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'Nova becoming hire ground
By Jesse Phelps
It's not where you finish in
a down season. It's how you reload. Just ask Lakers general manager
Mitch Kupchak, who all indications say, will officially sign
Gary Payton and Karl Malone to offer sheets in the next day or
so, shoring up the two weak points in the starting lineups of
the three most recent Lakers' championship teams and last year's
disappointing group.
You can also ask Tom Roanhaus, the new athletic director at Villanova
Preparatory Academy.
Roanhaus and headmaster Tony Sabatino continue to be proactive
in remaking the face of the school's athletic program. Villanova,
which had vacancies in several head coaching positions this summer,
has now added four new people to its staff with the hiring this
week of John Hadidian.
Hadidian will fill a void as head coach of girls' soccer, coming
to Villanova with 16 years experience as a youth soccer coach,
three years as a youth soccer coach administrator and four years
as the head junior varsity coach for girls' soccer at Carpinteria
High School.
Roanhaus was typically upbeat about the hire, calling Hadidian
a "great guy."
"He's going to be a great fit for us," said Roanhaus.
"Things are moving in the right direction. We're really
pleased."
Hadidian said he's happy to come to work at Villanova and coach
the varsity and he's busy setting up preliminary meetings with
his charges. "It's very exciting," he said. "I'm
just preparing a letter to send out for interviews to meet the
team. I'm looking forward to developing and training players
for competitive success."
Hadidian's junior varsity team finished last season second in
the Tri-Valley League.
He said it was the first time a Carp girls soccer program finished
a season above .500. Now he's welcoming the change in atmosphere.
"I do look forward to looking in a faith-based community,"
he said. "As a Christian that's important to me."
Earlier this summer, Villanova's hiring squad also filled the
positions of girls' basketball coach (Nicole Greathouse, late
of U.C. Santa Barbara and Buena High), head boys' soccer coach
and assistant football coach (Kevin McMylar) and head boys' basketball
coach (Ojai local Nate Nylander).
The last several years, Villanova's girls' soccer program has
had potential, but with the sudden loss of coach Jason Burt midseason
in 2002, the team struggled to come together. They made it into
the Wildcard Round of CIF-SS playoffs, but hope to do better
this year.
© 2003
The Ojai Valley News
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