Hamlet Nalbandyan
GLENDALE -- The coaching carousel that is the Glendale High girls'
basketball program has returned, in a sense, to its original starting
point.
After Jerry Mike -- who coached the Nitros from 1994 to 1999 --
decided to remain at Valencia High, Glendale asked last year's coach,
Errol Garnett to return.
The 27-year-old Garnett, who stepped down as head coach April 24,
apparently retook the position in early May.
Mike left Glendale in May of 1999 to coach at Valencia -- which is
near his home in the Santa Clarita Valley.
He showed interests of coming back after the basketball season, but
for unknown reasons, decided to remain at Valencia.
"We thought he was going to come back, but he didn't for some reason,"
Glendale co-principal Mike Livingston said. "There's no animosity toward
Mike. We're happy to have Errol back as coach, and we're looking forward
to an exciting year."
Said Garnett: "(Mike) met with the team, the principal and the
district, and said he wanted to come back. I told the team that if Mike
comes back, I will gladly step down because in my mind, this is still his
team.
"But for some reason, he decided not to come back."
The News-Press attempted to reach Mike at his Valencia home, but its
calls were not returned.
When Mike was the coach, the Nitros went 80-69 during his tenure and
made the CIF Southern Section Division IAA playoffs four times.
Last year under Garnett, the Nitros went 14-12 and advanced to the CIF
playoffs, falling to Bell Gardens in the first round.
"I had a great time coaching last year," Garnett said. "The reason I
left is because I didn't want to deal with the whole drama. The
administration told me that they wanted me here.
"But I told them that I coach for the girls, and if they don't want me
here, why should I coach? The reason I came back is because six girls
wrote to the administration as said that they exaggerated their earlier
stories so that they can bring (Jerry) back and make me step away.
"That letter to me showed me that they were admitting that they made a
mistake, and I'm not a cold guy. I care about the team and I want to help
them."
