SPORTS

Pioneer basketball prepares for life without last year’s starting five

2005 summer league important for Coach Berticevich and new-look team

By Diego Abeloos
Sports Writer

Pioneer will miss the presence of graduating forward Mike Kaufmann next year and is looking to help fill that void with the additions of Craig Weaver and Kevin Denardi, both transfer students. Kaufmann nearly averaged a double-double throughout the regular season for the Mustangs. Photo by Ron Reed

Pioneer High School boys’ basketball Coach Joe Berticevich will have his hands full this summer.

Having lost his entire starting lineup to graduation, Berticevich will spend the majority of the 2005 basketball summer league looking for suitable replacements in his lineup after guiding the Mustangs to the CCS playoffs this past winter.

“Losing five guys in the starting lineup from last year is definitely going to be tough,” said Berticevich, whose team is 2-1 in summer league after a 51-38 loss to Oak Grove on June 17. “But I think we have the guys who are going to fill those spots. They work hard in practice, the juniors coming up, and they know what it takes. I think this summer we’ll give them the experience they need to be successful when the season starts.”

The task will be a formidable one for Berticevich. During the 2004-05 season, the Mustangs put together a 15-14 record overall and a 7-5 record in Mt. Hamilton Division play, good enough to earn the team a spot in the CCS Division III playoffs before losing a semifinal match-up to Burlingame on March 2.

The 2004-05 team featured a well-balanced lineup anchored by the team’s top two scorers, forward Mike Kaufmann and guard Mark Bundlie, both 2005 graduates. Coupled with losing starters in Robbie Nelson, Brent Osborn and Joe Montelongo, Berticevich realizes that next winter’s version of the Mustangs will have a vastly different look.

“We don’t have two 6-foot, 3-inch, 230-pound guys pounding the post,” Berticevich said, referring to Kaufmann and Osborn. “That will be a little bit different, but I think we’ll be more athletic. I think we can get up and down the court a little bit more than we did last year.”

To that end, Berticevich will turn to some familiar and new faces on the squad.

Among the new members on the Mustang basketball team is Kevin Denardi, an incoming senior transfer from Archbishop Mitty. A tall guard who can play big inside and hit mid-range jumpers, Denardi said he is still looking to find his comfort zone with the team. Denardi added that the summer league will go a long way in helping that transition and that he is hoping to prove his worth to the team.

“I’m just trying to prove to my teammates that I can play and that I deserve to play,” Denardi said. “It’s good. It’s nice to not have to be nervous out on the court. It’s just good. The coaching staff is a lot cooler … this is more laid back and they let you play.”

THE DEPARTING SENIORS. (left to right) 1st row: Marc Afshar, Joe Montelongo. Standing: Robbie Nelson, Mike Kaufmann, Brent Osborn, Mark Bundlie. Photo by Ron Reed

Another player who is fairly new to the program is Craig Weaver, a guard with passing skills who briefly appeared on the Mustangs for a pair of games last season. Weaver said he left the team after his short stint last season to concentrate on getting things together at school after unspecified issues prompted a move from Manteca to San Jose.

Weaver, who is learning to play point guard this summer, said he is looking to prove to Berticevich and his teammates that he can be a force on both offense and defense.

“This is how you get your spot right here. It’s basically tryouts,” Weaver said.

Weaver said that various aspect of the Mustangs, as a team, have made him comfortable on and off the court.
“Everyone’s really close, no one is distant from the team,” said Weaver, who also played one season at Valley Christian. “We all hang outside and we all play together, so we’re pretty close.”

Despite the changes, Berticevich said he is confident that next season’s team will be competitive. Although he admits that losing his two best scoring options in Bundlie and Kaufmann is tough, Berticevich said he is confident that he has the players to pick up the slack.

“We’ve got guys that can score,” Berticevich said. “Nolan (Maggipinto, a returning senior guard) can score, Craig Weaver can score. We’ll have guys. I don’t think it’s going to be one guy every night … but we’ve got guys who can shoot the ball.”

On the ground: Michael Reeve and Will Cobb. From left:  Manager Tarun Patel, Del Wilkinson, J.D. Correa (rear), Derek Seaman, Coach Dean Correa, Cameron Crawford, Tyler McGrath, Matt Brass, Max Veregge (rear), Kavin Patel, Josh Duffy, Pahul Matharu, Coach Bob Armstrong

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!

The Devil Rays of the Almaden Little League Majors North Division captured the District 12 Tournament of Champions in exciting fashion. With the score tied 2-2 in the fifth inning versus Lincoln Glen Little League, Kavin Patel slammed a grand slam home run (his third in the post season) to propel the Devil Rays to victory. Max Veregge followed with a homer of his own to put the icing on the cake in a 7-2 victory.
Veregge (two innings, 0 runs allowed) and Michael Reeve, both 11-year-olds, combined to hold the formidable Lincoln Glen lineup to just two runs. The Devil Rays had 13 hits in the game, with J.D. Correa, Cameron Crawford, Patel, Veregge and Reeve contributing for two hits apiece. Tyler McGrath, Will Cobb and Del Wilkinson each had hits as well.

The victory was the fourth in five days of the Tournament of Champions for the Devil Rays. Previous wins included 6-0 against the Branham Hills Angels, 10-7 versus the Willow Glen Yankees, and 8-2 against Cambrian Park Red Sox. The Devil Rays finished the regular season, league playoffs and the Tournament of Champions with a remarkable streak, winning 12 of 13 games. Their only loss was to the mighty Indians of Almaden’s North Division.

Sports Briefs

South Valley Lacrosse Chiefs offers free clinics July 23 and August 20
South Valley Lacrosse Chiefs are offering free clinics during the summer for kids in grades three through eight. The dates are July 23 and Aug. 20 from 10 a.m. to noon at Williams Elementary School in San Jose. 

The Chiefs are adding a seventh/eighth grade team in spring, 2005. Our free summer clinics give newcomers a chance to try the sport before they purchase equipment (loaner sticks available on first-come, first-served basis). So bring a friend and come have some fun with lacrosse.

RSVP to joy.bender@prodigy.net.  Our Web site is www.svlax.com.

Almaden Ladybugs host soccer tryouts
Almaden Ladybugs Premier/Class 1, U17 girls, holds tryouts for state cup and spring/fall season every Tuesday and Thursday.  Date of birth after 7/31/88. Contact Roger Haupt (408) 779-7697, Linda Urzi (408) 723-0928.     

Almaden Quicksilver holds soccer tryouts
Almaden Quicksilver Class 3, U12 girls, is holding tryouts for spring/fall season every Tuesday and Thursday. Date of birth must be after 7/31/93. Contact John (408) 323-8768 or john@politoski.com.

Central Valley Edge holds youth soccer tryouts
CV Edge, a Class 3/U17 girls’ soccer team, is offering Monday/Wednesday tryouts to girls born after 7/31/88 for the fall season for all positions. Contact Patty Rashid (408) 267-2740 or Afsari at (650) 771-6213 for more information.

Almaden Metro holds soccer tryouts
Almaden Metro Class 3, U17 boys, is holding tryouts for fall season most Sundays. Date of birth after 7/31/88. Contact Jeff Earl at (408) 268-5125 or jesvo11@yahoo.com.

Bret Harte seeks Boys Junior Lacrosse coaches
Bret Harte Middle School in San Jose is looking for boys’ junior lacrosse coaches for the 2005-2006 season. Multiple positions are available for both head coaches and assistants. Previous lacrosse coaching experience strongly recommended; a competitive salary is offered. If you are skilled in lacrosse, kid-oriented, and motivated to create a winning team from the ground floor up, we would love to talk with you! This is an exciting, and rapidly growing sport in California, and these Bret Harte boys are ready to go!

For more information, please contact Mike Garcia at 408-590-6949 or emailmgarcia@gmail.com.

AVYSL fall registration information
Fall registration for Almaden Valley Youth Soccer League (AVYSL) is open through June 30. Sign up your players by June 30 for a fun season of soccer. The recreational soccer season runs mid August to mid- November 2005.

Check the league’s Web site at www.almadensoccer.org for more information and access to online registration.

Chargers look to mold new team with familiar faces in basketball summer league

Varsity veterans get chance to master skills, prove they’re worthy of lineup spot

By Diego Abeloos
Sports Writer

While most Leland students are enjoying the summer, members of the school’s boys’ basketball team are doing something else—honing their skills for next season.

The Chargers kicked off the 2005 summer league season in high fashion on June 14, taking a 60-55 win over Evergreen Valley at Oak Grove’s basketball gym.

With a mixed roster of varsity veterans and promising frosh/soph players at hand, Leland Head Coach Dave Frandsen is looking to turn the summer league experience into a learning experience for all. The win over the Cougars, Frandsen said, is a step in the right direction.

“It was better than the usual summer league beginning,” said Frandsen, whose varsity team went 11-14 overall and 9-5 in the Santa Teresa division, earning a spot in the CCS playoffs. “It was a little more organized and they played well off of each other.”

The summer league is also a two-fold experience for those on Frandsen’s roster. On one end of the spectrum are the returning players to the varsity team, such as incoming senior guard David Farsai. Farsai, like many of the returning varsity players, plans to use the summer league as a chance to sharpen his skills in several areas of his game, namely his rebounding and mid-range shooting. More importantly for Farsai however, is to help ensure that his team has the swagger to compete in summer league as well as next season.

“We want to get our confidence back,” Farsai said. “Our class, we usually play together and we play very well. We’ve kind of established some really good chemistry. In previous years when we’ve all played together, we’ve gone undefeated in summer leagues and been a first-place seed every time. We want to bring that back.”

Frandsen said the opening match-up with Evergreen was a good indication of things to come from Farsai, who scored 21 points in the win. With outgoing senior forward Danny Hamouie—one of team’s leaders in scoring and in the locker room—headed to college, Frandsen said this summer is important for Farsai to show his leadership skills on the court.

“The bottom line is that David is going to be put in situations where he’s going to be a point-wing and the offense is going to be generated a lot on his penetration and kicks, because we do have good outside shooters coming back this year,” Frandsen said. “He will probably draw the tough defensive assignments and he’s going to have to play hard on both sides of the ball. That’s the bottom line for him.”

While Farsai, who has started past two years on varsity, will have no trouble convincing Frandsen of his worth in the starting lineup, other varsity players such as Scott Lucas are looking to prove just that. Lucas came off the bench primarily last year as a junior forward and said he looking to improve on his skills in the hopes of earning a spot in the starting lineup when the regular season begins in the winter of 2005.

“I’m just basically trying to improve every aspect of my game,” Lucas said. “My rebounding, boxing out, getting my shot down again after volleyball and just getting all the basics down again.”

Yet there are those on the roster who are simply trying to prove themselves worthy of a spot on the varsity roster in the frosh/soph players. The summer league not only serves the purpose of giving those players a chance at improving their skills, but also to provide a taste of the competitive nature that varsity games bring to the table during the regular season.

“Summer league is to get the sophomores-going-to-be-juniors integrated into the scheme and show them how hard it is to play at this level,” Frandsen said. “For the junior-going-to-be-seniors, it’s to continue the continuity of what they’ve learned in the past. To be competitive, and then as the competitiveness grows as today, you become successful and get a W. It’s contagious, you know, and it’s a good summer league … Get a couple of W’s and grow each game, that’s what we’re looking for.”

All in the family

Six-year-old Alex Sokol takes after mom and dad when it comes to fitness

By Diego Abeloos
Sports Writer

For the Sokol family, fitness is a way of life. In fact, it’s a family trait.

Fitness has become a family business for the Sokol family. Steve Sokol is a fitness consultant who recently broke his own Guinness Book World Record by completing 1,000 sit-ups in 10 minutes and 11 seconds. Leslie Sokol is a former Mrs. San Jose who now runs her own dance and fitness classes for children. Their son, Alex, has become the third Sokol in the family with an interest in fitness, running at youth track events and local 5k races. Photo by Diego Abeloos

Steve Sokol not only works as a fitness industry consultant in San Jose, he’s a record holder, breaking his own Guinness Book of World Records feat earlier this year by performing 1,000 sit-ups in 10 minutes and 11 seconds.

That record broke his old mark of 1,000 sit-ups in 11 minutes and 29 seconds, set on Mother’s Day in 2003.

Steve’s wife, Leslie Sokol, has her own list of accomplishments to brag about as well. A former Mrs. San Jose, Leslie Sokol now runs Dancekids, Inc., a series of dance and fitness classes for children.

But perhaps the most impressive member of the Sokol clan is someone few people have heard of—their son Alexander.

Only 6, Alex has taken to the same fitness lifestyle as his parents.

“With both of us being in the fitness industry and being really active ourselves, it’s kind of like the old saying, ‘monkey see, monkey do,’” said Leslie. “For parents, it’s important for them to be positive role models and whatever parents do, the kids want to imitate and be like their parents.”

Alex, an incoming first-grader at Taylor Elementary, began his interest in fitness when Leslie began race-walking nearly two years ago. Wanting to do the same things his mother and father were doing, Alex began running youth track events, beginning with the 60-meter dash, the 100-meter dash and the long jump before gradually progressing to events with longer distances such as the 800-meter, which he began competing in a year ago.

Despite this, the Sokols are careful with his progress, knowing that their son is still only a child.

“The way you would handle any child is No.1, you want to keep whatever they’re doing fun and not burn them out,” said Steve. “We only run one time a week and we only do it on grass. We keep it very low-impact and I try to run a little bit behind him, for the most part. That’s how it started in the beginning. Now I can’t help myself but be behind him because he’s faster than me.”

Slowly but surely, the Sokols began to see an unquenchable desire in Alex to run and participate in sports. Alex’s interests in fitness have extended beyond just running and track and field events, having participated for the past four years in Almaden Valley Youth Soccer, YMCA basketball as well as taking karate lessons and other typical after-school sporting activities for children. Steve added that he and his wife make sure Alex has plenty of down time to spend playing with his friends as well.

But Alex’s desire to keep going is strong. Steve said there have been times when his son finished a track meet, having participated in a handful of events, and still wanted to run more, only to have dad cut him off from further activity for the day.

“We try to not have too many things in a row,” Steve said, “like say, having a soccer game one day, running track the next day, having to race the day after and so forth.”

Yet Alex’s competitive nature is evident. When asked what his favorite part of running is, Alex responded with a simple answer, “being challenged and working hard.”

Although school is out for the summer for Alex, he’s still busy staying fit. Alex participates weekly in youth track meets, held every Tuesday at Soquel High School. In his first week running the 1-mile event, Alex registered a time of 7:17. The next week, he improved to 7:16. In his fourth week of competition, Alex had his 1-mile time down to 7:06.

“If you told me that a 6-year-old, any 6-year-old, could do what he is doing, I wouldn’t believe you, and I’m an exercise physiologist,” Steve said of Alex. “I would say that’s impossible.”

But Alex’s feats extend not only to the track. In March, Alex participated in the San Jose Mercury News 5k and finished eighth out of 164 runners in his age group and 102nd overall. During that same month, Alex competed in the LSI Logic 5k and came in 15th overall with a time of 24 minutes. Finally, during the Memorial Day weekend, Alex took part in the Mushroom Mardi Gras 5k, held in Morgan Hill, and achieved the best time in his under-12 age group with 23 minutes and 11 seconds.

For dad, Alex’s feats are sometimes overwhelming to talk about.

“It makes me so proud when watching him,” Steve said. “Often, and he knows this, at the end of our soccer banquets and things like that, when we talk about him, I can’t even speak because I get all choked up. It’s just so fun and fantastic watching someone who you love and who is a part of you do so well.”

SJUSD pay decision upsets teachers who also coach

Leland athletic director fears resignation of quality coaches over pay dispute

By Carol Rosen
Staff Writer

Teacher who are also coaches throughout San Jose Unified School District (SJUSD) are upset by a 2004 district decision that significantly cuts into their pay.

While many of SJUSD’s teacher/coaches are frustrated and aggravated, 10 of them based at Leland recently sent the parents of athletes a letter stating they are considering resigning unless the dispute is settled. Meanwhile the district and the union say the only way to change this is to change teacher/coach contracts.

At its most basic, this problem was created by the budget cuts school districts throughout California are experiencing. District officials, teachers, coaches and union representatives all agree that if school budgets were not cut to the bone, the situation might never have surfaced.

Sixth period prep or P.E.?
All district teachers receive pay based on the number of classes they teach plus a (prep) period to prepare for those classes. Most full time educators teach five classes and are off one period for that preparation. However, in some cases, teachers may be asked to teach a sixth period because no other teachers are available. Most teaching six periods receive pay for all six periods and have to prepare for their classes outside the regular school day.

Teacher/coaches often teach five academic classes and use their sixth period for the sports they coach, especially varsity coaches. These educators also receive a stipend that can be as little as $1,496 for a first year junior varsity coach to just over $3,000 for a varsity coach with five or more years.

That’s the crux of the problem. The on-site coaches, who teach all day and use one period for sports, only get the stipend. They do not receive pay for teaching and/or coaching that sixth period nor do they receive a prep period.

Academic teachers, who teach six classes, do receive pay for teaching all six classes. At SJUSD, the onus is on the high school athletic directors to grade all athletes during the current academic year of 2004-05.

Teacher/coaches throughout the district are complaining that the stipend isn’t equivalent to their academic pay. In addition, the stipend is taxed at a higher rate because it’s considered extra income. By the time taxes and retirement are taken out, it’s significantly less than they receive for teaching academic classes.

And, even though it may only be a portion of a semester, they typically spend more than one hour, at the very least two or three per day up to six days per week, with their athletes during practice and games or meets. Even after their season has ended, the coaches are still required to take roll and put the athletes through their paces in PE.

While other schools’ athletes may have their physical education (every student is required to take two years of P.E.) throughout the day with athletics scheduled after school, Leland’s 500 athletes all have P.E. sixth period.

However, even if the athletes’ P.E. classes are mixed throughout the day, if an on-site coach is teaching the class, he or she still is not compensated under this plan.

How can one athletic director grade 500 athletes?
Since the 2004-05 school year began, the athletic directors at the SJUSD high schools are responsible for grading each student athlete—even if the teacher/coaches conduct the class, set up the curriculum and so forth. The teacher/coaches actually provide the grades because the athletic directors are unable to pay attention to their own and the coaches’ classes and do the fund raising and other athletic director activities during their remaining three hours.

“Years ago, in better economic times, we paid varsity head coaches for teaching [the class] and gave them their stipend. However, it was never part of their contract. When economic times got tough and the district was looking for ways to cut corners, they cut that part of coaches’ salaries. But that [their sixth period salary] was never part of the contract,” said Bob Setterlund, Leland’s principal.

“Each school works out the coaches’ schedules with the principal. If you go by what the coaches want, it’s double dipping,” added Marlene Mattoon, president of the San Jose Teachers’ Association (SJTA). “Our goal as a union is to help with funding, but we don’t have a lot of money for teachers to get per diem and a stipend.”

The teachers, however, say they feel a lack of support. Until the 2004-05 school year, the district used a specific pay policy. Now, it seems there’s a lot of confusion among all the groups involved from the district to the union to the teacher/coaches and athletic directors on how the money should be allocated. While the union claims the stipend and salary would be double dipping, the coaches feel they need both to compensate them fully for their time.

They also complain they are doing the same amount of work for less pay even though their classes generate funds for school use. “As a result of this directive, the funds that are generated by the existence of the [PE] class will no longer be used to compensate the teacher of that class,” according to the letter sent by the Leland coaches.

Instead, the letter continued, the athletic director is responsible. “This will amount to approximately 500 grades at Leland. How can one athletic director be responsible for the attendance, instruction, supervision and evaluation of 500 students a day?”

In fact, the letter went on, while coaches must follow through on their various duties, they won’t “be credited with being the teacher of record and therefore will not be compensated as a normal classroom instructor….The on-campus teachers/coaches at Leland feel this is not acceptable. We are very concerned with the quality of instruction that goes into evaluating your son or daughter’s grade. Our school is expecting coaches to provide all the normal functions of a classroom teacher, but not be recognized as the teacher of that class.”

In their letter, the coaches call the situation an issue of allocation of funds. “The funds to pay teachers/coaches are generated by the class itself. P.E. classes generate funds like any other subject on campus. It is the position of the district and the school administration that those funds should be used for other purposes such as offering additional [academic] classes on campus so students can take seven and eight periods a day.”

District and Teacher’s Association’s response
“I’ve been to Leland three times this year to discuss the situation,” said Jerry Bledsoe, executive director of the San Jose Teachers’ Association. “In 1994, the district and the SJTA reached an agreement (see sidebar) that coaches could not get a sixth period assignment and a coaching stipend. We’ve been remiss about enforcing this.

The money [to pay coaches for the sixth period] comes out of the budget for teachers’ salaries and benefits. It comes from the same pot. We have to be cost conscious right now. “

Bledsoe, who admitted there are grounds for a misunderstanding, agreed with district personnel that there are ways for the school principal to use resources to smooth things out. He emphasized, however, the agreement seems to have worked out with teacher/coaches at all the other district high schools and then added that he thinks the problem will straighten itself out.

Backing up Bledsoe is Karen Fuqua, SJUSD spokesperson, who said tight finances may cut into academic classes, especially AP classes. “If we continue to give paid prep periods to coaches, we may have to give up AP classes. It’s a matter of so many dollars for so many class periods.”

But “it’s a site-by-site decision,” she said emphatically. Coaches at other schools don’t seem to be upset and aren’t talking about resigning, Fuqua added.

“It’s district policy that teachers who want to coach are paid by contract language. I can’t violate the agreement,” said Bonnie Piche, director of secondary education services for SJUSD. “To change the directive, they must go to the union and change the contract section on payment for the stipend. It’s my job to make sure they follow that agreement.”

In the past, she said, when money wasn’t tight, the district and the coaches were afforded this luxury. “But now the money is not there and the luxury is gone. I have to follow the agreement with the teacher’s contract. I can’t negotiate for the athletic directors. As much as I’d like to pay them, negotiations are a very formal procedure with district and union representatives,” Piche added.

If the coaches feel they need to resign, then they will have to do so. “I can’t violate district policy or the teachers’ contract,” she stated.

Bledsoe suggested that if it’s that big of a problem then perhaps the school’s foundations and booster clubs could jump in and help. They could raise the money for the coaches, “If that’s what they want to do the SJTA has no problem with that,” he said.

But, countered several coaches, booster clubs already provide a lot of the money necessary to keep the athletic programs alive. “Asking parents to raise money is naïve. We already have a group of hard working parents that raise money to help run our programs. We’re very fortunate to have these parents. We couldn’t do it with just the support of the district, “ an AD said.

Leland is vocal, but issue also affects other schools
The teacher/coaches further suggest that all of the on-site coaches want better compensation. Leland may be the most vocal, but all the on-site coaches feel that they aren’t getting a fair deal. In fact, a Pioneer coach mentioned that one of the Leland coaches has taken a leadership role.

A coach at one high school, who asked to remain anonymous, acknowledged the situation is tough financially. “We all can see how lean times are and all levels are going through hard times. It’s not a great time in the economy to ask for more money. But we are the only district in the county to cut coaches pay.”

It’s a big dilemma for coaches and athletic directors. “We have negotiations coming up this summer. We did have a meeting with the union, all the athletic directors. We walked away frustrated. He (Bledsoe) didn’t understand or think it [pay for all six periods] was worth fighting for. All of us have to decide to accept the situation or feel strongly enough to file a grievance. The district looks upon the athletic directors as part of the solution. Their solution was to give us three periods off per day with part of that time to grade.”

Jake Hernandez, teacher and varsity baseball coach at Pioneer High mentioned that the union has been helping the on-site coaches. “They went to bat for us,” he said. However, he agreed with another coach who mentioned that the union is able to do only what it can. SJUSD is full of elementary schools, whose teachers find high school sports a non-issue. The union will “go to bat for the coaches,” they said, “but they only have so much say from a high school point of view.”

Another coach mentioned losing assistant coaches because of the funding problems. “Two of my assistant coaches were offered the opportunity to work on campus in the homework center and get paid [from a separate fund].”

Varsity coaches from Leland and Pioneer suggested the stipends were ridiculous. “I barely cleared over $2,000 even though I worked between three and four hours per day at least five days a week for an entire semester,” said one coach who asked to remain anonymous. He echoed most of the other coaches the Times spoke with, “I don’t coach for the money. I do it for the players and the love of the game. I enjoy the interaction,” he added.

Leland’s 10 on-campus coaches who signed the letter include P.E. teacher and head basketball coach Dave Frandsen, history teacher and baseball head coach Scott Gillis, PE teacher and Athletic Director Chris Hansen. Others are history teacher and volleyball head coach Jason Hilbert, PE teacher and wrestling head coach Dan Lloyd and PE teacher and head volleyball coach Trish Moore.

The coaches also include science teacher and head swimming and water polo coach Mike Monsees, art and animation teacher and head lacrosse coach Brad Rodriguez, special education teacher and head cross country and track coach Jerry Rose and Jason Tenner, history teacher and head football coach.

Most agree with Frandsen who told the Times that “The bottom line is, the kids are getting the grades, the money is being generated and the money is not going back to the programs that are supplementing it. What we’re doing is bigger than maybe what any classes are doing in preparing kids for life skills. To not be supported is kind of a slap in the face,” said Frandsen, who has coached basketball on and off for 19 years at Leland.

The memo that started it all

In March of 1994, San Jose Unified School District Director Cheryl Petermann sent a memo to Kermit Harley, who was then principal of Broadway High School. The memo dealt with sixth period coaching. It decreed that based on the solution of a grievance related to sixth period coaching, the district was issuing the following directive:

- Secondary credentialed teachers are not to be assigned coaching as a sixth period since this will result in having to pay per diem.

- If you elect to assign one of your teachers to a sixth period coaching assignment, it will have to be part of your site’s staffing budget allocation or your sports budget.

- Teachers who are not credentialed to teach secondary [school] become a walk-on coach at another school and receive a stipend.

- Teachers who are assigned to teach five periods at one school, and then elect to coach at another school have to receive per diem. They do not receive travel time.

- Teachers who are assigned coaching as their fifth period receive a stipend and no per diem.

- Teachers who teach five periods at one school and coach one period at another school receive per diem instead of a stipend.

Stipends typically range from a low of $1,800 to more than $2,000 per season. At Leland, the stipend is based on tenure and range from $1,631 for first year coaches to nearly $2,500 for coaches with five or more years of experience.

However, one coach noted that the stipend for his sport is more than $2,500. But when taxes and retirement monies are taken out, he receives about $1,600 “for working four months, three hours per day every week. That same coach taught five classes this year and athletics sixth period. “I had no prep period and athletics sixth period, and my salary dropped by one-sixth, which turns out to be a lot of money,” he said.

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