David Woo’s coaching spot with La Cañada High boys’ volleyball in limbo
After finishing at the bottom of the Rio Hondo League for the second year in a row, the La Cañada High boys’ volleyball team’s coaching position has been opened.
The La Cañada Unified School District chose not to renew Spartans Coach David Woo’s year-to-year contract at the end of the season in which the Spartans went 5-21, 1-7 in league.
“If a coach doesn’t meet the standards or hit a satisfactory evaluation their contract may not be renewed, but they can reapply,” La Cañada High Athletic Director Craig Franzen said. “Woo can reapply again and he may get it, but we are going to go through the process.”
Woo said he will embrace the opportunity.
“I am going to reapply,” Woo said. “This summer I am going to join a club and I am going to pretty much reinvent myself. They said there are some things I need to work on so that’s what I am going to do. I will fight for it.”
Woo is also planning on attending clinics this summer to work on the technical aspects of volleyball. He said he’s also looking into possibly coaching La Cañada High’s junior varsity girls’ volleyball team in hopes of learning under girls’ varsity coach Brock Turner.
When Woo first took over for the Spartans in 2010 he led them to second place in league and the CIF Southern Section Division III playoffs for the first time in four years with a 16-13, 5-3 in league record.
The past two years have been a struggle for La Cañada, though, as it’s finished at the bottom of the league with a combined 14-39 (3-13 in league) record during that span.
La Cañada didn’t have an all-league selection this year, including any honorable mention, after Woo couldn’t attend the meeting because he had a trip planned. Woo said he attempted to have the league coaches reschedule the selection meeting, but he couldn’t get them to do so.
Sill, Woo is optimistic of what the Spartans could accomplish next year with plenty of returners and a promising freshman class.
“I know next year’s team will be better because they’ll have good chemistry,” Woo said. “I return four diggers and four hitters. The team will be there, it just depends on the incoming freshmen and if they can contribute.”