By BRIAN REED-BAIOTTO, Sports Editor There have been a lot of changes within the sports programs at La Salle over the past year or so. The turnover rate within the coaching ranks in high school athletics is higher than most know, and athletic directors are not immune to that trend either With that said, no […]
By BRIAN REED-BAIOTTO, Sports Editor
There have been a lot of changes within the sports programs at La Salle over the past year or so.
The turnover rate within the coaching ranks in high school athletics is higher than most know, and athletic directors are not immune to that trend either
With that said, no arrival or departure will affect the school and its programs more directly than this one.
After seven years of running the show and raising the bar and expectations, La Salle athletic director Anthony Harris is stepping down in June.
Harris took over in July of 2011 and his/the school’s list of accomplishments are as long as they are impressive.
Since his arrival, La Salle athletic programs earned 18 CIF Southern Section, 36 league and one state championship.
Harris’ run also saw 77 student-athletes earn NCAA scholarships/commitments to continue their careers at the next level.
His first hire was girls volleyball coach Tiare Tuitama, who led the Lancers to CIF championships in 2012 and 2013.
They were the first two girls volleyball titles in school history, and the Lancers’ CIF State finals appearance in 2017 behind Tuitama was the school’s first trip there as well.
That same year (2011), Harris hired Russell Gordon to take over the Lancers football program.
It was the same program that went 1-19 in the two season’s prior to Gordon’s arrival.
Harris’ decision paid immediate dividends, as the Gordon-led program went 10-0 in the regular season.
That too was a school first, and La Salle went 19-3 in his first two years, including back-to-back league championships.
His list of key hires goes on and on, including the arrival of Mike Lynch and Freedom McCullough to lead the boys and girls basketball programs, respectively.
In his first year at La Salle, Lynch took the boys program to the CIF-SS finals, a feat that hadn’t been accomplished at the school in 50 years, and McCullough has completely changed the face and direction of the girls program.
To those watching from the outside, Harris is perhaps best known for the success amongst the athletic programs on his watch over the past seven years.
But to those on the inside, he is a revered leader and man, and someone who is credited with changing the culture and expectations at a school he loves.
Harris was hired at La Salle just after earning his Master’s Degree in 2010 and he’s had a goal for quite some time of being an athletic director at the community college level.
And with his overwhelming success over the last seven years, doors will certainly start to open as Harris looks for his next challenge.
Harris’ wife Liliana and children (Aiden, Genesis, David, Avery and Janee’) deserve a lot of credit for sacrificing time with their husband/dad, which allowed him the ability and through diligent work to become without question one of the area’s premier athletic directors.
“My wife is the stabilizing force in my life,” Harris said. “She is the champion of our family because of her heroic execution of family duties in my absence due to working long hours on a weekly, monthly and annual basis for numerous years. I have missed some key moments in our family because of the hours the athletic director role calls for. My family, however, has been nothing but supportive to me in this profession and I truly appreciate it.”
One of Harris’ unique traits is trusting his gut feelings.
He has an innate ability to find a leader that will fit the La Salle and winning way, even if that person hadn’t had experience as a head coach.
Take Freedom McCullough and Tiare Tuitama for example.
McCullough had never been a head coach, but Harris saw something special when hiring the Lancers’ girls basketball coach.
La Salle went 7-21 the season before McCullough came to right the ship.
And the hire certainly paid off, as McCullough has led La Salle to a combined record of 42-18 overall, 16-2 in league and the Lancers’ made CIF-SS semifinal and quarterfinal playoff runs, respectively, in his two years thus far.
Tuitama was just a member of the Campbell Hall staff for boys and girls volleyball when Harris decided to lure her over to La Salle, and that decision could arguably be considered his most successful hire.
Over the last seven years, the Tuitama-led girls volleyball program’s two CIF-SS titles are more than any Pasadena or La Canada school combined over that time, not to mention five league championships.
Gordon won over 60-percent of the games at La Salle and resigned as the football coach at La Salle a couple months back after a very solid run, so he could become the head of football operations at Antelope Valley College, which made it possible for the seven-year coach to be closer to his family in Lancaster.
Gordon, though, raved about the man who hired him at La Salle, as well as the friend and leader Harris has become.
Said Gordon: “Anthony prepares coaches and students with his lesson plans. Throughout my tenure at La Salle, Anthony challenged me as a professional, as well as the students in every facet of athletics and character and more importantly, in life. Anthony is a master of the mind, and mentorship. He has a great grasp on what it takes to be successful in all athletics, and with both genders. I have no doubt that Anthony will be successful in a variety of roles, including that of an administrator, athletic director, college counselor or head coach.
He has a vibrant personality that allows him to work effectively in any capacity. Anthony is an educated man, who was a pleasure to work with, and he manages the art of multi-tasking effortlessly, never forgetting the details as an administrator and leader. Anthony took La Salle to places it has never been with turning programs from recreational to competitive and most importantly, college preparatory. Anthony is and forever will be a huge part of my family!”
Harris, as mentioned, is looking forward, but for the sake of this story, we asked him to look back for a moment and name a couple of athletes that really stood out at La Salle during his tenure.
One of the no-brainers was senior Julia Macabuhay, who is one of the most incredible basketball players in recent memory, and regardless of gender.
“Julia has proven to be the single most exciting female student-athlete I have seen in my career in high school athletic administration. She single-handedly increased the attendance at girls basketball games.”
Other female athletes Harris mentioned included Caroline Knop, who earned 16 varsity letters by playing volleyball, golf and softball and ended up at Michigan.
Haley DeSales, Kinsley Washington, and swimmers Samantha and Jackie Torres were also on his short list of the school’s premier athletes over the last seven years.
When it comes to some of the most memorable male athletes, Harris singled out Daniel De La Torre, who was a cross country and track athlete and someone who is the most decorated student-athlete in La Salle history. He earned six CIF individual titles and one state championship.
Bowdien Derby was someone he called the “most dominant baseball athlete I have ever witnessed in my time.”
A few other standouts include basketball’s Jordan Hill, who went to the final four twice, Amon Milliner, the most prolific running back in school history and swimmer James Torres, who won multiple CIF titles.
Despite the long hours, the drama (good and bad), the challenges of getting people to seek higher ground and the ups and downs that come with high school athletics, Harris wouldn’t trade his role for anything.
And while he has earned the respect of his bosses, those he is responsible for overseeing and his peers at other schools, it’s the student-athletes that Harris said he’ll miss most at La Salle.
For this reporter, what I’ll miss most is not having the ability to email him whenever we need information on anything or anyone at La Salle, and with respect to their many successful athletic programs.
Of all the school’s we work diligently to cover in the Pasadena and La Canada area’s over our two-year existence as an online newspaper, no athletic director has been more effective or more consistent in making sure every coach/program sent us information so that athletes of any sport or gender got ink daily.
When it came to the doling out of media attention, Harris didn’t care if you were 15-0 or 0-15, he didn’t differentiate if you were the program’s star athlete or if it was someone that got limited minutes, he valued every competitor for the Lancers equally and went out of his way to make sure we knew of each and every feat that was accomplished on a field or court.
Having done this type of work since 2000, I can attest that every reporter and sports editor desires, needs and appreciates leaders like Anthony Harris.
And it’s not just because he helps us do our jobs in good times or not, positive story or otherwise, it’s that he knows we both have a job to do and he’s done his incredibly well.
As to what he hopes he’s remembered for?
“I wish for my legacy at La Salle to be one that resembles a creative, passionate, and hard-working leader that inspired those around him to be their best on a daily basis. I am proud to have left a footprint at La Salle that produced phenomenal new facilities, a cutting edge brand for athletics, consistent success in most sports and student-athletes that enjoyed their experience participating in the athletics program during my time of leadership,” he said.
Quotable:
La Salle volleyball coach Tiare Tuitama: “I have had the privilege to know Anthony for the last 14 years. I was introduced to Anthony in 2006 when I joined the boys volleyball staff at Campbell Hall, where he was the athletic director. At that time, he had only seen me as an assistant coach for the boys program. In 2011, I got a call from him asking if I’d like to coach both the boys and girls programs at La Salle. That phone call changed my life and my coaching career, and I am so thankful for the opportunity and he’s helped me each year in becoming a better coach and leader. I want to thank him for having my back and giving me the opportunity to grow into the coach I am today.”
La Salle football coach Russell Gordon: “I have known Anthony as a colleague, friend and mentor for the past 21 years. When I first met Anthony, I knew that he was a well-rounded man, who would be a great role model for me as well as young student-athletes. While at La Salle, Anthony’s responsibilities were that of ensuring top performance educators/coaches and athletes on the field as well as in the classroom. Not only did he teach the skills of being a mentor/coach, but more importantly, he taught his coaches to develop well-disciplined and respectful young men and women. I have grown to know Anthony very well, and can easily attest to his strong work ethic. He is a great husband to his beautiful wife Lilly, father to a beautiful family, and person of extremely high character and morals, which comes across in every aspect of his life and job duties. He is widely respected by all of the coaches/colleagues in our league and in our community as an extremely bright administrator, teacher and coach who is always going to give you a 100% effort in preparation in the classroom and on the field, regardless of the situation any given year. I have always been impressed with how hard he works and the amount of hours he puts into preparing himself for his duties.”
La Salle girls basketball coach Freedom McCullough: “A few ways Anthony affected La Salle High School’s athletics is that he created a positive culture throughout the sports programs by hiring caring, athlete-centered coaches. He created an environment where everyone worked together, and most importantly, he provided his coaches the support needed to develop and grow into a successful program. The girls basketball program is a perfect example. He took a chance by hiring a first-time head coach to take over a fledgling team, because he knew I would represent the cultural changes he implemented program wide. As a result, the girls basketball program went from a 7-21 record to 22-10 in just one season under his leadership.”
La Salle boys basketball coach Mike Lynch: “I have only been at La Salle for two full years now, but in that short time, I have learned to respect the organizational skills that Anthony displayed. As a former A.D. of a very small school, I know how difficult the job of directing four sports was and I watched him organize and manage 22 sports. He allowed me to run (the basketball program) the way I wanted. I appreciated the freedom of being able to be creative without the micro-managing. As a veteran of 20-plus years as a varsity head coach, the freedom meant so much to me.”
La Salle boys soccer coach Edgar Manvelyan: “We really enjoyed working with Anthony. For me, he has given me the job to be director for our soccer program. Girls soccer has been very competitive and made a name for themselves and making the playoffs every year. Boys soccer has won three league titles and has been powerhouse in the area. Anthony understands the needs for soccer and what it takes to be a successful program. We thank him so much for what he has done to our program in general and we are surely going to miss him. I wish him best of luck in his next journey.”
La Salle girls soccer coach Sheima Berenji: “I was fortunate to come to La Salle as a head coach with the hiring of Anthony Harris. He believed in me through my five years at La Salle and gave me the opportunity to be the director for the girls Lancer soccer program. He provided motivation and a sense of direction. Every program has their conflicts and disagreements, but he helped me get through the conflicts and setbacks. Everybody leads differently, but modeling integrity, resilience, diligence, tenacity and a heart for the community is what Anthony gave to our program. He has a passion for sports and understands the potential impact they have on people’s lives.”
La Salle golf coach Steve Haderlein: “I appreciate Anthony giving me a chance to coach golf at La Salle. He’s been supportive and has enabled us to grow as a program. And he’s kicked a few extras.There are a lot girls having a positive experience in golf and in high school because of him.”
Anthony Harris’ accomplishments as La Salle Athletic Director:
• Created the mission and vision statements for the athletic program in 2011
• Restructured the athletic staff to reflect a collegiate structure with an Athletic Director, Associate Athletic Director, Athletic Coordinator, Athletic Trainer, Equipment Manager and Strength and Conditioning Coach.
• Executed installation of a new athletic website that is cutting edge for high schools with a collegiate feel.
• Led the charge in establishing and implementing the schools new athletic LS and new Lancer logo.
• Executed the gym floor redesign to reflect the new LS logo and La Salle wordmark
• Implemented the Lancer Zone which is a study hall program for student-athletes.
• Hired Mike Lynch who took the boys’ basketball program to the CIF title game for the first time in 50 years.
• Hired Freedom McCullough who has put the girls’ basketball program on the map by winning the most games in a single season ever (22), going further than any team (CIF Semi-Finals) and winning 42 games in his first two seasons leading the Lancers.
• Secured a new home for the Lancers Aquatics programs (Water Polo/Swimming) in the brand new aquatics facility located at Arcadia County Park.
• Secured a permanent home for the Lancer tennis programs with the City of Arcadia at Orange Grove Courts in 2012.
• Led the charge in having the tennis courts at Orange Grove resurfaced and fencing wind screened in 2013.
• Secured a five year contract with Latter Day Saints Church to utilize their softball field for the Lancers program in 2012.
• Secured Altadena Country Club for all end of the season team banquets.
• Spearheaded the project that produced the synthetic field replacement and track resurfacing of Kohorst Field.
• Established a new home for the Lancers baseball program at Arcadia County Park Spearheaded the major baseball facility renovations at Arcadia County Park.
• Served as the lead on the boys’ and girls’ major locker room renovations in 2014.
• Headed the efforts on the new outdoor training facility project in the summer of 2015.
• Served on the team that finalized the installation of air conditioning in the Duffy Lewis Gymnasium in summer 2014.
• Served as CIF representative for the Del Rey League and boys golf meet manager for the Camino Real and Del Rey leagues.
