#high-school-sports

#high-school-sports

Kevin Kiernan, the winningest girls' coach in state history with 900 career wins, according to CalHiSports, has come out of retirement for a second stint at Troy, where he coached for 11 years before heading over to Mater Dei for an 18-year run as girls' coach and later athletic director. He's also coached at Westminster La Quinta as well as boys' basketball and was women's coach at Cypress College.

Editor's note: We prohibit the use of bots and any other artificial methods of voting. Suspicious activity could lead to the disqualification of candidates and a permanent suspension of the Athlete of the Week poll. No voting by email: Votes by email and after 5 p.m. Wednesday are not counted. Welcome to the Bay Area News Group (Mercury News & East Bay Times) boys Athlete of the Week poll.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - Staten Island's four CHSAA girls' varsity soccer teams will compete this week in the Archdiocese of New York playoffs. Top-seeded St. Joseph by-the-Sea, No. 2 St. Joseph Hill and No. 3 Notre Dame Academy will compete in the five-team, Tier 1 division. If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation.

Take Hudl, which started out in 2006 as a platform to help players and coaches (of all levels, not just high school) review game footage for training purposes. Over time, the Nebraska-based company has expanded into public-facing content, like livestreamed games and highlight reels and even hardware in the form of a line of smart cameras that automatically track movement. All the school has to do is put the camera somewhere facing the field and turn it on.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Staten Island Academy advanced to the championship game of the PSAA playoffs with a 3-1 triumph over the Portledge School Tuesday at home. David Pescerelli scored his 20th goal of the season, while Jacob Olbrich had two assists. Head coach Michael Cannizzaro's club meets Stony Brook on the road in the title game Wednesday at 4 p.m.

Editor's note: We prohibit the use of bots and any other artificial methods of voting. Suspicious activity could lead to the disqualification of candidates and a permanent suspension of the Athlete of the Week poll. No voting by email: Votes by email and after 5 p.m. Wednesday are not counted. Also note: Public display of the results is capped at 50,000 votes. If the poll surpasses 50,000 votes, we will keep track of the results internally.

HADDONFIELD, New Jersey -- Jeff Holman, a tennis coach and high school counselor, has inspired generations of students at Haddonfield Memorial High School since 1976. Holman, who played tennis in high school himself, began coaching the girls team in 1976. Two years later, he started coaching the boys team as well. Since then, he's held that role for the better part of a half-century.

Derwin Henderson was not intending to coach this season. He hadn't been a head coach since 2019 at Hawthorne. But he lives in the Inland Empire, and Rialto High kept asking him to take the open position. He finally relented, and big changes are already taking place. Rialto is off to a 3-0 start with wins over Ontario, Temecula Prep and Indio. That's notable because the team was 0-10 last season and 1-9 in 2023.

Amanda Vickers, a member of the Riverside Unified School District board, said: "There is a difference between biological girls and biological boys. And, tonight, the girls of Riverside Polly High School [are] not going to end up like Payton McNabb." Vickers' comment refers to a 2022 incident in which former high school volleyball player McNabb was struck in the head by a ball returned by a trans opponent, which she claims left her with permanent brain damage.

Valencia running back Brian Bonner stated his loyalty to his high school, saying, "The coaches showed me a lot of love the past four years. If I'm doing fine at Valencia, there's no reason to leave and go somewhere else."

The Pierce College cross-country course has been closed for the fall season, as a new soccer field will be constructed in the area previously used for races.