Cook to Quit Football Post at Newbury Park High

Dismayed by declining enrollment and a lack of coaching continuity on all levels of his program, Ken Cook will tender his resignation as Newbury Park High’s head football coach today, 14 years after taking the job.

After joining the Newbury Park staff in 1967 as a line coach, Cook became head coach in 1975 and compiled a career record of 69-63-4. His teams qualified for the playoffs 8 times, including 7 of the past 10 seasons. But the Panthers, who were 3-6-1 last season, have not qualified for postseason play since 1986.

Newbury Park, with 1,600 students, has the lowest enrollment in the Marmonte League, and trends indicate that that number will fall to 1,530 next year, according to Bill Manzer, the school’s vice principal and boys’ athletic director.

“Our situation out here I’m just not happy with,” Cook, 47, said. “It’s hard to compete with schools that have 2,500 kids.

“And my staff seems to change annually. I have to rely on all walk-ons just about. I was almost positive going into this year that it would be my last.

“But it’s not an easy thing to give up.”

Fatigue and the opportunity to follow the college career of his son, Wayne, are other factors. Wayne, who played quarterback at Newbury Park the past 2 seasons, verbally committed to UCLA this week.

“The big thing is, I’ve been at it for 25 years and I’m just tired,” he said. “But I did not want to jump the gun. You don’t want to make too hasty a decision.”

In his tenure, Cook coached 27 All-Ventura County players. His teams and players hold 85 school records.

“Here’s a guy who believed that it is a high school program, and that’s very important to us,” Manzer said. “He expected discipline out of his players on campus as well as on the team.”

Manzer said that on-campus personnel will be considered first for the job and that current football assistants George Hurley and Gary Fabricius will apply.

“A major goal for us is that the head football coach needs to be an on-campus teacher,” he said. “Because, in more cases than not, he will set the tone for the whole coaching staff in all sports.”

Manzer added that because Hurley and Fabricius, also the varsity baseball coach, were on-campus, “they would have a leg up.”