Halpern Is Latest Coach to Step Down : High school basketball: He resigns from Reseda, becoming the fourth Northwest Valley Conference coach to quit this year.

The coaching attrition rate in the Northwest Valley Conference climbed another notch Friday when Reseda High basketball Coach Jeff Halpern announced his resignation.

Halpern, 50, said he quit because he was “burned out, tired and having a hard time getting fired up about coming back.”

Halpern coached at Reseda for six seasons and previously coached at Van Nuys and Birmingham. He leaves with an eight-year record of 117-56. His teams had winning records in all but two seasons.

Halpern said the past three seasons--which included a battle with the City Section over releaguing, the controversial year-round calendar that disrupted two seasons and an earthquake that severely damaged the Reseda gym--put him over the edge.

“It’s been three years of total frustration,” Halpern said.

Halpern becomes the fourth coach in the Northwest Valley to resign this year, following Dick Crowell of San Fernando, Jim Woodard of Taft and Sandy Greentree of Chatsworth. What’s more, Bob Johnson of Granada Hills retired after the 1992-93 season and Mike McNulty of El Camino Real resigned following 1991-92.

Only Kennedy’s Yutaka Shimizu and Cleveland’s Kevin Crider will enter the 1994-95 season with more than two years of experience.

Halpern said he hasn’t ruled out a return to coaching, but said he plans to pursue opportunities as an administrator in the Los Angeles Unified School District. He is dean of students at Reseda and a member of the City’s sports ruling body, the Interscholastic Athletics Committee.

Among the players Halpern coached were Anthony Cook (Arizona), Keith Owens (UCLA), Marquis Burns (UCLA) and Trenton Cross, who will play next season at Cal State Northridge.

His 1986-87 Birmingham team fell to Granada Hills in the City 3-A Division final.

Reseda, top-seeded in the 3-A playoffs this season, was hurt by injuries to several key players and fell in the second round.

Halpern said no replacement has been chosen.