nurture the talent pipeline, which Thoms did not do his last couple years. With competition from Miramonte, Acalanes (now with Margaret Gartner and Scott Espinosa-Brown) and Carondelet, putting together a competitive Lamorinda program is as much about making sure talent enrolls as it is developing that talent.
So given where Campo is right now, I'd say that it's a three- to four-year process before any "results" will appear as a gaudy win-loss record. For me, results would be building the program, reconnecting with the middle schools and CYO programs, and maybe even getting enough girls excited to have a frosh team. You win with talent, and of course developing talent, and right now, as far as I can tell, Campo has the least in Lamorinda, and not as much as schools like Berean Christian (watch out for them, by the way).
Now if there are still 17 girls in the program in three years, then obviously the results are poor. But Campo could be 10-16 three years from now and have a solid JV team and a good relationship with middle school and CTO coaches, and I would call that a good result. Of course, if the Cougs were 20-8, that would be even better, but I think they may be an unfair standard to set.
If I am not mistaken, when we (Eureka) played Campo in sections two years ago they had a talented sophomore class on varsity that would be seniors this season.
That was the scorebook live year that CIF wanted everything there. Actually it was the three frosh girls and one sophomore girl on their varsity roster. link: https://scorebooklive.com/californi...52969-campolindo-cougars/players?season_id=36
The team would have returned 4 starters if not for Cummins transferring out. Barkey, Yabu and Wang all return as starters. Losing Cummins is a huge blow. Not all is lost with 3 returning starters. Barkey is a good high school point guard IMO.
ClayK:
I’m not trying to be combative here, yet I’m lost trying to follow your logic. You are suggesting quantity over quality. If you think 10-16 in 3 years with a good JV team will fly I’m here to tell you that you are wrong. The parents at Campolindo want a winning program on the varsity level. A coach was just pushed out because he did not win enough. The program’s best player just transferred because her and her parents want to play for a winning program. I have talked to parents in this program. They want to win. I also do not believe the program has endured the slide you speak of. After a rough season 3 years ago the team actually posted two winning seasons. A 65% winning rate is not too shabby. It wasn’t enough here to save the coach.
Clay, sounds like Smust85 is saying you don't understand how things work at Campolindo. Hahahaha.
I understand the impatience of Lamorinda parents ... I've coached at Campo, Miramonte, Acalanes and even Bentley. I went to Acalanes.
I understand the reality of the demands of parents, and the unreality of some of those demands.
In general, one of the three Lamorinda programs is strong, one is OK and one is weak. There's only so much talent to go around, and parents and coaches know how to manipulate transfer rules. The last time Campo was good, their best player was from Walnut Creek and their point guard was from Oakland.
Right now, Acalanes is poised to be very good. There are supporters is locked into the youth scene and guiding younger players to Margaret Gartner and Scott Espinosa-Brown. Job one for Flitter is to try to stop the bleeding in that regard, but that starts in sixth grade. Miramonte is down from the recent glory days but the program actually had a frosh team for several years, which shows the level of interest, so right now Campo is solidly in third place.
To expect Flitter or anyone to wave a magic wand and rebuild Campo from the ground up in three years is, sadly, fantasy, unless a couple families move in with D-1 level daughters. It could be the Campo parents will demand that Flitter be fired if he goes 10-16 in year three -- it's happened before -- but that won't help. Revolving coaches do not build programs in the competitive Lamorinda area. As mentioned, it starts in middle school, at Stanley, and it takes time.
Success takes time. Kevin Macy, the Campo football coach, struggled in terms of wins and losses his first few years before building a regional power. There are those who have been setting up this Acalanes team for years (I remember playing against the group when they were in fourth grade), and that's how you win, regardless of area.
It's about talent, and if you don't have it, it doesn't matter who the coach is.
I understand the reality of the demands of parents, and the unreality of some of those demands.
In general, one of the three Lamorinda programs is strong, one is OK and one is weak. There's only so much talent to go around, and parents and coaches know how to manipulate transfer rules. The last time Campo was good, their best player was from Walnut Creek and their point guard was from Oakland.
Right now, Acalanes is poised to be very good. There are supporters is locked into the youth scene and guiding younger players to Margaret Gartner and Scott Espinosa-Brown. Job one for Flitter is to try to stop the bleeding in that regard, but that starts in sixth grade. Miramonte is down from the recent glory days but the program actually had a frosh team for several years, which shows the level of interest, so right now Campo is solidly in third place.
To expect Flitter or anyone to wave a magic wand and rebuild Campo from the ground up in three years is, sadly, fantasy, unless a couple families move in with D-1 level daughters. It could be the Campo parents will demand that Flitter be fired if he goes 10-16 in year three -- it's happened before -- but that won't help. Revolving coaches do not build programs in the competitive Lamorinda area. As mentioned, it starts in middle school, at Stanley, and it takes time.
Success takes time. Kevin Macy, the Campo football coach, struggled in terms of wins and losses his first few years before building a regional power. There are those who have been setting up this Acalanes team for years (I remember playing against the group when they were in fourth grade), and that's how you win, regardless of area.
It's about talent, and if you don't have it, it doesn't matter who the coach is.
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Correct. The public school recruiting shackles are off he can recruit who he wants from where he wants.
Miramonte likes parents that are involved and care about where their daughter attends school and plays basketball. Our practices are open to any parent that would like to attend. Great way to meet the coaching staff and see if it’s a fit..
Despite Clay‘s assessment that Miramonte will be “down” this year…we’re going to be just fine.
Go Mats!
Vince Wirthman
cell 510.504.5683
vwirthman@gmail.com
Despite Clay‘s assessment that Miramonte will be “down” this year…we’re going to be just fine.
Go Mats!
Vince Wirthman
cell 510.504.5683
vwirthman@gmail.com
see if it's a fit? Practices? This isn't a recruiting visit, you can't practice till November, and great way to meet the coaching staff? That is what you call undue influence my friend and you just put Miramonte on notice with NCS with a post like that lol
People or better yet, coaches should really read the rules before making absurd statements like this...smh
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Speaking of undue influence, I thought transferring to the school where the head coach is also your AAU coach was considered undue influence. Wouldn't that still mean sitting out the entire year? Is that no longer a thing?
unless Kelly personally coached her, it is not. If Kelly was her coach, then she'd have to sit if there's no change of address (i think).
Well if this coach is run out by parents in a few years it would fit perfectly for @Smust85. Enough years to fill out the coach’s application and show how it’s done. And I thought all Campo fans were like @kiddman32
