Monarch firing big surprise

In a move that shocked players, coaches and parents alike, Sage Hill School announced Monday it had replaced Tom Monarch, the only coach the school’s five-year-old varsity football program has ever had, with former Lightning assistant coach Pete Anderson.

Sage Hill Boys’ Athletic Director Nate Miller said the move reflected a “major philosophical change at the school” to move away from walk-on coaches, in favor of teacher/coaches who already work on campus.

Monarch, who said he was surprised by the announcement Monday, said he was still collecting facts and wanted to reserve comment until he had more knowledge of why the decision was made.

Anderson, 38, who has taught math at the school the last five years, has never been a head coach at any level. A former tight end at Northwestern College, a Division III program in St. Paul, Minn., Anderson said he worked four years as an assistant at several schools in his native Montana, before moving to California five years ago. The Newport Beach resident worked as Monarch’s conditioning and line coach for the 2004 and 2005 seasons, but took last season off to concentrate on his teaching assignment.

“Tom and his staff [also comprised mainly of walk-on coaches] have been incredible and invaluable to the school,” Miller said. “They started the program from nothing and have done an amazing job developing it and getting our kids excited about football. This [decision has] nothing [to do with] us being unhappy.”

Anderson, reached Monday evening while still at school, said he had yet to meet with any players and had not experienced any feedback from students, colleagues or parents on campus Monday.

Three parents of football players who will be seniors next fall, were reached by telephone Monday night. They said they were completely surprised by the announcement, but did not want to comment further.

Tom Multari, a junior two-way starter for the football team that went 6-5 last season and made its third straight trip to the CIF Southern Section playoffs, said he did not learn of Monarch’s firing until he was informed by his mother upon arriving home Monday night from participating in the Lightning’s afternoon baseball game.

Multari said his mother learned of the coaching change from an e-mail sent by the school.

“I’m just kind of confused by the whole thing to tell you the truth,” Multari said. “I don’t really know the whole story or the reason the decision was made. It doesn’t seem fair to [Monarch] at this point, because he can’t get a job with another school. Also, I don’t see why [the change] when we’ve been so successful with that coaching staff. [Monarch] is the only coach we’ve had. Why now?”

Monarch posted a 26-26 record at the school. But after a 3-7 debut season in 2002 and a 1-8 campaign in 2003, the Lightning went 7-4 in 2004 and were 9-2, including the school’s first playoff win, in 2005.

“Tom built the program to where there’s an expectation to win,” said Anderson, who was also effusive with praise for the job Monarch and his staff had done. “They want to make the playoffs and be in the hunt for a league title. That’s a testament to the program Tom has built.”

Anderson said he was approached by school officials asking if he’d be interested in becoming the football coach.

“I was surprised and really excited about the opportunity,” he said. “I still am. Tom built this program from scratch. It’s a great place for a coach to step in and I want to try to maintain what I can and even take it to the next level. I’m excited to get things rolling.”

Anderson said he would meet with the players by the end of the week and will also go about forming a staff.

Anderson said he believes a coach who works on campus is preferable to a walk-on.

“I don’t want to take anything away from Tom,” Anderson said. “But even the greatest coaches in the world at the high school level are at a disadvantage when they are not there on campus.”

Anderson, who terms himself an old-school, old-fashioned guy from Montana, said he views coaching as an extension of the classroom.

“I think football is a condensed version of life,” Anderson said. “You get knocked down a dozen times in a football game or a practice and you have to make the decision whether to get up or not. If I could make it a required class, I’d have everyone play football. I think it’s the greatest game a person can play.”

Anderson said he would not commit to offensive and defensive schemes until he can evaluatepersonnel.

He said whoever ends up filling out the lineup will be asked to give their maximum effort.

“It’s a coach’s responsibility to hold players responsible when they not giving everything they’ve got,” Anderson said. “It’s my job as a coach to have the most well-conditioned athletes on the field. I’ll challenge any coach to put kids on the field who are in better condition than ours will be.”

Miller said boys’ basketball coach Steve Keith, who teaches at Irvine, stepped down following the 2006-07 season after five years at the helm. It was Keith’s choice and had nothing to do with the school’s desire to hire on-campus coaches, Miller said.