Tom won't be at Brookside Christian. They had a great thing going before but Tuition is way too high and not enough boosters. That is why the coach left Brookside. Bear Creek is my guess as they always have tons of talent in that area. Not sure if Bear Creek is open enrollment tho. Brookside was my initial thought but I just can't see it.
Tom Gonsalves has resigned at St Mary’s
- Thread starter Streak One
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Tom won't be at Brookside Christian. They had a great thing going before but Tuition is way too high and not enough boosters. That is why the coach left Brookside. Bear Creek is my guess as they always have tons of talent in that area. Not sure if Bear Creek is open enrollment tho. Brookside was my initial thought but I just can't see it.
Let's face it, it's all about recruiting. Those with less integrity are the one's that accumulate the most talent. Call up any public school coach and ask them. Think of your favorite coach you ever had, I doubt they were the most winning coach you've ever had, because your best coaches don't do it for their egos, they do it cause they love competing, but mostly because of the relationships. My guess is coach G is the most aggressive recruiter out there. And if he does show up somewhere to coach again, a million bucks says he won't do it unless it's at another private school where he can impose his will. If I had Chelsea gray, Jackie g and then decosta, I might have 3 national championships
3 National Championships?!?! Not trying to hate but 3 national championships would be unlikely. It's much harder to win State or a national title than people think.
So true, GBBall4L. Even winning a league title is an accomplishment -- we get so focused on the elite teams with elite talent that tend to overlook the achievements of coaches and players who work hard over several years to put together a quality team -- with maybe one college-level player -- and win a league.
Because they don't go deep in postseason we tend to discount the effort and achievement, but really, those kinds of programs are what high school sports are really about.
Because they don't go deep in postseason we tend to discount the effort and achievement, but really, those kinds of programs are what high school sports are really about.
If you do not have talent, you are not going to win. A great coach can make a bad team competitive, a decent team a league champion, talented team a section champion and super talented team a state champion. The problem is not private schools recruiting, like all the private schools do, the problem are public schools cannot recruit.
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Steve Kerr was allegedly a great coach. We see how that turned out this season.
I think Steve Kerr was and is a great coach -- he got the most out of the talent available to him, I believe, but more important, he got his players to play hard (more often than most teams would have in that situation). For me, the first job in coaching is to get your players to play hard ...
No question that private schools that want to be very competitive in girls' basketball have an advantage in recruiting. But most private schools have a very limited focus on athletic success and potential players must not only pay the full tuition but also pass the qualifying exams.
And some public schools, and all charter and magnet schools, can recruit as well because there is no tuition and in most districts, it's relatively easy to get from one school to another -- and in fact for charter and magnet schools, it's part of the design of the system.
No question that private schools that want to be very competitive in girls' basketball have an advantage in recruiting. But most private schools have a very limited focus on athletic success and potential players must not only pay the full tuition but also pass the qualifying exams.
And some public schools, and all charter and magnet schools, can recruit as well because there is no tuition and in most districts, it's relatively easy to get from one school to another -- and in fact for charter and magnet schools, it's part of the design of the system.
One of the most impressive accomplishments of Toms career at sms. Was the year after Chelsey and Afure graduated . Everyone was saying let’s see what he does now that he loss 2 McDonald all Americans. All’s he did was win another stated championship the year after they graduated .
I have nothing against Kerr but lets not forget who built that team, Mark Jackson. They thought Luke Walton was a good coach too, anyone could sit on that bench and win.
Can u imagine what Steve White or Sean chambers would do with multiple McDonald's all Americans?
Id like to point out how difficult it is in the age of competitive equity to actually win a D1 or OPEN state title . That Antelope had THREE D1 girls and still lost in the 1st round of the D1 norcals says it all. IMO the days of the multiple state titles for the "elite" coaches may be gone. As we all have opined (or lamented) often over the last few yrs its usually the team that gets misseeded that goes on to win a title.
The only program in Norcal right now that has the ultimate mix of top talent and excellent coaching is Mitty. ALL the other programs have flaws... the great talent has average coaches or the great coaches have average talent. When one of those great coaches happens to get the talent then they make those great runs that we all have celebrated over the last few yrs.
The only program in Norcal right now that has the ultimate mix of top talent and excellent coaching is Mitty. ALL the other programs have flaws... the great talent has average coaches or the great coaches have average talent. When one of those great coaches happens to get the talent then they make those great runs that we all have celebrated over the last few yrs.
Kerr was great with great players. He was glad corona stopped the bleeding this season. Mark jackson would have been fired easily for 15 wins.
I just wanna add my two cents... HOW many Parents would win the SJS Section every year with the D1 Talent that SMS has had.
Tom Has had a GREAT run but rarely has he had to "COACH" when you get the Best kids in the Area and add them with out of state and out of the area talent. ANYONE can win with that talent...
As many Players that like Tom there are SEVERAL that cant stand him and could care less if they speak to him again.
As long as they get a Respected Coach that Players want to play for im sure SMS will be just fine.
Tom Has had a GREAT run but rarely has he had to "COACH" when you get the Best kids in the Area and add them with out of state and out of the area talent. ANYONE can win with that talent...
As many Players that like Tom there are SEVERAL that cant stand him and could care less if they speak to him again.
As long as they get a Respected Coach that Players want to play for im sure SMS will be just fine.
Not many. Even with that much talent it's VERY hard to win a section championship. Yes they were loaded with talent but you still have to coach. While it's hard to argue the merits of what Tom did at SMS, he did have the horses, and ran the perfect "system" that was before it's time. Now you see wannabe clones trying (some some doing a good job) to run the same stuff as he did; 2-2-1 and dribble drive. Was he hard to play for? I imagine so, but he was a good motivator and got those kids to play VERY hard. You talk about talent....Sac High has been LOADED every year but underachieve every year.
It's always hard to follow a legend, but as you said...get a good hoop coach that teaches the game and you'll see the players respond. What'll be interesting is how many kids transfer out or stay when this is all said and done.
Preaching to the choir.... I have been saying it for years...even when I would go to the SMS games ... SMS parents hated me...surprise...surprise
even with missing Curry and Thompson and Green for part of the season? It's the NBA but if you don't have the players, you can't win. I think management needed to give him a break considering what he's done with the Warriors.
Every open team and the top 12 seeds in D1 all had D1 player or players on their roster minus SRV and Mclatchy . You can't win at that level without D1 talent. Winning an open or D1 title in the competitive equity era will require at least 2 D1 players for the foreseeable future in my opinion. Half the battle at that level ( Majority privates) is who can stockpile the most talent that fits the specific coaches system. From what I saw I thought Coach G was elite and had players that fit his system and goals. It wasn't pretty or pure basketball but it was winning basketball. His resume speaks for itself.
All good points. What's also interesting is how that pressure system of defense is created over time during practice. you wonder if there's a threshold of "appropriateness" with regards to pushing young girls that hard. example..... As a parent I could force my child to run a mile every day and force them to increase that day after day and I would probably end up with a section champion and college level runner, but is that ethically okay?? I've heard all about coach Gs practices and how intense they are, but how hard is too hard? I think the dad's are also to blame, getting caught up and letting egos get involved at the daughter's expense. I doubt that style of basketball is fun for the girls, especially that press all game long. Does it work...yes. but is it too taxing on teenage girls? it very well might be. Every year they have someone go down with an ACL.
he had green. he shouldn't be mentioned here. he had his chance to show and prove. equaled 15 wins.
winning is fun. they knew what they signed up for. those that cant take it end up at another school.
Only two Nor Cal teams have won the open since inception on the girls side, BOD and SMS. Talent yes, a given not hardly.
Every parent has the choice to pull their kids from the program. Would you want to play for a coach that doesn't push your daughter/son to be the best version of themselves or the best they can be? I haven't heard about his practices but his teams play extremely hard..harder than most of the teams out there. I have no problems with high expectations...belittling players? YES! pushing them to point of exhaustion? not at all. Players that have gone to SMS during Tom's tenure went for one reason...to win and get a scholarship and he's done a great job of doing both. Again, i'm not condoning his behavior but again, players and parents are free to leave if it's not fitting..like the stud that played a couple years ago and went back to a school in the Tracy/Manteca area (her name slips my mind..Rosie something...).
Winning is fun and it takes hard work to achieve the success those kids have had
>ANYONE can win with that talent...
I would say this statement is from someone who has not coached at the varsity level in high school, especially at an elite program.
At that level, coaching is as much about group dynamics as about Xs and Os, and often it's more difficult to get a team full of superstars -- or at least they think they are -- to all go in the same direction, and play hard all the time.
I think the easiest team to coach is one with one or two elite players that everyone knows are the best on the team, and then a group of solid players who accept their roles. Of course, that doesn't happen very often.
And to bang my drum again, it is incredibly difficult to win a state title. I've coached on three teams that won, and one team that lost in the final game, and it's a long, difficult, challenging road, talent or no talent.
I would say this statement is from someone who has not coached at the varsity level in high school, especially at an elite program.
At that level, coaching is as much about group dynamics as about Xs and Os, and often it's more difficult to get a team full of superstars -- or at least they think they are -- to all go in the same direction, and play hard all the time.
I think the easiest team to coach is one with one or two elite players that everyone knows are the best on the team, and then a group of solid players who accept their roles. Of course, that doesn't happen very often.
And to bang my drum again, it is incredibly difficult to win a state title. I've coached on three teams that won, and one team that lost in the final game, and it's a long, difficult, challenging road, talent or no talent.
If the only measure for coaching success is wins and losses, then obviously those who have superior talent will be considered the best.
For me, a better metric -- though really impossible to determine -- is how close a team comes to its potential. So a team with elite talent should go deep into postseason with a good coach, but a good coach can also be defined as one who takes a team to a .500 record with below-average talent.
Just looking at wins is a lot easier, though ...
For me, a better metric -- though really impossible to determine -- is how close a team comes to its potential. So a team with elite talent should go deep into postseason with a good coach, but a good coach can also be defined as one who takes a team to a .500 record with below-average talent.
Just looking at wins is a lot easier, though ...
SMs high school has won only 1 Open title since the the Open was established in 2013 and prior to that they won three state titles, but they were all Divison-III titles, two of which had Chelsea Gray (wnba all star) and many other D1 talents. In Jackie G's senior year (2006), they didn't even qualify for the state playoffs. And guess how many D1 players they had during their 1 Open final win?..........SEVEN. Najai Murray (CAL), Micole Cayton (CAL), Kat Tudor (Oregon St.), Neenah Young (princeton), Ariel Jonson (Florida Gators), Sierra Smith? and oh ya....Acquira Decosta, mcdonalds all american (Baylor). and that same roster (minus Sierra smith) got beat in the 2nd round, 3 years in a row after that. Is pushing them hard really the key ingredient here?
Only one open title? Do you know how hard it is to win an open title against all that depth in SoCal?! Only 2 NorCal teams has won an Open division title since 2013. Do you know how many D1 players those SoCal schools have? The hate against our NorCal successful coaches from within our NorCal community is disappointing.
The truth is this.... You have coaches that recruit and go way beyond "bending" the rules in relation to "undue influence" (look up the rule on the CIF website). Then those same coaches and their loaded teams embarrass public school teams and often run up the score mercilessly. Then those same coaches get accolades like coach of the year and get the credit for developing D1 players and people that don't know the real story, think they must be great coaches. There's no hate, I like to watch talented teams play too, but let's face it, we all know how the world works......and that's what's disappointing.
Did anyone see the post “Tom Gonsalves Rules” that has since been removed...
OMG the thing was full of illegal behavior
Guess to hot for this forum
OMG the thing was full of illegal behavior
Guess to hot for this forum
Very interesting. I responded as he basically said he was crying away on social media. Only social media I found was his twitter and most of it was shares of former players and other coaches congratulating him on the years of success. It was obviously some dad who probably felt his daughter should have played more. Pretty sad as that easily took a hour or two to type out
