Related
Link: SHS Alumni Website
These People
Believe in Us, Support Us, Were One of Us
Do you know
that out of the more than seventy coaches at the school, almost one-third of them are SHS alumni? Yes, the last count is twenty
two! This issue of FSN takes a closer look at who they are as a tribute to their
returning to help build the programs at their alma mater.
Tannaz Altafis – Asst. Coach, Girl’s Varsity Basketball
New to high school sports coaching, Tannaz, or Coach T, is in her 3rd month with the girl’s
basketball team (who defeated Los Gatos in the preseason during the first weekend of 2010!).
Tannaz
graduated in 2001, so far, the last of three Altafi's to graduate from SHS. She played basketball all through high school
and wishes she would have kept going in college. Continuing her love for the sport, Tannaz played intramural at Santa Clara University
and is looking forward to playing this year in the Campbell
league.
Ray
Burney - Receiver Coach, Varsity Football
A 1974
graduate of SHS, Ray returned to coach at Saratoga High as early as 1978 when he finished at Oregon State.
In his first year of coaching as the JV Receiver/Defensive Back Coach, Ray was instrumental in taking SHS to the DeAnza
League Championship the following year.
Ray played
football and baseball throughout his SHS career. While All-League and All-CCS
Selections in high school football sent him to Oregon State on a full ride scholarship, Ray was equally recognized for his talent in baseball
with awards that included Varsity MVP Award, Captain Award and All-league selection.
Through the
years, Ray continues to coach both football and baseball. With the exception
of 2001-06 when Ray took a stint as Varsity Baseball Head Coach at W.C.
Overfelt High School, all of
Ray’s coaching efforts had and continue to be at SHS. Just like all of his teams that have won league and CCS awards,
Ray himself has been named Coach of the Year numerous times by Baseball West Valley League (2001, 2005) and Football Charlie
Wedemeyer Santa Clara County All-Star game (1995, 1996, 1998).
Ray is currently
the Football Varsity Receiver Coach at SHS.
Brandon
Chow – Asst. Coach, Varsity Girl’s Soccer
Courtney
Crase – Head Coach, Girls Water Polo
A SHS graduate
of 2002, Courtney just completed her 4th season of coaching at SHS.
Awarded Falcon
Female Athlete of the Year and All-American in her senior year, Courtney played water polo and swam in high school. At Wagner
College in New York,
she played Division I water polo and in 2005 competed in the NCAA championships.
Aside from
coaching, Courtney is also a Special Education Teacher at Saratoga High. And
as if these aren’t enough, Courtney also attends SFSU in pursuit of her Masters and participates in “pick up”
water polo games.
Besides swimming,
Courtney enjoys gardening, bike riding, and traveling. She loves her two sisters - the younger one is a junior at SHS –
and her two cats Gus and Lola.
Brad
Frederickson – Head Coach, Varsity Volleyball (Boys and Girls)
A SHS graduate
of 1976, Brad went on to collegiate volleyball although all through high school he played tennis and basketball.
Brad began
coaching at Saratoga High began four years ago. Initially he coached only the
boy’s volleyball team until in the late 2007 when he took over also the girl’s team.
Brad is currently
a financial advisor with Wells Fargo Bank. He enjoys playing volleyball, golfing,
and riding off road motorcycles and mountain bikes in his spare time.
Kyle
Goni
Raymond
Daniel Goni – Quarterback & Linebacker Coach, JV Football
Raymond D.
Goni is part of a family that has shaped the sports scene at SHS. His father,
Ray Goni, was a coach at SHS for over thirty years some of which he also wore the hat of the athletic director. His mother, Debbie Goni, was a constant helper with all the sports when Goni Sr. was the athletic director. Uncle Andy Butera was the equipment manager in the 70’s, and his two brothers
Kyle and David have both also coached at SHS in the past.
Raymond graduated
from SHS in 1999. While high school sports were filled with football, basketball,
and baseball, at West Valley
College he focused on football.
This is Raymond’s 4th season as a SHS coach; past seasons included 1999, 2002, 2008 and 2009.
Justin
Hsu
Barry
Ju
David Lii – Defensive Backs Coach, Varsity Football
A SHS alumna
of 2002, David’s path to coaching at his alma mater high school was destiny in the making although he didn’t know
it at the time. Over the four years he was away to college, David would always
stop in the SHS weight room whenever he was back in Saratoga,
not only to visit but also to pass along any new college sports knowledge. It
was no surprise two weeks after he finished UCSD that he was recruited to coach at SHS.
More on David,
see https://falconathletics.tripod.com/davidlii.html
Aron
Mitsunaga - Head Coach, JV Girl's Basketball
Aron was a
two time all-league point guard for the Saratoga Falcons and joined the staff as an assistant varsity coach two seasons ago. This season Aron switched to the girl’s team and took over as head coach of
the JV team. Aron was played on the varsity for three years and starting point guard for two years culminating in 2003 and
a first team all-league selection for three CCS bound falcon teams.
Jason
Ng – Asst. Coach, Boy’s JV Basketball; Head Coach, Boy’s Freshman Basketball
Jason has been
the JV boy's basketball assistant coach for the past six years. This fall, he
added to his coaching resume a head coach title for the newly created Boy’s Freshman team.
Jason graduated
from SHS in 1998 and is now a software engineer when he is not coaching or playing golf or basketball. While high school sports included basketball and volleyball, Jason did rugby in college. Jason now lives in San Jose.
Adriana
Pak –JV Softball Coach
A recent graduate
of SHS (2008), Adriana is back helping coach the one sport she was devoted to throughout her high school career. A coach as well as a student, Adriana continues to play slowpitch softball.
She is also attracted to photography, watching sharks, and hiking.
Adriana’s
SHS connections extend to her brother who is a junior and father a JV Football coach.
She also owns a dog named Kona.
Rodney
Pak – Defensive Line Coach, JV Football
SHS Class of
1983, Rodney is in his 6th season of high school coaching and his 4th year with football.
Rodney works
at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. He and his wife Stella, daughter Adriana
(SHS ’08), son Dillan (SHS ’11), and a three-year old Labrador named Kona live in Saratoga. Rodney enjoys BBQ’s with family
and friends, as well as fishing and golfing.
Brian
Raisch
Katie
Reed – JV Softball Coach
A 2006 graduate
of SHS, Katie has coached JV Softball at her alma mater for the past three years. Katie’s
high school sports included volleyball, basketball, and softball. She was a Falcon Athlete
of the Year.
Currently a
student and an intern at Cal-Hi Sports, Katie enjoys watching the Sharks hockey games!
She continues to play slowpitch softball and has recently taken on Ice Hockey.
Katie has a brother who is a junior at SHS.
Shelley
Smith – Head Coach, JV Football
Class of 1975,
Shelley has been a coach at SHS since 2002.
Shelley played
football at SHS under coach Bennie Pierce. During the same time, he dabbled also in baseball, wrestling, and track. Shelley went on to play football at St. Mary’s College on a football scholarship.
After a lengthy
career in the insurance industry, Shelley switched to teaching and is now a P.E. teacher at Gunderson
High School in San Jose. Shelley and his wife of twenty-six years Mariann live in Saratoga; their two sons, Mike and Kevin, also attended SHS.
Shelley enjoys playing basketball on the weekend at SHS as well as golfing.
Phil
Spencer – Asst. Coach, JV Football
A well-rounded
and outstanding athlete, Phil received Varsity letters for football, baseball, track and field, and soccer when he graduated
from SHS in 2005. He chose to play football at Brown University.
Four years
later returning from Brown, Phil came right back to SHS to coach the one sport that by now he knew by heart – football.
Second child
to Rosanne and Gordon Spencer, Phil shares many of the same traits as his siblings all of whom also attended SHS and went
on to academically competitive colleges. Oldest brother Andrew was SHS Class
of ’03 (Cal ’08), younger sister Natalie SHS
Class of ’07 (Duke ’11), and younger brother Mathew SHS Class of ’09 (UCSD ’13).
Phil is professionally
an analyst at Saratoga Research & Investment Management. Aside from coaching,
working, and playing a variety of sports in leagues and with family and friends, Phil also enjoys playing electric guitar,
working on cars, and skiing/snowboarding as well as wakeboarding.
Kevin Tanner – Defensive Coordinator, Varsity Football
Recipient of
SHS Coach of the Year Award (08-09), Kevin was quoted by Falcons Sports News in the September, 2009 issue: “If Kevin
didn’t get the Coach of the Year Award for his dedication to the school, the students, and the families, he would have
gotten it for the longevity of his dedication to the sport”. Since 1977,
as a freshman at SHS, Kevin has played or coached football for twenty-four out of the last thirty-two seasons.
More on Kevin,
https://falconathletics.tripod.com/coach0809.html
Danny
Wallace
Danny played
varsity basketball for the falcons for three years and was two time MVP of the El Camino league and 2nd in CCS in rebounding
as a junior playing for the league champion Falcons and Athlete of the Year in 2004 (when he also played football and was
a standout for track). Danny was the 6th grade Redwood girl’s basketball
coach this past season leading the team to a 2nd place finish. Danny coached
the Suns developmental league for 4th-6th graders last spring.
Adam Weiskal – Asst. Coach, Strength Coach, Varsity Football
A Varsity coach
for the past two years, Adam’s SHS coaching career actually began in 2001 when he did one year as a JV football assistant
coach.
Adam graduated
from SHS in 1999 with a sports portfolio that included football, basketball, and track.
When he is
not coaching, Adam is a personal trainer in nutritional guidance and massage therapy.
He continues to find time to participate in sports and stay active.
Kellie York – Co-Head Coach, Varsity Field Hockey
SHS Class of
2005, Kellie returned to coach field hockey at SHS six months ago. A Political Science major from UC Berkeley, Kellie
went to play for Cal Bears on a field hockey scholarship. She played all four
years at Cal.
More on Kellie,
https://falconathletics.tripod.com/kellieyork.html
